Vladimir Krasnogor: work with neighbours to address traffic

The Record asked readers what they think the top election issues are in the city. Top pick: Truck traffic. Reporter Theresa McManus asks the mayoral candidates what can, or cannot, be done about truck traffic in the city. Here’s what they said:

Vladimir Krasnogor believes he’s got the goods to address truck traffic in New Westminster.

“Being a small city in the centre of large metropolis, it is essential for New Westminster to maintain good friendly working relations with our neighbours, and I am the best person among mayoral candidates who can accomplish this,” said the first-time mayoral candidate. “I trust I will also have better understanding from provincial government. Some compromises will have to be done on all sides, but I totally commit that if (the) new Pattullo Bridge is built, it must not be larger than four lanes.”

The Mayors Council on Regional Transportation has supported a four-lane replacement for the Pattullo Bridge, which could be expanded to six lanes in future years if it’s needed, but only if all parties involved in the bridge agree to the expansion. Since tolls were introduced on the new Port Mann Bridge, New Westminster has expressed concern that vehicles, particularly trucks, have diverted to the free Pattullo crossing.

Krasnogor said his approach to dealing with traffic, will be to stop making it worse in the first place. He noted that a truck depot on Port Metro Vancouver land in Queensborough has resulted in more trucks on city streets. Better communication with neighbouring cities is also an important factor in dealing with traffic, says Krasnogor.

“I understand the position of cities that border with us,” he said in a statement to The Record. “New Westminster, indeed, has been not a perfect neighbor, especially for Coquitlam because of how they were treated during the Bailey bridge ‘conflict,’ and because our mayor/council approved a large development, called Sapperton Green, which is projected to add 480 cars per hour to Braid/Brunette intersection. This is, by the way, the same intersection that New Westminster claimed to protect during the Bailey bridge dispute. Coquitlam is justifiably concerned that making this congested intersection even more congested will interfere with travel to/from Coquitlam.”

(Bentall Kennedy is developing a master plan for the site, but no rezoning has been approved. The city has received a preliminary application for an amendment to the official community plan for the Sapperton Green site.)

In an attempt to address truck traffic, the city asked TransLink to remove Royal and East Eighth avenues and portions of East Columbia and Ewen streets from the city’s truck route network.

“Burnaby also has a point being upset when New Westminster council asked TransLink to ban trucks in New Westminster without providing any practical alternative,” he said.

Krasnogor has a couple of suggestions on how New Westminster can better deal with truck traffic.

“I will invite trucking companies to become part of the solution,” he said. “Modern technology will help, too. I know a ‘smart’ system can control traffic lights to ensure trucks travel at optimum speed and spend minimum time in the city with the least disturbance to residents and environment.”