Three lanes, four lanes, as many lanes as needed - candidates are all over the road when it comes to a new Pattullo Bridge.
TransLink has stated that the 75-year-old bridge is a critical route for moving people and goods, but needs to be replaced because it doesn't meet current road design guidelines or seismic standards. The City of New Westminster is considering the replacement or rehabilitation of the bridge as part of its master transportation plan.
New Westminster Liberal candidate Hector Bremner said a new bridge should have as many lanes as needed - but that doesn't mean he's in a hurry to see a new bridge built.
"We've got to make a decision in the next year about that bridge. I have been very clear - I said without a proper regional plan, without a comprehensive way of addressing traffic on the north side of the Fraser River, the bridge is sort of a wasteful investment - unless it's serving a greater purpose," he said. "The bridge could be 15 lanes, it wouldn't matter - you still get into Queen's Park and it's still residential roads."
Before any decision is reached about the Pattullo Bridge, Bremner said detailed information is needed about traffic on the north and south sides of the Fraser River and a plan for dealing with traffic on the north side of the Fraser River.
Bremner said public transportation needs are grossly underserved on the south side of the Fraser River. He noted that South Fraser Perimeter Road is not yet complete so the impacts of that roadway on traffic flows aren't known.
"I think that we need to understand impacts of investments on those areas before we get too concerned about building a bridge as a standalone piece of infrastructure," he said.
Green party candidate Terry Teather said his party doesn't believe that building infrastructure solves traffic problems.
"I don't believe that building a new bridge is going to decrease traffic problems or the stress on infrastructure here in New Westminster," he said. "I do not support either the replacement or the moving of the Pattullo Bridge."
Teather said the existing Pattullo Bridge is unsafe, but it should be rehabilitated rather than replaced.
"I think rehabilitating the existing structure would save money in the future," he said. "I support two widened lanes with a dedicated lane for cyclist and pedestrians, because that is aligned with the green way of thinking."
Teather would support banning truck traffic on the Pattullo Bridge unless New Westminster is the destination. He said money saved by not building a new bridge could be invested in areas of transit that are vital to the region, including light rail in Surrey and transit along the Broadway corridor in Vancouver.
Conservative candidate Paul Forseth has long believed that the Pattullo Bridge needs to be replaced.
"I am one of the few who has actually climbed underneath the steel of the Pattullo Bridge and risked my life while walking across the four-inch beams to paint and scrape that bridge. When I was 19 years old, I was working on bridge maintenance as a summer job. One of my colleagues fell to (his) death when I was right beside him. So I know what it's like to be under that bridge, on the bridge, when the heavy traffic goes over," he told The Record. "In 1966 I felt the bridge should have been replaced - it's been maintained since then, but the structure needs to be replaced."
Forseth disagrees with those who've suggested the bridge should be torn down and not replaced.
"That is an unrealistic, selfish view. We need a new bridge that meets environmental standards, that's much safer. This is not just a bridge for Surrey and New Westminster, this is a bridge for Western Canada," he said. "We should be able to be proud of a great structure that could be put in its place. When I think of some of the greatest photographs of grand cities around the world, often there is a bridge in the background, which describes and defines a city that's bold in its future and proud of its ability to be a livable region where people want to live and have social discourse. One of those basic freedoms is the freedom to move."
New Westminster NDP candidate Judy Darcy said she lives in Victoria Hill and sees motorists darting through her neighbourhood trying to avoid the lineups to get onto the bridge.
"I see that traffic, I live it. It comes up our street. It's impossible to get out of our garage often," she said. "I think it's really symptomatic of the fact that we have a TransLink board that is completely unaccountable. Issue number 1 is we need to make the TransLink board accountable to the communities it is supposed to represent, including New Westminster, don't you think? It's time to tell the provincial government to stop treating New Westminster like an intersection, an intersection for the Lower Mainland."
Darcy said she supports New Westminster city council's position that the city doesn't want increased congestion in neighborhoods, as its bad for children and bad for the environment.
"I think you really have to invest in public transit," she added. "We will invest in public transit. We will use significant parts of the carbon tax to invest in public transit because that's a critical part of the solution to a regional transportation plan that really helps to reduce the congestion and traffic in New Westminster."
Independent candidate James Crosty said air quality is an issue that must be considered as part of planning for the future of the Pattullo Bridge.
"Before we can talk about replacing the Pattullo, we need solutions over here," he said about New Westminster roads. "We need to open the dialogue and we need to find out exactly what the people of New Westminster want on this side of the bridge first and foremost."
Crosty said there's a traffic mess from Queensborough to United Boulevard. While something needs to be done with the Pattullo Bridge because it's unsafe, he also wants a tunnel to be considered as a way of moving traffic through New Westminster to improve air quality.
"I want the tunnel option on the table for discussion. Primarily because we need to deal with the issue on New Westminster's side before the Pattullo is replaced, fixed, torn down, repaired, made one lane, made six lanes - it doesn't matter. The issue here is air quality," he said, noting tunnels have been done in a cost-effective manner in Norway. "If you have a way of taking the traffic through New Westminster without going over top of it, then they can build a 12-lane bridge. Who cares as long as it's not all feeding into New Westminster?"
For more election news, including a story on the all-candidates meeting on Wednesday night sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, go to www.royalcityrecord.com.
