Dear Editor:
I guess I am missing something regarding the problem of the Pattullo Bridge. As I see it, the bridge is not the problem; it's the entry and exit that poses the problem. It's the gridlock on our city streets. It's ironic that the new Port Mann Bridge that was to alleviate traffic problems has now just moved them to the Pattullo Bridge and New Westminster. Why did no one foresee that the high tolls would just exacerbate the problem?
Where is the foresight, and why do we only deal with these issues when we have gridlock, increased pollution and coming health problems? Where have senior governments and TransLink been? How is it that the governments can put over $1 billion into the South Perimeter Road so that trucks can get to the port facilities but are short of dough when it comes to alleviating this crucial issue in our city, where we are approaching 500,000 cars and trucks a day using our residential and secondary roads as a main corridor?
We need a comprehensive traffic plan, not just a decision on the size of the Patullo Bridge. As things are now, the traffic jams in New Westminster are ruining the livability of the city. Where is the overall traffic plan?
We know from the lessons of L.A. and so many other cities that building more and bigger highway systems will only bring more and more traffic. As I see it, we have enough traffic engineers and planners to put forward a comprehensive plan, which should, as a priority, include more and better transit and iron out an acceptable way of paying for it. This is not space science - we are not asking anyone to reinvent the wheel.
Further to this, why should a section of the population be penalized with tolls on our highway system when they are forced to live in outlying areas for reasons of availability and affordability?
Again, I ask, what is new? Where does it go or what is going to change with a new four-lane bridge with tolls - similar to the bridge and tolls that were there in 1936 when the Pattullo Bridge first opened 78 years ago. It looks more and more as though TransLink et al are a repetition of the gang that can't shoot straight.
Bill Zander, New Westminster
