BC's Gateway Program

[hkskyline]

Roads to the future: Vancouver's mayor warns that municipalities won't put up with B.C. transportation minister's 'bullying' to ease traffic congestion
William Boei
Vancouver Sun
8 June 2005

B.C.'s most monumental highway-building project since the days of Social Credit premier W.A.C. Bennett will be unveiled in August.

It's called the Gateway Program and it promises to be one of the Lower Mainland's most volatile political issues for years.

Indeed, whether and how the Gateway Program is built will shape the future of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley for decades to come. Some say for better, others for worse.

Everyone agrees that Greater Vancouver has a serious traffic problem that is slowing the movement of goods and commuters to a crawl, and that something has to be done.

-

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, the man behind the project and a champion of Surrey's right to control its own growth -- there is a connection -- says it will be built.

Falcon said a long-awaited project definition report that nails down exactly what the government wants to build is due in August. It will constitute the starting gun for the next round of project planning, consultation and, of course, politics.

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell mutters that if the Liberals build this project over municipal objections, they had better enjoy the next four years because they won't be in office after that.

Campbell did not say whether he personally plans to climb the ladder to provincial politics to enforce his verdict.

Gordon Price, a former Vancouver city councillor and a close ally of Premier Gordon Campbell when he was mayor of Vancouver in the 1980s and helping shape the region's planning priorities, says the Gateway Program signals a 180-degree turnaround from those priorities.

- rice, who now lectures and consults on urban planning, has joined the Livable Region Coalition to oppose the Gateway Program which, he says, means giving up Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to the automobile, and to urban sprawl.

-

The Gateway Program is a grand plan for solving Greater Vancouver's major traffic problems -- especially the highway congestion that is slowing goods-moving trucks in and out of the region's ports but also the ever-slower highway commutes between parts of the region -- in a single, multi-billion-dollar stroke.

It includes:
- The twinning of the Port Mann Bridge.
- Widening the Trans-Canada Highway from Langley to Vancouver.
- A new four-lane South Fraser Perimeter Road.
- A new North Fraser Perimeter Road.

It appeared on the provincial agenda several years ago and appeared to be a wish list for the region's ports and transportation industries, which estimate the economic cost of goods languishing in backed-up traffic has reached $1.5 billion a year. It did not have much of a profile.

Last year it fell into place with an audible click, like the last piece in a big jigsaw puzzle. Some of the other parts:

For three decades or so, the Greater Vancouver Regional District has tried to encourage development in town centres strung along transit routes, especially in the northeast quadrant of the region.

The idea was to prevent sprawl, preserve green space and farm land, and encourage compact development, jobs located near homes and travel by transit.

Its success has been limited. Growth did occur along the route of the proposed northeast rapid transit line. But south of the Fraser, Surrey and others were often criticized for approving office parks and subdivisions in places unforeseen by the regional plan, at densities difficult to serve by road and impossible by transit.

With population growth came increasing political clout for Surrey, and resentment of what was perceived as pious prattling by smug Vancouverites.

The provincial election of 2001 and the municipal elections of 2002 changed everything.

The Liberals turfed the NDP out of office, Gordon Campbell became premier and Falcon, the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, emerged as a force in cabinet. In 2002, new municipal councils sent delegates to regional bodies who handed the influential chairs of the district and TransLink boards, both long held by Vancouver, to Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt and Mayor Doug McCallum.

TransLink switched priorities and the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver line vaulted to the top of the agenda, ahead of northeast rapid transit.

There were bloodbaths at TransLink board meetings as some directors held out for different routes and cheaper technology. Twice, they voted against the RAV Line, and Falcon threatened to take back the province's $450-million contribution. He had a better place to spend it.

That's how the Gateway Program got on the table.

-

The RAV Line was resurrected on the third vote, but Falcon wouldn't put the Gateway Program back on the shelf.

If we want to deal seriously with congestion we have to build it, he insisted Tuesday.

"I have to make decisions based on the reality of growth in this region, not on the basis of a model which many municipalities aren't even following or adhering to, and which hasn't been updated -- the Livable Region Plan," Falcon said.

"The reality of what's happening is that Surrey is the fastest-growing city in the province, and within the next 10 to 15 years will be larger in population than Vancouver.

"The Port Mann Bridge is the most congested corridor in the Lower Mainland, in fact, in the entire province. Nothing else comes close. You can't ignore that."

-

For Gordon Price, a member of several centre-right Vancouver city councils who favours "sustainable" planning, alarm bells are ringing.

"Why are they locking us into a form of development that everyone acknowledges doesn't work?" he asks, referring to studies that show other cities have invariably failed to build their way out congestion.

The studies show new road capacity fills up, often quickly. The result is the same level of congestion but with more vehicles on bigger roads and therefore, more air pollution.

"It creates a way of life that even to the people who are going to live [in Surrey and the southern Fraser Valley] will be expensive, frustrating and will take us in the directions that everyone acknowledges we don't want to go," Price said.

