Dear Editor:
Re: City pushes to have truck routes removed, The Record, April 11.
In response to the city's plan to move truck traffic off Royal and East Eighth Avenue to "the perimeters," as outlined in your story.
I am thinking West End residents will be rather unimpressed with heavy truck traffic on 10th Avenue. How will we access our homes before and after work if 10th is bumper to bumper with huge trucks? What about the houses all along 10th Avenue, will they want to put up with the rattle and rumble? Nobody should have to.
Please note that 10th Avenue is residential, completely, east and west, except for three schools (shared between New West and Burnaby: NWSS, Byrne Creek Secondary and Our Lady of Mercy). There is one small shopping mall in the Crest.
Remember a school kid was struck by a vehicle on 10th Avenue at Eighth Street a few years back. Plus, in the West End, 10th Avenue is only two lanes and cannot be widened to four. It will clog up immediately with trucks wanting to access Southridge Drive and Marine Way.
Worse, it could dump even more traffic on the rush hour parking lot that is known as 20th Street.You cannot expect truck traffic to use 10th Avenue instead of four-lane traffic routes?
Also, in terms of getting trucks off East Eighth: great idea! But make it all of Eighth, OK? Eighth Avenue is totally residential throughout the city, not just on East Eighth, with an elementary school on it in the West End (Lord Tweedsmuir) and another enormous school uptown (New West Secondary). About 1,500 students walk, bike or commute across that road every school day.
I see large trucks using Eighth from time to time, I even saw one bumping along 11th Street to turn precariously right onto Eighth on Monday morning, March 31st. If it isn't illegal for large trucks to use West Eighth, it should be.
The traffic plan has to be that freight and cargo trucks stay away from all residential areas and any main roads kids have to use to get to school. No cutting through our city, go to the perimeter route of Front, Stewardson and Marine Way to get to Burnaby.
Too inconvenient? I think not. Much better to drive around than to put our health and our schoolkids at risk.
Patty Holmes, New Westminster
