One of the most pressing issues on the provincial political scene is the potential expansion of the Pattullo Bridge.
Candidates vying for the New Westminster riding are divided on whether widening the bridge to six lanes would be a benefit or a burden for the community.
Conservative candidate Paul Forseth suggests having more choices for commuting throughout the Lower Mainland would be the best option, and a bigger bridge would help to grow the provincial economy.
"Bridges, rail and roads are what the economy runs on," he said. "We do need a new Pattullo Bridge, and it's not just for New Westminster and North Surrey; this bridge is for the province, to improve the whole provincial economy."
Forseth said he believes the concern about local traffic would be mitigated by an engineering plan that would consider the increase in the number of vehicles commuting through the city on a daily basis.
Hector Bremner, who announced his intention last year to run for the Liberals in the New West riding, said while it is important for New Westminster to be a "strong community partner in the GVRD," he is unsure a bridge expansion would be helpful for locals.
"We want to make sure that New Westminster isn't being paved over to benefit the growth of other communities," he said.
"We want to protect and defend the health of our community. You know, safety is at risk here. We don't want truck routes necessarily going by our schools, and air quality is a major issue. There's got to be a long and robust conversation about this."
Bremner said careful consideration needs to be given that New Westminster is a densely populated city, and rerouting increased traffic may not be such an easy feat.
The problem of traffic congestion is already an issue in New Westminster, with about 450,000 vehicles travelling through the city on a daily basis.
NDP candidate Judy Darcy agreed with both the Liberal and Conservative candidates that more discussion is needed on this issue.
She said she is concerned about livability and the safety of residents, should the expansion go ahead, and suggested more options should be given in regards to the bridge project, whether that includes no expansion, a new bridge further upstream or downstream from the current infrastructure, or another com-muting option altogether.
"I don't think there's a consensus in the community about what the right solution is exactly," she said. "But what there is a consensus about is, it just isn't sustainable to keep pushing more and more traffic and more and more truck traffic through an area that's already congested. I think people want real solutions, and they want to be truly listened to and consulted about this."