"Once you've spent that three to five billion dollars and you've clearly said, 'We are building an automobile and truck future,' there isn't much left to talk about."

He argues that freeways that are meant to bypass congestion attract the very type of development that creates congestion -- big-box stores, shopping malls, theatre complexes and the like -- and the roads quickly fill with cars making short trips from one parking lot to another.

- rice also wonders about suggestions -- by Falcon and others -- that there might be tolls on lanes for high-occupancy vehicles or trucks on the twinned Port Mann Bridge.

There's only one reason anyone would pay tolls to drive in a special lane, he says: the other lanes are congested. That's not a good signal to send before the project is built.

Ultimately, Price thinks Campbell has to have the last word.

"I think the premier will really have to clarify what he believes the future of the Lower Mainland is. That's the stakes we're really talking about."

-

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell takes a similar tack.

"We know we have to have roads built to move goods from the port and from the airport onto the highway and wherever they're going," Campbell said Tuesday from Montreal. "But twinning the Port Mann is just not on, period. It makes no sense at all."

Campbell says he'd rather run light rail all the way from Chilliwack into the SkyTrain system. "That would take cars off the road, which then would allow trucks that have to be on the road more opportunity to get from Point A to Point B."

If the province insists on building the project it probably can, he said, but not without a fight.

"Municipalities are not going to put up with bullying from Minister Falcon, and that's what this really is.

"It's my intention to talk to the premier about it. There's no sense in talking to Minister Falcon."

-

Falcon said the blustering doesn't bother him.

He's used to municipal politicians who want to "cherry-pick" projects and just have the parts built that they have a stake in.

"Doing one piece of the puzzle isn't adequate. We have to move forward with all of the pieces."

He said the government won't be dropping the South Fraser Perimeter Road off the program, even though it has been signalling recently that the road now depends on new federal funding.

Falcon did not disagree that there is federal money up for grabs and B.C. wants a piece of it; the perimeter road is a good candidate because it will be moving goods from federal port facilities. The road will still be built if the federal money doesn't materialize, he said, but it might take a little longer.

Falcon reiterated that he's on the side of the angels when it comes to development.

"You cannot build your way out of congestion," he said. "I am a strong adherent of that philosophy."

He promised that the government will not only twin the Port Mann, it will also study "how to get people out of their cars and into other options."

That might mean putting transit over the new Port Mann, dedicated lanes for commercial vehicles and "a whole range of demand management approaches to traffic, so we don't just build and expect that's going to solve the problem."

He's not worried about opposition to the plan, he said, because that's "the reality of the Lower Mainland. No matter what you plan on doing, you will always have opposition."

-

Some of the opposition will come from New Westminster, where city councillor Chuck Puchmayr is the new NDP MLA.

- uchmayr agrees Greater Vancouver needs to free up truck traffic, and he thinks the South Fraser Perimeter Road will do the job. It would take pressure off the Port Mann, give trucks easy access to the Alex Fraser Bridge, the Knight Street corridor and Richmond, and eliminate some of the cross-town traffic that now ties up downtown New Westminster.

Twinning the Port Mann and widening the Trans-Canada, however, will just open the floodgates to more traffic, which will create rebound congestion, which will further foul the region's air, Puchmayr said.

"People as far east as Hope are sometimes instructed to stay indoors because of the poor air quality. Are we going to double the volume of single occupancy vehicles in that corridor and sacrifice the health of people living in that airshed?"

- uchmayr said the government should stop insisting it's going to build the project before it has even started public consultations.

"I'm hoping they will listen to the opposition, listen to the communities and work towards achieving something that works for everyone."

- - -

In the search for consensus, Port Mann Bridge is the bottleneck

The Port Mann bridge defines the centre of the Gateway Program. Its main components and the flashpoints of debate are described.

- ORTH FRASER PERIMETER ROAD : Critics fear this project could induce many more motorists to take their cars instead of transit. Aimed primarily at moving goods, it includes a new bridge over the Pitt River which would expand a traffic artery in the booming northeast. The road would run from the Queensborough Bridge in New Westminster to Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

SOUTH FRASER PERIMETER ROAD: The only part of the Gateway Program that pretty well everyone agrees should be built. The four-lane road would join Delta Port and Surrey-Fraser docks to the Trans-Canada south of the Port Mann Bridge, aimed primarily at the movement of goods.

- ORT MANN BRIDGE, HIGHWAY 1: The bridge would be twinned with a four-lane bridge for a total of eight bridge lanes. The highway would have two lanes added from Langley to Vancouver for a total of eight.

[Westcoast604]

The Port Mann will have capacity for 10 lanes, as there are 5 on the existing bridge, and the second one will be the same. I believe it will be 8 lanes between Vancouver & 104th Ave/152nd in Surrey and then 6 lanes to 200th St in Langley, then down to 4 lanes from there east.

I cant wait till they make the proposal public later this summer!

