Public Works Week, May 18 - 24, celebrates those individuals who contribute to advancing and enhancing our quality of life. Public works professionals provide essential services that lead to healthier, happier, more vibrant communities.

This year's theme of "People, Purpose, Presence” highlights the three common ideals of what motivate public works staff to serve in our Community every day! It shines a spotlight on the way public works professionals advance our quality of life, whether as an electrician working to restore power during an outage, a first responder attending to a city emergency, an arborist planting new trees, a truck operator conducting solid waste collection, or a myriad of other ways they silently serve their communities.

Public works professionals are dedicated to advancing the quality of for their community by:

• Designing, constructing and maintaining roads, bridges and traffic control devices for road safety, active transportation, mobility and commerce.
  Designing, constructing and maintaining storm sewers, ditches, detention ponds, dykes and pump stations for protection against flooding.
• Designing, constructing and maintaining water mains, reservoirs, pump stations and treatment plants for the supply and distribution of potable water.
• Designing, constructing and maintaining parks, public spaces, cemeteries, trails and active areas. 
• Providing solid waste collection, recycling and disposal services.
• Involved in the delivery of power and gas utilities, in maintaining public buildings, in regulating land use and development, and in managing complex public works organizations.
• Have an essential role in all phases of emergency management (planning/ preparation, mitigation/ prevention, and response/ recovery).
• Actively listening, educating and engaging residents to create thriving communities.

Public works are what make our communities dynamic places to live and work. Check out our “What is Public Works” video and join us this week in celebrating the quiet work these professionals do that makes life better for all of us!

PUBLIC WORKS FUN AND GAMES

Come and visit us at the Hyack Festival to the rear of City Hall on May 24, 11am – 5pm, to learn more about public works. We will have representation from Engineering Operations (including Animal Services), Electrical Operations, Parks Operations, Police, and Fire. There will be games, giveaways, and opportunities to ask public works staff questions about what their jobs.

Elementary and Middle School Children

New Westminster elementary school-aged children are given the opportunity to participate in a separate kid-friendly scavenger hunt for the chance to win a pizza lunch for their class. If they don't have a chance to fill out the scavenger hunt at school, we encourage guardians to go for a family walk around the neighbourhood and fill out the form together. The forms should be provided by their school/teacher, but if for some reason they don't receive it, you can download a copy here. The deadline to submit the completed hunt is May 30, 2025.

New Westminster middle school students were invited to participate in an art contest and design a recycling sign for our garbage and recycling trucks. The winning artwork will be unveiled at the Hyack Parade on May 24 and the winning design gets a pizza lunch for their class.