Dear Editor:
Re: New West residents divided on truck ban, The Record, Aug. 1.
In the article by Theresa McManus, the following was written:
“Not everyone supports the city’s position, with Dave Lundy being among those who believe TransLink made the right decision. In a comment posted on The Record’s Facebook page, he expressed concern that the city is ‘talking out of both sides of their mouth’ on the issue, as it’s allowed off-dock container yards to open in Queensborough but still voices concerns about increased truck traffic in the city.”
I constantly hear people complaining about the amount of truck traffic going through New Westminster and it being an election year, I see that our politicians are once again using the trucks as “whipping boys” for what ails New Westminster. I thought I would take some time to explain my position and also to perhaps explain where these trucks are coming from and going to and why some trucks use the Pattullo Bridge instead of the tolled Port Mann.
In fact, New Westminster city staff and council have allowed a huge expansion of warehousing and distribution centres in the Queensborough area. There are two “off dock container facilities” (one on Boyd Street and one on Ewen Avenue) a massive distribution centre behind the Loews store, the Queensborough Logistics Centre on Duncan (with another distribution centre under construction on the same site.)
I am an hourly paid company driver who hauls containers throughout the Lower Mainland, including to the two “off dock facilities” and to the Queensborough Logistics Centre as well as other facilities across the Lower Mainland. Along with others, we deliver containers from the four container docks in the Lower Mainland, Vanterm, Centerm, Deltaport and Fraser Surrey Docks to places like Queensborough Logistics, who then unload the marine containers and load railway Intermodal containers (mainly 53-foot containers) with the goods. This is called “cross docking.” Something prior to trucking I also used to do.
The two railways, CP and CN, truck their empty intermodal containers either from their facilities in Pitt Meadows and the North foot of 176th Street respectively, or from other rail customers who they delivered to. Then they take the loaded containers back to the respective rail terminals to be shipped across Canada. Between the rail containers and the marine containers, there is a lot of truck traffic generated by an operation such as the one in Queensborough.
I don’t know why or how come city staff, council or the mayor wouldn’t have known this. It’s kind of like Field of Dreams build a big distribution centre for major Canadian retailers, and “they will come” by the truckload. Plus collect taxes and licensing revenue from these businesses as well. So you have the city complaining about all the trucks going through New West on the one hand, while on the other collecting taxes and fees from businesses operating in Queensborough, which are bringing those trucks into and out of New West. As a truck driver, as well as a citizen of New Westminster, this is aggravating to say the least.
As for why trucks use the Pattullo Bridge, well shippers do not want to pay the toll for the Port Mann Bridge. And the driver and owner operator isn’t going to pay for the toll out of their pocket on behalf of either their employer or the shipper. And as for East Eighth Avenue, when I’m coming from Port Coquitlam in the morning, I use the Pattullo when I’m accessing the South Fraser Perimeter Road to head west. after 7 a.m. when its legal to use it. (From 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. both East Eighth and Royal avenues are restricted to trucks, meaning they can’t use those routes).
A lot of the time its faster to use East Eighth Avenue to access the Pattullo than to sit in the traffic on Columbia Street waiting to use the on-ramp. It should be noted that the congestion on the on-ramp is more often than not cars, not always trucks. But as always, it all depends on traffic, not just truck traffic.
I hope that this will help people understand where my “both sides of their mouths” thinking is coming from.
Dave Lundy, New Westminster