[mr.x]

Getting down to building it
It will be the most expensive transportation project ever done in the Lower Mainland

Brad Badelt
Vancouver Sun


Thursday, June 09, 2005

As far as mega-projects go, few rival the Gateway Program. With an expected price tag of nearly $3 billion -- or about $1,500 for every area resident -- it will be the most expensive transportation project ever done in the Lower Mainland.

By comparison, the improvements to the Sea to Sky Highway from West Vancouver to Whistler are expected to cost $600 million.

The provincially backed program is being viewed by its advocates as the engineering mega-solution to traffic congestion in the Lower Mainland.

It includes the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and widening the Trans-Canada Highway by two lanes from Langley to Vancouver, a distance of 33 kilometres; an improved, 17-km perimeter road along the north side of the Fraser River; and a new four-lane highway along the south side of the Fraser.

- - -

Doug Proudfoot, executive director of the Gateway Program, said the highway improvements are crucial for moving goods to and from the Lower Mainland's ports and international border crossings, which are also slated for multi-million-dollar improvements.

In sizing up the task ahead, engineers have been calculating travel times using a sophisticated computer model, based on population growth and future traffic flow patterns.

"That's been a huge part of the work that we've been doing for the last little while," Proudfoot said.

About 20 people are working out of the Gateway Program office, Proudfoot said. Delcan Engineering, an international firm with a Vancouver office, is the primary engineering consultant. CH2M Hill has been hired for technical advice and Acres International is doing environmental assessments.

"It's a very large and complex task," Proudfoot said. "We've been working on the planning and development aspects for about a year and a half now."

But so far there is no firm time line for completing the Gateway projects.

"There's a four- to five-year construction horizon," Proudfoot said. "And that's once we're through the community consultation and the environmental assessments and the procurement process."

- - -

The program will generate up to 15,000 person-years of employment through design and construction, said Proudfoot.

But recent reports by the Canada West Foundation, the B.C. Business Council and the B.C. Federation of Labour have warned of an impending shortage of skilled labourers.

"There's no doubt we're in an unprecedented period of construction in Vancouver, and B.C. generally," said Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association.

Sashaw said 40,000 new people have joined the construction industry in the last eight months alone but there has still been an increase in construction costs.

"There has been some upward pressure on construction costs over the last eight months to a year," Sashaw said. "But I'm sure the people who are putting the projects out are aware of that and will factoring that into budgets."

Proudfoot doesn't expect a labour shortage to be a major problem.

"It isn't really an issue," Proudfoot said. "Any party, any contractor, will have to guarantee the supply of workers, that will be a key element in determining the scope and timing of the project."

Proudfoot added the Gateway Program is working with other provincial projects, such as the Sea to Sky highway, to avoid bidding wars over the same contractors.

The Gateway projects could also be fighting for construction materials. The South Fraser Perimeter Road alone will require more than one million metric tonnes of gravel -- more than a large gravel pit produces in a year. The widening of 33 kilometres along the Trans-Canada Highway will likely have similar requirements.

"At this point, we haven't heard of any shortages in terms of gravel or concrete. And the availability of steel seems to have rectified itself," Sashaw said. "But we fully expect there will be spot shortages here and there, and the industry will have to address those."

Concrete and steel prices have increased sharply in recent years, but Proudfoot said the increases been taken into account in the projected $3-billion budget.

- - -

On the funding front, so far the project has been allocated only $291 million. The money -- provided in this spring's provincial budget -- is being used for traffic studies, designs and public consultation, said Proudfoot.

One revenue source being considered is toll roads, one of the more contentious aspects of the Gateway Program.

Proudfoot said tolling is being modelled for both the Trans-Canada Highway and the eastern section of the South Fraser Perimeter Road. Tolls are considered a potential means of controlling traffic demand, as well as generating revenue. Toll fees have yet to be determined, said Proudfoot.

- - -

Twinning the Port Mann Bridge and widening the Trans-Canada Highway is projected to cut 20 minutes off a Langley-to-Vancouver trip. Similarly, the South Fraser Perimeter Road will speed up trips between the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 99 by 15 minutes. (There is no estimate yet as to how much the North Fraser Perimeter Road will improve travel time.)

Not surprisingly, it's a problem that will only get worse. By 2021, the Lower Mainland population is expected to increase by 1 million. Truck traffic alone will increase by 50 per cent, according to the B.C. Trucking Association.

bbadelt@png.canwest.com

ANATOMY OF A TRANSPORTATION OVERHAUL: SCALE, FUNCTION, REALITY:

Although many details of the Gateway program remain unknown, the scale of the building project is becoming clearer.

MAKING IT HAPPEN WILL REQUIRE PROVINCE, NATION -- AND INDIVIDUALS

REVENUE SOURCES

Homeowners, motorists and senior levels of government can expect to be tapped to fund Gateway's construction and operations.

- Estimated cost of $3 billion.

- Current funding of $291 million from provincial budget.

