Montvue Avenue and West Railway Plaza

As part of the Historic Downtown Neighbourhood Plan to create a vibrant community and revitalize the area through street redesign and new gateway plazas, the City of Abbotsford is seeking community input on a new project at Montvue and Essendene Avenues in the Historic Downtown core.

The first aspect involves the realignment of Montvue Avenue, removing the single-lane connection to Essendene Avenue and connecting Montvue Avenue directly to West Railway Street, which will aide in improving safety and eliminating driver confusion from the current a-typical “five corners” intersection.

The realignment of Montvue Avenue gives way to the second aspect, which will see the newly-closed street transformed into “West Railway Plaza”, a proposed new public amenity space for community gatherings, performances and street market activities.

The projects will provide Historic Downtown with the following benefits:

• Decreased driver confusion and improved safety due to singular south-bound traffic flow;
• Improved traffic flow at the Montvue and Essendene Avenues intersection and through the downtown corridor;
• Active transportation connectivity and pathways through new crosswalks and multi-use pathways;
• Public areas for gathering and community events, and to support commercial activity (i.e. patio spaces);
• Street furnishings (including benches, tables, bike racks, bollards, waste receptacles, street lighting, wayfinding and signage, and public art) and decorative hardscape finishes;
• Landscape areas for street trees, rain gardens, and planters; and,
• On-street parking stalls adjacent to the proposed plaza along West Railway Street.