Change comes to TransLink board

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 11, 2006


Wholesale changes to both the TransLink and GVRD boards of directors could spell tough times ahead for the provincial government's plan to twin the Port Mann Bridge, predicts Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan.

Corrigan, who was reappointed to the TransLink board of directors on Friday morning, said both the TransLink and GVRD boards appear to be "more progressive" than last year, meaning several major decisions could be revisited.

"The dynamics are different," Corrigan said, after he was returned to the TransLink board at the same meeting that saw Delta mayor Lois Jackson elected chair of the GVRD.

"I think the GVRD board is more progressive than it was the last time.

"I don't know whether the board will be looking to change direction or not, but I'm going to wait and see," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, we've been off the rails for the past eight years and we need to get back on track."

Corrigan said he was especially pleased to see increased representation on TransLink from the northeast sector - Port Coquitlam Mayor Scott Young, Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini and Coquitlam Mayor Maxine Wilson - and noted that eight of the 12 current TransLink directors have spoken out publicly against the Port Mann Bridge proposal.

Meanwhile, new Surrey Mayor Diane Watts, who wants the region to consider replacing the Pattullo Bridge, has also joined the TransLink board, despite losing her bid to win a seat at the GVRD table.

Corrigan also said that the changed focus on the TransLink board could cause other directors, most notably Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and his two colleagues, to speak up more strongly against the Port Mann twinning proposal.

"At this point, the Port Mann Bridge seems to be the dividing point, and Vancouver will have a real difficult time justifying support for the Port Mann Bridge," he said. "I think Sullivan and others made it clear they were not supportive of twinning the Port Mann, and now it's likely the North Shore is not supportive and the northeast sector is not.

"I don't know if the TransLink board and GVRD will be able to dissuade the province from the Port Mann twinning, but it's certainly going to be cause for conflict."

One of the most vocal critics of the Port Mann plan, Corrigan has always believed that a new bridge will only increase traffic on the side streets through Burnaby as more and more frustrated drivers from south of the river try to avoid increased congestion on Highway No. 1 when they head into Vancouver.

Corrigan noted that the twinning proposal does not include widening the highway, meaning the congestion that is currently seen at the Willingdon interchange - currently the most accident-prone location in the Lower Mainland - could occur earlier, possibly at the Sperling interchange.

"Having all those cars lined up and idling in the middle of Burnaby is what concerns us," he said. "How can you take more vehicles over the bridge without affecting our communities?

"I think the biggest push is simply to find a regional transportation plan that works."

Corrigan said he will continue pushing to move forward the agreed- upon elements of the regional plan, such as construction of new north and south perimeter roads designed to carry truck traffic on the opposing banks of the Fraser River.