Mayor Wayne Wright will be wearing two hats at TransLink's mayors' council.
The council, which includes representatives from municipalities within the TransLink region, elected Wright as its vice-chair on Wednesday. He replaces Langley City Mayor Peter Fassebender.
Richard Walton, Mayor of North Vancouver District, was acclaimed to the position he held prior to Wednesday. The vice-chair position was determined by a secret ballot.
"I was nominated by a couple of the mayors," he said. "They think it is good to have someone who had experience, a couple SkyTrain stations, traffic congestion and the trucks."
Wright said he accepted the role because of the impact that transportation initiatives have on the city, particularly the Pattullo Bridge, the North Fraser Perimeter Road, truck traffic and overall traffic congestion. Because New Westminster has no plans for future SkyTrain stations, Wright said the mayors thought he could be "neutral" regarding decisions on future transit lines.
Wright said he'll be representing two interests in his new role - the needs of New Westminster and the needs of the region.
"The city's perspective may be a bit different sometimes," he said. "I will ensure that is known."
Wright said the mayors' council is trying to avoid using property taxes as a way of funding the region's transportation needs. Wright has personally indicated support for road pricing, which could see small tolls spread out throughout the region rather than larger tolls on facilities such as the Port Mann Bridge.
"The province has said they will look at all suggestions we have," he said. "We have to have some support from the public, and it has to be reasonably thought out."
While it's unlikely any major changes will be made to transportation funding before the provincial election in the spring of 2013, Wright said it's a good time to provide all parties with input.
Wright believes that there may be development opportunities around SkyTrain stations that could potentially generate revenue for TransLink. He noted that Plaza 88 in New Westminster marked the first time that construction took place over an existing SkyTrain station.
"We have shown that it works," he said.