- Toll roads are being considered for the Trans-Canada / Port Mann corridor and the eastern section of the South Fraser Perimeter Road.

- Public consultation on the South Fraser Perimeter Road began last spring, but has since been shelved due to lack of money.

- Transport Minister Kevin Falcon is appealing for federal funding, particularly for the South Fraser Perimeter Road.

GETTING PHYSICAL: THREE MAIN PROJECTS

PORT MANN CROSSING

The existing bridge would be twinned, providing a total of eight lanes over the Fraser River. Two lanes would be added to the Trans-Canada from Langley to Vancouver, a distance of 33 kilometres. Up to 10 highway interchanges would be reconstructed and travel time would be reduced by up to 20 minutes.

SOUTH FRASER PERIMETER ROAD

A new four-lane, 80 km/h road from Deltaport Way in Delta to the proposed Golden Ears Bridge, a distance of 40 kilometres. Several new interchanges would be constructed. Connecting Deltaport and Surrey Fraser Docks to the regions major highways, the road would be used primarily for goods transport. Travel time between the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 99 would be reduced by 15 minutes.

NORTH FRASER PERIMETER ROAD

The road would run 17 kilometres from the Queensborough Bridge in New Westminster to the proposed Golden Ears Bridge in Pitt Meadows, primarily serving goods transport. The road would include a new six-lane bridge over the Pitt River and an interchange at Mary Hill Bypass and Lougheed Highway.There is no estimate for travel-time reduction.

BUILDING IT WILL REQUIRE MANY SKILLED TRADES

Jobs:

- An estimated 10-15,000 worker-years of employment directly related to the project.

- 40,000 new people have entered B.C.'s construction industry in the last eight months.

- Despite that influx, B.C. still faces a serious shortage of skilled labourers that could drive up construction prices.

- Pre-Olympic construction is expected to peak in 2008.

Materials:

- An estimated 300,000 metric tonnes of asphalt and one million metric tonnes of gravel for the 40-kilometre-long South Fraser Perimeter Road.

KNOWING HOW TO BUILD AN OVERPASS IS JUST ONE OF MANY CHALLENGES

The Gateway project has many components, including the construction of several new overpasses and the reconstruction of all the interchanges along Highway 1 between Langley and Vancouver.

To give some idea of the scope of such an ambitious project, consider one example of an overpass project that was recently completed in the Lower Mainland: the 200th Street interchange at Highway 1 in Langley.

It officially opened last September after more than a decade of planning, consultation, construction and delays.

The process of bringing the long-awaited interchange to completion could be a smaller-scale example of what's to come with the Gateway program as it begins to move forward.

Township of Langley transportation engineer Paul Cordeiro worked on the 200th Street project and provided the accompanying guide to the complex process from start to finish.

Stage 1: Planning

- Planning for the project initially began in 1986, but was not looked at seriously until several years later.

- In the mid-'90s, traffic studies were done by the province, and some design concepts developed.

- In 1999, the province and township decided on a preferred concept for the overpass design.

- Concept was put to engineering and developer partnerships for bidding. The interchange was a public-private partnership, something still under consideration for Gateway.

- Three bids were received and after review the township and province decided contractor BA Blacktop would get the contract.

Stage 2: Engineering

- Initially, more time was required to work on the detailed design for the project.

- The contractor's plan was different from the preferred design concept, so further studies had to be done.

- According to designer Buckland and Taylor Bridge Engineering, the six-lane overpass consists of a post-tensioned concrete slab over two spans of 22 metres each. According to B&T, "To accommodate curved access, the unusual overpass is bow-tie shape in plan. The slab is seated at the top of abutment walls at both ends."

- A safety study was done by ICBC and more traffic studies were completed, resulting in delays.

- Environmental studies also had to be completed.

Stage 3: Public Consultation

- Public consultation occurred throughout the planning and engineering stages.

- The project involved part of the land being developed for retail use, so the neighbourhood had to be consulted on what would be allowed.

- In open houses on the design of the interchange, residents raised concerns about an increase of stoplights in the design -- from one signal in the old overpass to four in the new design.

Stage 4: Construction

- Construction finally began in 2001.

- The original design was for a four-lane overpass, but after construction began the design was expanded to six lanes, causing delays and increased costs.

- Through the years of construction, three different phases of detours and rerouting traffic were implemented as parts of the project were completed.

- At a final cost of $34 million, the interchange became fully operational in August 2004

-- Jennifer Miller, Vancouver Sun

jmiller@png.canwest.com

ON THE STREET:

We wanted to check on general awareness of the Gateway Program and asked regular commuters what they know about it.

"What my understanding is that they're looking at a range of different projects, like new highways, expanded highways, additional transit initiatives, that kind of thing -- but I don't know the specifics."

Shawn Hall

Communications manager, commutes from Cloverdale to downtown Vancouver

"Nothing really. I know there is a lot of road work going on, which doesn't help the traffic situation. They need to improve public transportation. I would consider taking public transportation if it was a little better."

