Dear Editor:
I have been reading and compiling some comments regarding the building of a six-lane Pattullo Bridge, such as:
1. Trains are better than the trucks/car spewing pollutants in our air. All parties - federal, municipal, provincial and TransLink - should sit down to discuss how to solve traffic, pollution and so on.
2. Surrey, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Vancouver have ganged up against New Westminster.
In my opinion, they not only ganged up on us but it was an insidious attack on New Westminster. Why? Because we are smaller in population?
I checked the Internet and found out that as of 2011, the approximate population of Surrey is 1,126,800; Burnaby is 216,336; Coquitlam is 120,512; Vancouver is 611,869 and New West is 65,976. See the differences? Is it because we are much smaller that they can just trample on us and shove down our throats what they want without any respect for what we want?
3. There were several proposals for six lanes where two of them will be dedicated to trucks. The other four lanes will be for cars to and from New West and Surrey.
Where do you think drivers who will be avoiding the Port Mann Bridge when they toll it will end up? What do you think will happen to the traffic in and out of New Westminster?
Rehabilitate the Pattullo Bridge to give it more life, and it will cost less. Personally, I do not like driving over the Pattullo, not because it is old, but because of the lunatic and maniac drivers who do not have any respect for the law. If there are accidents, please do not blame the Pattullo, because it does not move. I have been tailgated many times because I followed the speed limit.
4. I personally appreciate people who come back to New Westminster to do some business here. However, there are about 450,000 who pass through New West. What is the percentage who pass through and come back to do some business in New West?
5. It has been pointed out that there are other connectors between cities. Why is New Westminster being singled out to be the connector with them? Again, is it because we are smaller than the other cities?
All forms of government and the residents should work together to arrive at an amicable consensus to promote growth of all communities economically, ecologically, and so on. No city should be burdened with taking the brunt of traffic, pollution, safety and livability. We live in a democratic, not a dictatorial, society. Also, residents of New Westminster are living and breathing human beings and should not be used as sacrificial lambs for the sake of growth of other communities.
Catalina P. Trinidad, New Westminster
