NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) – The weather we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks has turned destructive. A popular facility in New Westminster is a casualty from yesterday’s heavy snow and rain.
The roof on the Arenex in New Westminster’s Queen’s Park collapsed just after 9 p.m., leaving a community without a key recreational facility just days before Christmas.
The facility is very old and Mayor Jonathan Cote, who visited the site, isn’t confident crews will be able to repair it, at least not anytime soon. “It’s a really unfortunate situation. Thankfully our staff many hours before-hand had identified some issues and we had evacuated the building and the area.”
The building that’s collapsed is not the popular hockey arena, it’s the building right next to it which is often used for things like gymnastics and community events. “This was a wooden gymnasium structure that was 78-years-old.”
Cote says the city is investigating what the next steps will be to not only clean up the site but to figure out what a temporary solution will be as the Arenex was well used. “We’re certainly going to have to be looking at both short-term and long-term plans to address that.”
One theory as to why it collapsed, according to Fire Chief Tim Armstrong, is that the new roof that was put on two years ago might have actually worked against building. “The new roof was a torchon roof with the four inches of styrofoam insulation. We’re thinking, it almost worked as an insulating blanket which held the snow up on top.”
After 78 yrs, Queens Park Arenex collapses from the weight of snow. @NEWS1130Traffic @NEWS1130 @969JACK pic.twitter.com/nYDqHQSPaq
— Danger On Air (@DangerOnAir) December 20, 2016
No one was hurt and no one was in the area when the roof gave out.