Ricky Gruetz

Interior designer, commutes from North Delta to downtown Vancouver

"I just know about the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge. I live close to the Pattullo Bridge and I know that during rush hour it can get backed up quite far. I think [expanding highways] is a never-ending cycle."

Kenny Wong

Architectural technologist, takes SkyTrain from Surrey to downtown Vancouver

"I've heard they want to make a highway and I don't like that. I don't think making space for more cars is the solution. I do agree that there has to be some other way to come into the city than by car. I'd rather have people keep looking for another solution than compromise for the people living around [East First Avenue]. I come from Montreal, and I know how big [highways] can become."

Kamaja Phaneuf, elementary teaching assistant, resident on East 2nd Avenue and Commercial Drive

Ran with fact boxes "On the Street" and "Anatomy of aTransportation", which have been appended to the end of the story.;Second in a three-part series

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[ssiguy2]

I agree with the Gateway program. Highway #1 simply has to be expanded, it is too slow and near the PortMann down right dangerous.
The South and North perimeter roads are also neccesarry for goods transport, especially to the DeltaPort.
I beleive in strong public transit but roads are also a reality. Also has to do with where the money goes. RAV is going to be $1.74bil for 70,000 passengers of which only 30,000 are expected to be new. If they would had stop all the tunneling where not needed it would cost half that and use the other half for a Commuter rail to Langley from Downtown like WCE.

[Haber]

Could someone get a map to show where these highways would be going?

[Guerrero]

Last page of this pdf has a map on the routing.

[URL=http://www.gov.bc.ca/bcgov/content/docs/@2OJE_0YQtuW/Gateway.pdf]

[Nouvellecosse]

I think the increase in road capacity is a good idea, but there definitly needs to be tolling for non-commercial vehicles to keep all the new capacity from being eaten up by commuters. I also wonder if it would be possible to have a commercial only corridor to service the port - one that was paid for by both business and the government. Has this ever been done anywhere?

[ssiguy2]

Much of the traffic from Langley/Surrey on HWY#1 westbound is Vancouver city. They should have a Commuter rail from Downtown to Langley.
Stions at Broadway, Lougheed, ScottRoad for SkyTrain connections and then down to Langley via Newton, Cloverdale.
Makes sence to me as the rail line and ROW ia alrady there.
it would carry a lot more passengers than the WCE as most of the commuters would be on the OTHER side of the Frazer re:bridge.

[mr.x]

Credits for article, queetz.


You can name new LRT line

By Janis Cleugh
The Tri-City News
Jun 11 2005

Want to ride the Golden Spike Line? How about the Terry Fox Train?

TransLink is looking for a catchy name for the planned Coquitlam-Port Moody rapid transit alignment and is offering prizes to the winner of the naming contest.

Spokesperson Ken Hardie said the regional transportation body is looking for a moniker that would reflect the spirit of the community.

"We need to, as much as possible, build it into the local personality," he said. The purpose of naming the line serves to locate the rapid transit service, just as the Expo line, the Millennium line and the RAV (soon to be "Canada" line) do, Hardie said.

The contest, which is open to Tri-City residents, kicks off Thursday at 10 a.m. at Coquitlam Centre mall.

Coquitlam Mayor Jon Kingsbury said he hasn't got a moniker in mind, but suggests, perhaps, a First Nations-inspired title.
"I think it'll be really interesting to see what kind of response we get from the public," he said.

A TransLink committee will make its decision in August.
Hardie invited the public to attend the kick-off and to see and make comments on the proposed designs for the project. "We want people to look at the new service as though they bought a new house and now they get to chose the colour of the carpet and the kind of countertops, cabinets and faucets," Hardie said. "The decisions that we can make now can make a huge difference in how well it integrates into the community."

The $800-million rapid transit line, from Lougheed Mall through Port Moody to Coquitlam Town Centre, is expected to begin operation in late 2009.

[Natelox]

There's only one reason anyone would pay tolls to drive in a special lane, he says: the other lanes are congested. That's not a good signal to send before the project is built.

Truth.

[Haber]

I do not like the idea of building more highways through urban areas. I don't like this plan at all. It is going against everything Vancouver has done right up until now.

[rt_0891]

Festival-goers oppose highway plan

The Province

June 20, 2005

Despite a Commercial Drive festival filled with street-hockey games, slow-roasting eats and carnival performers, it was an information booth on the expansion of Highway 1 that stole the show yesterday.

"People have to begin to roar out loud to make sure this thing is stopped," area resident Gordon Louis said of the plan to twin the Port Mann Bridge and widen Highway 1 to allow traffic to flow faster from Langley to Vancouver.

Thousands came out to enjoy the eight-block festival, organized to give people a taste of a motorist-free neighbourhood.

Eric Doherty of the Citizens Concerned with Highway Expansion said hundreds of people signed his organization's petition to stop the highway. "The government has no idea about the fight they have on their hands," Doherty, 40, said. "The local people will never ever put up with this. People are freaking out when they hear about it."

