Quote:
Originally Posted by BCPhil
I went to one of the open houses last week, and came away with the impression that this consultation is all a big circle jerk to show Joe Q Public that they "listen" and "consider" the "alternatives", but they are really just intent on building the 6 lane replacement bridge.
It will take a public uprising for them to build the Coquitlam-Surrey Bridge.
In the Surrey open house I went to there were a lot of people from the Bridgeview and surrounding area of Surrey concerned about the placement of the Coquitlam-Surrey bridge and the effect new roads and approaches would have on their neighborhood (as they are very sensitive to anything right now because they feel the NFPR is harming their part of town).
There was an engineer from New Westminster that expressed New Westminsters concerns about the replacement idea. He spoke quite elegantly that adding more lanes to the bridge without improvements to the roads in New Westminster isn't going to help the situation. That is why they are dead set against the 8 Lane bridge idea, and a little for the Coquitlam-Surrey bridge as it would divert traffic away from the over busy roads in New West.
Another point of the guy from New West was they are concerned of the cost on their city to maintain the roads in New Westminster if more traffic comes off the bridge. They are already exacerbated that they have to pay to maintain their roads that are being damaged by people just driving through their city, and are worried about the damage more traffic would cause to city streets.
Which leads to one of his biggest frustrations. New West is being given "pieces of a puzzle" (his words) without the promise of all the pieces.
That is why they opposed the United Blvd Overpass. He says it is just a piece of the NFPR and there is no promise to follow through on the whole thing, or even a plan on how the United Overpass would interface or work with a proposed NFPR or the new Bridge.
New West is frustrated by not being given a complete solution.
And so am I. I want a new bridge, but I also want to be able to get out of New Westminster without driving in bumper to bumper traffic through residential neighborhoods and through school zones.
I would really like a new 6 lane bridge. But the roads in New West need major improvement. They need the NFPR.
Which is why at this moment I sort of favor the Coquitlam-Surrey bridge. It would offer a direct connection between Hwy 1 and the SFPR and King Geroge, much like the GEB/GEW is a direct connection between Lougheed and Hwy 1 and Hwy 15/14. And it would still leave a 3 lane bridge behind to offer a direct town center to town center connection (Which could be replaced down the road if need be).
But a large new Pattullo could also offer direct connections to the region if the NFPR is built at the same time. It would be a more central connection and alleviate problems existing in New West, but only with improved roads, which at this point they are not committing to. It's taken 25 years to remove a traffic light on the freeway, who knows how long it would take to build a major road.
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Talk to New West then. They're the block when it comes to any major infrastructure improvement on that side of the river. They have declared the stance that they oppose any road expansion anywhere in their borders. That's what you're fighting against.
As for the notion they don't have enough information, that's a load of bull. They may not agree with that information or the information regarding the Patullo, but to say they are missing pieces is a crock. I have seen what kind of information the cities and council receive directly or through Metro Vancouver, and while this engineer may not have all the pieces, New Westminster knows what is going on. They have the reports, the studies, the information.
As I said they simply have a "no road expansion" stance so anything be it NFPR, Patullo bridge, Braid Street Bridge, or Columbia Street @ Brunnette Ave expansion is a NO without any consideration of the facts or realities that their (and the entire region's) population is increasing so when your population increases and you expand _0_ roads, you will get more traffic.
You can't wave a wand at all the cars and yell "please go away!" and expect it to happen.
I still take the stance New West should get as much stance and say as their population percentage within the region. They have 13% of the population of Surrey so should get 13% of the say compared to Surrey. Heck they should get 50% the say of Coquitlam. This is a democracy where majority rules right?
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