The majority of New Westminster residents believe the Pattullo Bridge should connect New Westminster to Surrey but shouldn't be viewed as a regional transportation link.
As part of the City of New Westminster's master transportation plan, questionnaires have been circulated about residents' wishes for the Pattullo Bridge. A staff report presented to city council on Monday included the following highlights from the questionnaires:
? There is strong agreement with the city's policy of working toward no new added capacity for through vehicle traffic in New Westminster.
? There is strong support for pedestrian and bicycle connections between New Westminster and Surrey.
? There is not support for truck priority lanes on a new Pattullo Bridge, but there is support for some form of restriction or ban on commercial traffic.
? There is strong support for discouraging additional traffic, followed by reducing noise and support for improving city streets.
? There is strong support for tolling on the Pattullo Bridge.
According to a staff report to council, respondents to the survey believe that the Pattullo Bride should function as a local connection between communities on either side of the Fraser River, rather than as a regional link.
While there is "strong opposition" to TransLink's proposal to replace the Pattullo Bridge with anew six-lane crossing in close proximity to the existing location, public opinion "is quite evenly divided" on other options identified by the city. These options include building a four-lane bridge near the exiting location, demolishing the Pattullo Bridge and not replacing it with another crossing; replacing the Pattullo Bridge with a crossing at Sapperton Bar; demolishing the Pattullo Bridge and replacing it with a crossing outside of New Westminster (such as Tree Island).
