New Westminster denies allegations by Surrey councillors that it’s putting up roadblocks to replace the Pattullo Bridge.
City officials went on the defensive Wednesday after some media outlets reported that the consultation process being undertaken by TransLink and the cities of New Westminster and Surrey had hit a snag because New Westminster doesn’t support the options still being pondered for replacing the Pattullo.
“The City of New Westminster continues to be an active participant in the collaborative Pattullo Bridge review process that is scheduled to move to the next stage of public consultation in early 2014,” Mayor Wayne Wright said in a press release. “Our position has been consistent, and that is that a thorough review of all six remaining options must be undertaken before a final decision is made on this important project.”
Surrey councillor Barinder Rasode told the Surrey NOW that “the consultation process has come to a halt” because the option of refurbishing the existing bridge is no longer one of the options TransLink is exploring.
“That information that went out from Surrey isn’t accurate at all. In fact, it is full of errors,” Wright told The Record. “TransLink wasn’t part of it that I know of. No one from TransLink has even called about it. There is some confusion, and maybe the hopes and dreams that some people want.”
Surrey may prefer a six-lane bridge, but the public is still being consulted about its preference, Wright said.
In response to comments made by Surrey councillors, the City of New Westminster has written to TransLink and Surrey expressing surprise at the suggestion that New Westminster has halted consultation on the Pattullo Bridge review process.
Bob Paddon, executive vice president of strategic planning and public affairs for TransLink, said thejoint review team is continuing to evaluate a number of alternatives agreed by participants in the June 2013 consultation.
“They’ve made good progress, but are not yet ready to finalize recommendations on which alternatives should move forward and which should not be further evaluated,” he said in a statement to The Record. “The partners are continuing the review and aim to present their work and recommendations to the public for review early in 2014.”
According to Paddon, the partners in the review team – Surrey, New Westminster, TransLink and Coquitlam – have some overlapping and some distinct interests and objectives, which is why they all agreed to this joint review to determine solutions that work for communities on either side of the bridge and the region.
“We’re making good progress and aim to present our work to date early in the new year,” he said.
TransLink, New Westminster and Surrey teamed up on a strategic review of 25 options for replacement or rehabilitation of the aging Pattullo, ultimately short-listing those to six requiring further study. The six options included: a rehabilitated three-lane bridge; a rehabilitated four-lane bridge; a new four-lane bridge; a new five-lane bridge; a new six-lane bridge; and a new four-lane Surrey-Coquitlam crossing with a rehabilitated three-lane Pattullo.
Surrey council Tom Gill, chair of Surrey’s transportation and infrastructure committee, told the Surrey NOW that New Westminster has asked for the plans to be reviewed numerous times, and “if they continue to delay and filibuster to the end” TransLink may have no choice than to put some significant investment into the existing bridge.
“That’s not our way. We negotiate,” Wright said. “Sometimes its takes people more time to understand what our wants are, what our needs are.”
Given New Westminster’s transportation infrastructure, Wright said a six-lane bridge would add to the existing congestion on city streets and cause problems for commuters.
“It doesn’t make any sense at this point. Where would they go?” he said. “That is our position at this point.”
While some Surrey councillors support a new six-lane crossing, Wright prefers the option of retaining the existing Pattullo Bridge as two- or three-lane crossing for cars and building a new crossing from Surrey to Coquitlam to accommodate trucks and commuters who are only passing through New Westminster so they can get to the Tri-Cities or Surrey.
“It makes sense,” he said. “Those plans have been on the drawing board for years and years and years.”
Although that option could take some traffic off the new Port Mann Bridge in the short-term, Wright said transportation planning needs to look at future needs.
“We are not talking about the next 20 years, we are talking about the next 100 years. If they are bringing in a million more people, where do you think those people are going to go?” he said of communities with growing populations. “The biggest place growing is Surrey. I would assume a lot of those jobs and stuff are going to be going across to the Tri-Cities and the Valley.”
According to the City of New Westminster, the six options being considered are scheduled to be presented to the public during Phase 2 of the public engagement process, which is scheduled for early 2014.
“New Westminster is experiencing severe traffic impact with over 400,000 vehicle movements through our city each day and things have gotten worse with the opening of the new tolled Port Mann Bridge. That’s not good for the environment and it’s counterproductive to the regional movement of goods, not to mention the negative impact on livability in New Westminster,” Wright said. “It should come as no surprise that our community is concerned about the consequences of adding even more traffic to our roads.”
New Westminster has informed TransLink and Surrey that it believes there is insufficient information on the options to enable meaningful public engagement to occur at the present time, and has asked that further details be provided in preparation for the second stage of public consultation.
“The Pattullo Bridge replacement/rehabilitation project is a significant expenditure of public dollars,” said Wright. “It is critical that we get it right.”