Earlier this month, the government warned that the province will go ahead with its $1.4-billion plan regardless of opposition by some municipalities.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

[rt_0891]

Coming to a neighbourhood near you: Traffic
For GVRD drivers, congestion isn't going away anytime soon

William Boei Sound Off
Vancouver Sun

June 20, 2005

Placing bets on where Greater Vancouver's next paralysing traffic bottleneck will pop up?

It could be east Vancouver, where a twinned Port Mann Bridge and an expanded Trans-Canada Highway are expected to deposit thousands of additional vehicles with no easy way to downtown Vancouver.

But don't lose sight of the Massey Tunnel, which carries Highway 99 traffic under the south arm of the Fraser River between Delta and Richmond and is already notorious for its rush-hour congestion.

Vancouver Port Authority plans for a major expansion of its Deltaport container port which, combined with a provincial plan to build a new four-lane truck route along the south shore of the Fraser River, will send thousands more vehicles heading north to the tunnel.

"We are either going to have much longer lines of traffic waiting, or they're going to have to make some arrangements to have either a new bridge or additional lanes in the tunnel," said Delta Mayor Lois Jackson.

A better south arm crossing is on many wish lists, but didn't make it onto the current agendas of TransLink and the provincial government, which are committed to multi-billion-dollar highway, bridge and transit projects past 2010.

The Gateway Program -- twinning the Port Mann Bridge, widening the Trans-Canada Highway and building north and south Fraser perimeter roads -- is the current priority.

"But further improvements at the tunnel and north of the tunnel would be contemplated as part of our ongoing programs," said Gateway executive director Mike Proudfoot.

- - -

The South Fraser Perimeter Road is the furthest advanced of the Gateway projects and has left a paper trail going back to 1998.

The documents paint a picture of a road desperately needed to connect industrial and transportation facilities to other highways and bridges, but potentially controversial as it plows through fertile farmland; skirts the edges of Burns Bog; crosses 70 streams, runs past nesting grounds of eagles, herons, owls and several threatened species; rids residents along River Road of noisy truck traffic while it chews up parts of their communities; and bulldozes over archeological sites and through a Surrey subdivision to join up with the Trans-Canada Highway and the new Golden Ears Bridge.

The road "would link primary economic gateway facilities" such as Deltaport, the Fraser Surrey Docks, CN's intermodal yard, Canada-U.S. border crossings, the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, the industrial areas of North Delta, Surrey and Langley, including Tilbury, Annacis Island and Port Kells, and indirectly the Vancouver International Airport. It will connect Highways 1, 15, 17, 91 and 99 and the Golden Ears Bridge, creating a new menu of options for truck drivers and commuters.

It will cut close to Arthur Abt's neighbourhood, and he's not sure yet whether that will mean paradise lost or regained.

Abt, a retired artist, considers himself "a useful 69," meaning he's in pretty good shape for his age and trying to stay that way by taking daily walks, mostly along River Road.

He has lived for nearly four decades near the Annieville area, the oldest neighbourhood in Delta, clustered along the dike-top road by the river between the Alex Fraser Bridge and north Surrey.

When it's quiet, it's an idyllic place with lush greenery, bird songs and river views.

"It would be paradise here, it would really be paradise if only that confounding truck traffic ..." Abt doesn't finish his sentence.

He has counted 45 trucks going by during a four-block walk along River Road. One day in April, he counted 240 trucks passing in an hour. "This is in a residential area, on a two-lane road.

"The worst thing is the persistent use of engine brakes," Abt said. "The trucks, even empty trucks, use the jake-brake and that's an annoying, aggravating noise. Unless you've lived through it, you just don't know."

In the past, Abt has called for traffic to be rerouted from River Road to Scott Road. Now he's hoping the South Fraser Perimeter Road gets rid of the trucks.

But much depends on exactly where it is built. At the moment, Proudfoot said, plans call for the road to pass Annieville on the river side, beside the CN Rail tracks. But there's not a lot of space there for a four-lane highway.

Abt worries they'll raise the highway on concrete pillars to near the level of the dike-top. "Then the noise and the fumes and everything else would affect us almost as bad."

Delta senior planner Rosemary Zelinka said in a document the highway should reduce noise in Annieville and nearby Sunbury, but about 40 homes would likely have to be acquired to make room for the road.

"Obviously," she said, "the affected property owners in these areas are likely to be very upset."

- - -

Just before it gets to Annieville, the highway will run over two major archeological sites -- St. Mungo and the Glenrose Cannery site. Both are middens that go back about 9,000 years, shortly after the last Ice Age.

Zelinka recommended some excavation and monitoring should be done during highway construction.

"Both intact and disturbed cultural deposits, including human remains, are likely to be found," she said in a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office.

Jackson said there is discussion of just paving over the sites, leaving them intact for closer examination by future generations.

