BC native and Honorary PETA Director, Pamela Anderson, is calling on Port Moody to scrap any potential plans of building a road through Bert Flinn Park, one day before council is scheduled to meet.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Rob Vagramov and city councillors Monday, Anderson wrote that she was saddened to learn that the “safe haven for wildlife” is at risk because the city is in talks about moving the Right-of-Way, referred to as the David Avenue Connector, to Bert Flinn Park, 300 acres of forest.

“Please consider the bears, coyotes, deer, frogs, birds, and other animals who call the park home,” Anderson wrote.

According to the Port Moody Agenda, there are recommendations to remove the Special Study Area Designation for the Ioco Area, and to restrict density to the level permitted under current zoning, as well removing the Right-of-Way, known as the David Avenue Connector, and to incorporate its land into Bert Flinn Park.

Tuesday’s meeting also includes recommendations in making change to Bear Management Ticketing Bylaws by increasing storage requirements for solid waste carts — a proposed change that comes after a deadly summer for black bears.

“People in BC and around the world have become increasingly concerned about human expansion and deforestation, which kill and displace wild animals. The issue of Bert Flinn Park perfectly illustrates the global struggle between unsustainable development and the ethical imperative to protect nature and its many inhabitants,” the letter reads.

In a phone interview with Daily Hive Vancouver, Vagramov said road development through the park has been a topic of discussion since the 90s, and it was decided since then to protect the park by limiting the amount of development on the Ioco Lands — but, while he was on leave in recent months “council has been deadlocked over how to proceed.”

“This motion that I’m putting forward on Tuesday is essentially calling for council to deliver on what we have already committed to, which is to save Bert Flinn Park, and I’m really excited and hopeful that this initiative will pass so that we could have this area protected forever,” Vagramov said, adding that wildlife is a “huge factor.”

Vagramov said he wants to see Bert Flinn Park as “it’s supposed to be — which is a nice nature space and no road through there,” because a road “would ruin it.”

“It’s this whole issue of global and local, you know, think global and act local, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do with this motion here, you talk about deforestation, we talk about dependance on cars, what are we actually gonna do about it? And in Port Moody, I see this as a perfect opportunity to preserve directly 22 acres from getting potentially clear cut, and big picture is keeping a park in tact,” Vagramov said.

Daily Hive has reached out to Port Moody councillors for comment.

Anderson is urging those who would like to preserve Bert Flinn Park, but have not, to reconsider their position and “become leaders in animal and environmental protection.”