You win some, you lose some. But let’s hope for New Westminster’s sake the recent Bailey bridge loss doesn’t signal a trend.
The battle over replacing the Bailey bridge with a two-lane crossing in the Braid industrial area is now over. The arbitrator came down on Coquitlam’s side and New West has no choice but to get on with the rebuild and anticipate additional traffic woes.
The arbitrator did not give a written report, and we, like city politicos, are left wondering what was the most persuasive argument presented by Coquitlam.
Surely the arbitrator did not buy Coquitlam’s premise that the route was necessary for quick access to Royal Columbian Hospital in case of emergencies. Two lanes will not eliminate the potential of being stuck for up to 20 minutes at the train tracks. What may have lost the argument for New West is that there are simply few ways that any city or municipality can justify blocking the ever-increasing flood of commuter traffic in the Lower Mainland. The “it will make life more difficult for our residents” argument just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Traffic, like water, will find a way. Whether it is through neighbourhoods or industrial areas, it is hard to hold it back. The unfortunate fact of the Braid Street Bailey bridge battle is that the route is a natural collector for commercial traffic from the warehouses and small commercial enterprises that operate in that area. It’s always been a struggle for them to manage the one-lane rickety bridge and the railroad tracks. But they managed. Now with two lanes, commuters will see the route as a viable alternative or shortcut and it will become just as congested as the one-lane was – if not more congested.
The only bright spot in the new arrangement is the fact that there will be a pedestrian path and bike lane. While the area isn’t exactly Stanley Park, the creek is home to otters and waterfowl and perhaps someone will step up and adopt the neglected waterway as an environmental project.
