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New Westminster trustee opposes six-lane bridge

Trustee David Phelan wants the board of education to formally oppose a six-lane Pattullo Bridge proposal, which he believes would increase traffic in the city.

Trustee David Phelan wants the board of education to formally oppose a six-lane Pattullo Bridge proposal, which he believes would increase traffic in the city.

Phelan sent out a press release Wednesday about his plan to make a motion to against expansion at the board's next meeting on May 22.

"I think any replacement of the Pattullo Bridge that increases vehicle traffic in New West is going to have harmful consequences for our students," Phelan said in the release.

A bridge expansion would result in more danger for students as they travel to and from school, lead to a deterioration of air quality and have negative impacts on neighbourhoods, Phelan wrote.

"For the health and safety of our students, we have a responsibility to take a position on this issue," he said. "We need to look at a wide range of strategies that promote either maintaining or reducing the level of traffic passing through New Westminster. The decisions we make now are going to impact our schools and our city for generations."

Phelan and fellow trustee Jonina Campbell recently wrote a letter to the editor outlining their concerns and stating their opposition to any bridge expansion. They are among a number of local residents who are concerned about the negative impact of the bridge expansion on the city.

The issue has been a hot topic locally since TransLink began considering construction of a new Pattullo Bridge. TransLink has presented four alignments of a six-lane bridge near the existing bridge for the public's consideration.

The City of New Westminster held two forums about its master transportation, which included discussions about the bridge expansion, earlier this month and roughly 320 people attended the two sessions. Most of those people turned up to discuss and hear about the bridge-expansion plans.