Tolls on the Port Mann Bridge haven’t caused more trucks to divert to the free Pattullo Bridge crossing, says the province’s transportation minister.
B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone said recent statistics dispute claims that truck traffic has increased on the Pattullo Bridge since tolls were introduced on the Port Mann Bridge. He said the statistics compared January to April 2014 to January to April 2013.
“Truck traffic is actually down on the Pattullo Bridge by about five per cent, and it is actually up by one-half per cent on the Port Mann Bridge. The continuous claims from some in New Westminster that there has been this massive increase in truck traffic on the Pattullo Bridge, as I have been saying all along, it’s not true. That has not materialized,” Stone told The Record. “The numbers are the numbers. They tell the story.”
Jim Lowrie, the city’s director of engineering, said preliminary data shows that traffic on Royal Avenue (between Second and Third streets) dropped 9.21 per cent to 26,336 vehicles in April 2014, compared to 29,008 in April 2013. During that same time period, tractor/semi-trailer traffic dropped by 23.97 per cent and total trucks dropped by 18.3 per cent.
Coun. Jonathan Cote said truck traffic was down on Royal Avenue in April, likely due to the opening of South Fraser Perimeter Road. He pointed out that the number of heavy trucks on Royal Avenue is still 10 to 20 per cent higher than in mid-2012, which was before tolls were introduced on the Port Mann Bridge.