Past Annieville and into Surrey, the highway will terminate in an area south of Barnston Island where trucks can join the Trans-Canada or cross the Golden Ears toll bridge.

But first it will have to traverse Fraser Heights, a prosperous subdivision in northwest Surrey.

"In Fraser Heights, this road will box in a community of approximately 3,500 houses, create noise that cannot be mitigated, create air and visual pollution and drastically impact the quality of life for the residents," Rob Langford of the Fraser Heights Community Association told a pre-design environmental review.

Preliminary plans, Langford said, showed the new road's right of way "running through the yards of many houses either in the process of being built or just recently completed."

We find out in December, when Proudfoot expects to file an application for environmental approval that includes final details of the road's alignment, which problems have been solved peacefully and which ones lead to more fights.

One of the lively ones could be in the southwest corner of Delta, where Highway 17 now feeds traffic from Deltaport and the ferry terminal onto Highway 99.

The port is pushing for a series of expansions predicted to increase the number of container trucks loading and unloading from 1,800 a day to 4,200. If current patterns hold, 40 per cent or more will head up Highway 99 to the Massey Tunnel.

The Tsawwassen First Nation is thought to be planning with the port to create a 650-hectare container and truck-storage facility on what is now prime farmland, which would be "a devastating loss to the ecosystem," according to Gillian Anderson of the B.C. Great Blue Heron Society.

The container port has already turned a vital tidal bay into "a stagnant lagoon," Anderson said. "The port is poised to deliver a death-blow to the estuary."

The Boundary Bay Conservation Committee said the perimeter highway shouldn't go ahead at all at least until it's known whether the container port expansion proceeds.

"It seems as if we are to lose our rural attributes to blacktop and smog simply for containers to roll over us to Europe, America, Eastern Canada and the rest of the Lower Mainland," the Boundary Bay group said.

- - -

Highway 17 will need more capacity when Deltaport expands and the new perimeter highway funnels in traffic from the rest of the region.

The official options are to beef up Highway 17 along its existing route, or move to one of two alternative alignments. The preferred option, a community consulting foray was told, is a realignment running east of the existing road. It was endorsed by 78.5 per cent of those consulted.

But it would run through prime farmland, firmly held in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Many of those endorsements, Mayor Jackson suggests, may have come from farmers and land owners seeing the chance of a lifetime to winkle it out of the ALR and vastly increase its dollar value.

"Let's be honest," Jackson said, "a lot of those farmers want to sell their farmland."

The problem with the alignment is that it could create a huge "doughnut" of farmland surrounded by highways, making access to the land difficult.

"The obvious next thing would be, 'We can't farm that, so we'll have to put a Wal-Mart on it or something.'

"We don't have a lot of this good farmland left," Jackson said. "It's being taken away in bits and pieces. Pretty soon we'll have it paved from Point Roberts to New Westminster."

- - -

Early maps show the new highway skirting the western and northern edges of Burns Bog, but Proudfoot says the unique peat bog -- sometimes referred to as the lungs of the region -- will be left untouched.

Two years ago, Andrew Robinson, with the federal environmental protection branch, wrote that branch officials had noted "at least two eagle nests within the proposed corridor."

Robinson said there should be more reviews, he said, and they should also look for resident owl populations.

Proudfoot said there's no question of encroaching on the bog. The Burns Bog Management Committee is in on the planning.

Meanwhile there will be consultations. The Gateway Program is not only working closely with the Environmental Assessment Office but it has also been talking to residents for several years.

bboei@png.canwest.com

[rt_0891]

Rush 'hour' now lasts five
Study underscores need to increase transit capacity, TransLink boss says

William Boei
Vancouver Sun

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Greater Vancouver's afternoon rush "hour" lasts nearly five hours now, almost an hour longer than in 1999, a survey of regional travel patterns has found.

The TransLink trip survey suggests the region's transportation system can't handle more growth in peak traffic loads, and it shows more people are travelling in off-peak periods to try to avoid the rush.

TransLink chairman and Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said Monday the study underscores a need to increase transit capacity. TransLink will vote Wednesday on a plan to accelerate the purchase of new buses and possibly new SkyTrain cars.

The study produced travel records for more than 11,000 individuals in nearly 5,000 households to paint a picture of regional travel patterns.

"The amount of travel has increased significantly, causing more congestion and delays to commuters," says the report by TransLink strategic planning and policy director Clive Rock.

"The rush hour periods are continuing to spread to other parts of the day.

"The typical p.m. rush hour period has increased by almost one hour from 1999 to 2004 and it now lasts close to five hours."

A graph in the report shows the afternoon rush now gets under way shortly after 1 p.m. and continues past 6 p.m. The morning rush has not spread out nearly as much and lasts from about 7 to 9 a.m.

The report doesn't make recommendations. It says the data should help with assessing the effectiveness of the region's transportation system, identifying emerging issues and helping with long-range planning.

