http://www.southdeltaleader.com/news/182452471.html
NDP supports Massey Tunnel replacement
New Democrat Party transportation critic Harry Bains dismisses the province's announcement of plans to replace the Massey Tunnel as a vague and unfunded "electioneering" ploy. However, the Surrey-Newton MLA said he wouldn't call off the consultation and planning process if the NDP is elected next spring, agreeing the tunnel is a key Lower Mainland choke point.
"There is a need to have that crossing improved," he said. "It is a main trading corridor to the United States. You can't afford to have trucks lined up in that area." Tolls on the Port Mann and perhaps later a replaced Pattullo Bridge may mean even more traffic trying to use the tunnel, he noted.
Bains said government must also be mindful the Lower Mainland will grow by another million people, most of them settling south of the Fraser. "You have to look ahead and say 'how are we going to move those people and the goods that are going to serve them south of the Fraser?' "
A replaced tunnel could also be a source of new jobs and economic growth in Surrey and North Delta, he said, allowing larger container ships now limited by draft to head further up river to the under-utilized Fraser Surrey Docks, instead of Vancouver terminals. "If we have an opportunity to move those containers closer to their destination, can you imagine all the trucks you will be removing off Vancouver streets and off those crossings of the river?"
Whether the tunnel must be replaced or can be fixed instead would depend on further engineering advice, he said. The big challenge for the next government, he said, will be juggling priorities in the face of limited resources.
Besides the need to replace two Fraser River crossings, there's multi-billion-dollar demands for new rapid transit extensions in Surrey and down the Broadway corridor in Vancouver toward UBC. There's a need to upgrade SkyTrain stations and boost bus service throughout the region.
Better transit has to be the top priority, he said, along with TransLink's need for long-term sustainable funding. The NDP promises to raise corporate taxes – cut to offset the carbon tax – back to 2008 levels.
That would free up about $400 million a year for provincial transportation projects, Bains said. Government would earmark a portion of that for the Lower Mainland, while area mayors would be expected to agree on how they will raise more money from residents.
"I'm willing to sit down with them and look at all options."