The City of New Westminster will be keeping a close eye on traffic impacts associated with the new Port Mann Bridge.
City officials have repeatedly expressed concern that motorists will attempt to avoid tolls on the new Port Mann Bridge by taking the Pattullo Bridge - even with the reduced introductory tolls proposed for the bridge.
The provincial government announced last week that instead of a $3 per trip toll on the Port Mann Bridge, an introductory rate of $1.50 will be charged until Feb. 28, 2013.
Mayor Wayne Wright said the city will be monitoring the situation to see if commuters take the Pattullo Bridge instead of the Port Mann Bridge in an effort to avoid the tolls. Although he hopes the introductory toll rate minimizes the impact on the Pattullo Bridge, he said its impact remains to be seen.
"We are hoping many people will use it and not come over the Pattullo," he said.
"We have to monitor this."
According to the provincial government, drivers who register for a free windshield decal and tolling account by Feb. 28, 2013 will be guaranteed the half-price introductory toll rate for the first year. Drivers who sign up before Nov. 30, 2012 will also receive a $30 credit on their account.
The provincial government anticipates that drivers will be able to cut their commute times in half once the new Port Mann Bridge opens.
"For the first year, drivers will be able to experience these significant time savings for just a $1.50," Transportation Minister Mary Polak said in a press release. "Register for a tolling account - it takes just a few minutes -l and enjoy a 50 per cent discount until December of next year."
While some computer modelling has suggested the Pattullo Bridge won't see a surge in traffic once the tolls are in place on the Port Mann Bridge, Wright said all the modeling in the world can't factor in "human nature," so time will tell.
Gordon Price, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, told The Vancouver Sun that a comprehensive road pricing system is needed in the Lower Mainland to reduce commuting by automobile and to pay for expanded public transit.
Wright personally believes that a small toll on all bridges in the region is preferable to a $3 toll on the Port Mann Bridge.
"I think we have to toll everything," he said. "That has been my position."
With 60,000 vehicles passing over the Pattullo Bridge each day, city officials fear traffic coming into New Westminster could increase when the new tolled crossing opens.
When responding to the environmental assess-ment application as part of the Port Mann/Highway 1 project in 2007, the City of New Westminster stated that traffic modelling showed that the Pattullo Bridge could see an 11 per cent increase in traffic volumes in the morning rush hour once tolls are introduced on the twinned Port Mann Bridge. tmcmanus@ royalcityrecord.com
