Politicians divided on transportation plan

By Dan Hilborn
Published Feb. 4, 2006


Opinions on the $3-billion Gateway transportation program unveiled by Premier Gordon Campbell on Tuesday afternoon are splitting along predictable political lines.

The proposal, which includes the construction of new perimeter roads along the north and south sides of the Fraser River and the eventual twinning of the Port Mann Bridge, will simply move traffic congestion from Surrey onto Burnaby streets, said city NDP politicians.

"If it goes through, as announced, it would create a lot more traffic on Burnaby roads such as McBride Boulevard, 10th Avenue, Canada Way and Sixth Street," Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan said Thursday morning. "If they put the toll on the Port Mann, there will be a general tendency to go five minutes the other way and take the Pattullo.

"That will create more traffic in New Westminster and Burnaby and that will create more pollution, and that's just not acceptable," he said. "There are other ways of looking at the issues of congestion, but the solution being proposed by the Liberals is not a solution that will work."

Chouhan's concerns are similar to those expressed by Coun. Sav Dhaliwal, chair of the city's traffic and transportation committees, who called for the immediate construction of a bus-dedicated lane on the existing Port Mann Bridge during an interview on the Bill Good radio show Thursday afternoon.

"In my opinion, gridlock is caused by single occupant vehicles," Dhaliwal told the Burnaby NOW Friday morning. "If you had a bus going frequently on a dedicated lane, to me it makes sense that it would reduce the number of vehicles idling there all day, trying to cross that bridge."

Dhaliwal's comments prompted rookie Team Burnaby councillor Garth Evans to issue his first press release since his election last November, in which he called the dedicated bus lane idea an "impractical alternative" to twinning the bridge.

"We've already got a huge backlog of cars crossing the Port Mann Bridge," Evans said. "If we do what he's suggested and take one lane out of service for buses, then you'd have a much larger backlog of cars on either side.

"Obviously, the congestion will be worse and worse, and I think the suggestion is impractical," said Evans, who noted that he would only support the installation of an HOV/bus lane on the Port Mann Bridge after it is twinned.

While the NDP plan to move people onto buses and rapid transit lanes may be a good idea "in a perfect world," Evans said it is impractical in the Lower Mainland, which is expected to see fairly large increases in both vehicle use and population over the next half a decade.

"If you have no growth, then you don't have to worry about expanding infrastructure," he said. "But after four years of the Liberals we're seeing increasing growth, there are 133,000 more automobiles on the roads and there's a population explosion.

"People are feeling more prosperous and, naturally, this is causing stress on infrastructure. If you want that growth, you have to build the infrastructure."

That view was echoed by Liberal MLAs Richard Lee and John Nuraney, who both believe that the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and widening of Highway No. 1 will decrease congestion and the pollution caused by idling traffic in Burnaby.

"My understanding is, with the improvement of traffic flow there will be a positive effect on our environment. So building the road will actually improve our air quality," Lee said.

"Once the freeway is freed up, I don't think that traffic will divert into Burnaby (side streets) anymore," Nuraney said.

But Chouhan was equally adamant that more lanes means more traffic and will result in more pollution.

"Twinning the Port Mann will only move the congestion from the Surrey side to the Burnaby side, and that's not going to help," the rookie NDP MLA said. "I am concerned the whole project is not well thought through. They haven't looked at the costs of it and they haven't looked at the alternatives to twinning the bridge - they just want to proceed."

Chouhan also noted that there has been little discussion on the potential impact of a widened highway on the wildlife and environment around Burnaby Lake.

"I think (B.C. transportation minister) Kevin Falcon is trying to appease his friends who made a huge political contribution to his campaign. Definitely, build the perimeter roads first because that would ease congestion on the Port Mann and the No. 1. If, after that, other issues need to be addressed like twinning the bridge, then they have to do proper studies and consult with the public, and not just ram through their ideas."

The province has scheduled public consultations on the project in Burnaby from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 4, at 8Rinks; and from 6 to 9 p.m., March 8, at Bonsor Recreation Centre.

Information can also be found online at www.gatewayproject.bc.ca.