SURREY — Opponents of city plans to build a road through Hawthorne Park delivered a petition of 12,244 signatures to Surrey City Hall on Friday afternoon – and topped it off with a rousing rendition of ‘O Canada.’
The Save Hawthorne Park group marched up to the city clerk’s office Friday afternoon, around 3:30 p.m., and submitted the signatures to the city clerk - and then sang our country’s national anthem.
The group has been collecting Electoral Response Forms over the last several weeks and says in addition to the 12,244 forms, thousands of responses have been submitted online.
“We’re not stopping,” Steve Pettigrew said Friday, adding the ‘angry mob’ is getting angrier and bigger.
The O'Canada was not planned. But the group was emotional - and exhausted - and so we sung! :) #SaveHawthornePark https://t.co/cMcRFn58Hs
— Narima Dela Cruz (@narimadc) September 22, 2017
After delivering a 5,000-name petition to Surrey council in July, opponents were given until Sept. 22 to collect 30,372 signatures in opposition to the project in order to stop the civic government from proceeding with the project.
Pettigrew, leader of ‘Save Hawthorne Rotary Park,’ said the group is going to keep collecting signatures and plans to present them to the city in the form of a regular petition.
Plus, he said, opponents of council’s plan for Hawthorne Park vow that their fight will intensify, regardless of petitions and signatures.
Moments after delivering more than 12,000 signatures to city hall against proposed road through Hawthorne Park #surreybc pic.twitter.com/XFNWaTHAAj
— Amy Marie Reid (@amyreid87) September 22, 2017
- READ MORE: Vowing to block bulldozers, Hawthorne Park group delivers petition in Surrey today
- READ MORE: Hawthorne Park opponents to deliver 10,000+ signatures to Surrey City Hall
Today (Friday) marks the deadline imposed by Surrey City Hall for residents opposed to a controversial proposal to run two roads through North Surrey’s Hawthorne Rotary Park to produce 30,372 signatures to stop city hall from removing a 1979 bylaw that would enable the city to proceed with the project.
Pettigrew said if city council does proceed with the proposal, the dirt will hit the fan, to use another hackneyed phrase.
“We do have hundreds of people that have committed to standing in front of the tractors,” he told the Now-Leader on Wednesday.
Done! #SaveHawthornePark Grp submitted forms at #SurreyBC City Hall #nottheend pic.twitter.com/PSzoLjTGNn
— Narima Dela Cruz (@narimadc) September 22, 2017
“I’ve already talked to the RCMP, I know what our legal rights are, I’m on good terms with them. People have got their trees picked out, they’re bringing their lawnchairs, the little children are coming along, the elderly people are coming along, and we’re going to link arms, chain ourselves, and be there in front of the tractors.
“We’re only going to do that if they decide to put the road through. If the petition fails, then we’re just going to wait and see what they do. I expect that they will listen,” Pettigrew said. “I can’t see how they’re going to stand against this. They’re there to represent the people, and the people are speaking. It’s not just a few of us, it’s thousands and thousands of us.”
Pettigrew said “the fly in the ointment right now” is when the city will be holding a final meeting to decide the fate of the park.
“It could be as early as Oct. 2nd or they could stretch it out for months hoping to wear us down,” he wrote in a post online. “I will be meeting with city staff on Monday (Sept. 25), and I will see if I can get a more definite date. The city’s action will determine our action.”
amy.reid@surreynowleader.com
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