Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML / A view from the south-facing Little Mountain staircase vista point. The City of Chilliwack hopes to have the staircase project ascending Little Mountain done sometime in the next week. The City awarded a $134,432.80 contract in 2022 to House to Home Landscaping to complete the project.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Little Mountain staircase

Little Mountain south-facing trail stairs project almost done

Jan 20, 2023 | 2:59 PM

CHILLIWACK — The City of Chilliwack hopes to have an impressive south-facing stairway project ascending Little Mountain done sometime in the next week.

Chilliwack City Council voted at its meeting on August 2, 2022 to award a Request for Quotation in the amount of $134,432.80 to House to Home Landscaping for the “Little Mountain South Face Trail Stairs” in order to create a pedestrian route that will connect the valley floor to higher elevation trails on Little Mountain.

The base of the stairs, along with a new parking area, will be located on City property at 46963 Yale Road.

According to Jamie Leggatt, director of communications for the City of Chilliwack, city staff hope to have the project wrapped up in the next week. There will be benches at two of the vista points overlooking the valley floor.

The City has allocated a budget for $200,000 to create the Little Mountain Stairs, which will link the valley floor and the proposed greenbelt for foot traffic. The budget also includes the creation of a new parking lot area at the base of the stairs on Yale Road.

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The stairs will feature an eight-foot-wide stair corridor that extends approximately 128 metres, rising approximately 60 metres from the parking facility on Yale Road to a potential trail connection point. Approximately 340 recycled plastic posts will be placed to act as stair treads as part of the project.

Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML

During the bidding process last year, three companies attended a mandatory site meeting, as is custom with city tenders and requests for proposal, on July 7. Of the three companies, only one, House to Home Landscaping, submitted a quotation that was found to have met the technical and financial requirements of the project.

This was partially attributed to the specialized nature of the work, the degree of difficulty on the hilly terrain, the heavy lifting required, and lengthy time duration of the project.

The City of Chilliwack’s Greenspace Plan highlights the potential for a greenbelt and trail network around the north, south and southwest quadrants of Little Mountain. The proposed greenbelt is a combination of city-owned land and future remainder lands following the development of privately-owned parcels.

The proposed parking lot along the north side of Yale Road will house 15 parking stalls.