Twinning and road widening at odds with ‘livable region’ intent, motion tells province
Gerry Bellett
Sun
THE REGION I Provincial government plans to spend $1.5 billion twinning the Port Mann Bridge and widening Highway 1 were strongly opposed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District Friday.
Over the objections of Surrey, Coquitlam and other Fraser Valley communities, the rest of the GVRD directors approved a motion — stretching over two pages — that told the province that increasing traffic capacity into the Fraser Valley under its Gateway Program is fundamentally at odds with the GVRD’s Livable Region Strategic Plan.
The regional plan calls for new housing to be concentrated in existing urban areas and discourages urban sprawl into the Fraser Valley.
Fears were expressed by some GVRD directors that the plan for twinning the bridge is silent on what effect it will have on urbanization of the Fraser Valley.
Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt said Surrey — which wants the bridge project — is opposed to the livable region plan.
He said a third of the traffic now using the overloaded Port Mann Bridge is commuter traffic between Surrey and Coquitlam, making the bridge an arterial route between both communities.
“It’s a community route between us and Coquitlam,” said Hunt.
The GVRD’s land use and transportation committee produced the motion that asked the government not to make any final decisions on twinning the bridge or widening Highway 1 until a comprehensive review of traffic movement in the Lower Mainland is completed and alternatives to the projects had been considered.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, the committee chairman, conceded Friday the government can just go ahead and ignore the GVRD’s objections and do what it likes.
However, he hopes the government would keep the project within “the spirit” of the regional plan so that it would be a “positive force in building the region.”
The motion began by saying the GVRD board wants to work cooperatively with the transportation minister “to ensure provincial and regional interests” are aligned in the planning and implementation of the Gateway Program.
However, it asked that a number of measures be taken before any final decision is made, including a regional goods movement strategy and a transportation management strategy for the Lower Mainland, including lane allocations and priority access for transit and high occupancy vehicles.
The motion also called for a provincial commitment to share the costs of linking local roads to the Gateway Program and asked for a meeting to discuss the traffic implications in store for the Fraser Valley.
The motion ended with the GVRD saying the expansion of “general purpose traffic capacity through the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and widening of Highway 1 … are inconsistent with the Livable Region Strategic Plan and therefore the GVRD board strongly opposes” them.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
