Replacement of a sewer pipe in the Albion industrial area prompted one councillor to suggest more capacity might be needed in the area if a "transit-orientated node" were built by the waterfront.

Maple Ridge Council voted to award a contract for the sewer and water main - in the order of about $370,000 - to replace a 190metre section by the railway spur.

But Councillor Al Hogarth said he was worried that the pipe being put in now would be too small in five to 10 years, especially if a commercial-industrial-residential area were built there.

The idea of having a West Coast Express station in Albion has been bandied about in the past, and Hogarth thinks this could be the site of development in the future.

"It's a very long-term... view from my perspective," Hogarth said. "I'm trying to think outside the box."

Because Maple Ridge has so little waterfront, "we should use it to the maximum," he added.

At this point, Maple Ridge council is waiting to hear from the Agricultural Land Commission whether plans in the Albion Flats for commercial development can move forward, and this is one of many variables that would have to be considered.

"I was more concerned if we put [the pipe] in, we'd be restricting [development]," Hogarth said.

There are two railway spurs in the Albion industrial area that service the Kanaka Creek Pole Company.

Frank Quinn, general manager of public works for the District of Maple Ridge, said the pipe being planned for the 190-metre section will be big enough according to the Official Community Plan or a future business park.

He added that if council wants something else in that area, everything that has gone in there over the past few years would have to be looked at again.

mrantanen@mrtimes.com