Are you a resident of north Cloverdale west with a toddler or teen?
Parents at Adams Road Elementary are inviting their neighbours to a meeting tonight to discuss the speed of residential development, lack of community resources and overcrowding at their school.
The meeting has been organized by the Adams Road Parent Advisory Council, with the help of city councillor Barinder Rasode, who will be one of the speakers tonight. Joining her will be Jean Lamontagne, general manager of planning and development for the city of Surrey.
Organizers were also hoping to line up someone from the Surrey School District for tonight's meeting, which starts at 6:15 p.m. in the Adams Road Elementary gymnasium.
"The speed of development in our area is out-pacing the speed of community resources, including community centres, pools, libraries and parks," Adams Road PAC co-president Jennifer Cocks said.
"The are 130 new homes going in," she said. "All of the development permits are up and some of the ground is broken."
Adams Road Elementary opened in 2011 with 236 children but has already grown to 430 students, spilling out into six portables.
With a projected enrollment of 500 students to squeeze in this fall, the school will require at least 10 portables.
"Why are we pushing ahead with development when there's physically no room for them at school?"
The school is located at 18228 68 Avenue.
Adams Road Elementary is in line for a school addition of eight new classrooms, a solution that she fears will wait until after a new elementary and secondary school are built in the Clayton area.
The PAC wants the school district to install a permanent pod of portables, including extra washroom facilities and multipurpose classroom space.
Tonight's meeting, she said, will be an opportunity for the school board and the city to answer questions, speak to concerns and let residents know what is planned.
"We hope to get information on what the parents can do. We're all willing to help out, and get involved, just tell us what we need to do," Cocks said. "We don't want to be confrontational."