It will be presented Wednesday to TransLink's board of directors with a recommendation to forward it to municipal governments, the regional district and the provincial and federal ministers of transportation.

The TransLink trip survey is conducted every five years.

From 1999 to 2004, the report says, the region's population grew by 5.9 per cent to 2.13 million with much of the growth in the outer suburbs.

The number of private vehicles rose by 12.5 per cent to 1.29 million -- 3.3 new vehicles per hour.

Employment rose by 13.4 per cent, with the growth also concentrated in the outer municipalities.

"With only a minimal increase in road space over the years, increased vehicle ownership together with population and job growth places enormous pressures on the region's transportation system," the report says.

The number of trips people make per day -- walking, cycling, driving and riding transit -- rose by 16.5 per cent over the five years to nearly 6.4 million trips per day.

Half of new office jobs created in the last 10 years have gone into office parks in the outer municipalities, the report says, while only seven per cent have gone into the region's designated growth centres.

"The predominant suburb-to-downtown commuting that some other cities experience no longer exists in this region, and has not for quite some time. Instead, people travel from everywhere to everywhere.

"The dispersed nature of trips is more difficult to serve by transit and will increase traffic congestion."

With total trips up 14.6 per cent to 6.4 million a day, more people are travelling between rush hours, the report says. The survey found 34.6 per cent of trips now occur between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Transit's share of daily trips grew from 10.3 per cent to 10.8 per cent.

While that's only half a percentage point, it represents an increase of 30 million "revenue rides" from 126 million in 1999 to 156 million last year.

"We're seeing huge increases in ridership," McCallum said. "It's certainly the largest [increase] in Canada and one of the largest in major cities in North America.

"We really need to accelerate the purchase of buses and SkyTrain cars."

Walking trips represented 11 per cent of the total and bicycling trips 1.7 per cent.

bboei@png.canwest.com

- - -

In 2004, afternoon rush hour in Greater Vancouver started just past one and didn't end until after six. That's a one-hour increase from five years before and nearly twice the 1994 duration.

Starts: Shortly after 1 p.m. Ends: After 6 p.m.

1999: 4 hours

1994: 2.5 hours

PEAK HOURS CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF A DECADE:

SITUATION IN 2004

Morning peak 8 a.m. 700,000 trips start per hour

Rush begins: 400,000+ trips start/hr

Afternoon peak 3 p.m. 600,000 trips start per hour

CHANGING SIZE OF P.M. PEAK, '94-'04

Expanded p.m. rush-hour detail at left shows how a decade ago, it took until well past 2 p.m. before afternoon rush hour

started. That is a point reached when more than 400,000-plus start their trips each hour.

SOME SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS FOR THE REGION'S COMMUTERS:

25.9%

Share of all trips made during p.m. peak

3.3

Extra vehicles registered in GVRD per hour, 1999 to 2004

1.29

Vehicles registered in Greater Vancouver region, 2004

600

Vehicles per 1,000 people in 2004

570

Vehicles per 1,000 in 1999 and 1994

Source: GVRD

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[mr.x]

Free-fare zone needed downtown: city report
Last updated Jun 23 2005 03:22 PM PDT
CBC News


CBC NEWS – A report prepared for Vancouver city council has recommended a series of sweeping changes, including the elimination of bus fares in the downtown core.

The Vancouver and UBC Transit Plan also calls for changes to the practice of charging more for short trips across existing transit zone boundaries.

LINK: City transit report (pdf) (Large 234-page file – 11.89 MB)

There's also a call for expanded bus service. The report says TransLink should establish new routes along 33rd Avenue, Cambie Street and Renfrew – from Hastings to McGill.

It also says bus lanes are needed along Broadway.

Vancouver city council will discuss the report at a public hearing next Wednesday, and decide whether the report should be endorsed and forwarded to TransLink.

Bus Riders Union spokesperson Beth Grayer welcome the suggestions of fare reductions, but says the politicians need to take the proposal further.

"While that's great, that we really do need free zones," she says. "What we need more than anything is either a free zone for the entire system or a lower fare that people can actually afford."

Grayer says the fare reductions could easily be paid for if TransLink scrapped the $1.7-billion RAV rapid-transit line between Richmond and Vancouver.

--------------------------------------------------

I think this is a great idea.

[Wonderwall]

Isn't the downtown core of Vancouver one of the richest parts of the region? Wouldn't it make more sense to give cheaper fares to those who need them? Mostly, though would this be payed for?

[mr.x]

Isn't the downtown core of Vancouver one of the richest parts of the region? Wouldn't it make more sense to give cheaper fares to those who need them? Mostly, though would this be payed for?

Downtown includes the 60,000 people who live in the West End. Remember that most of the people who live in downtown also work in downtown......and not everybody in the West End is rich, many are seniors.

Coal Harbour and Concord Pacific/Yaletown is a different story though.


From what I heard in the RAV topic in the transportation forum, Portland did this and it was a huge success.

[Westcoast604]

and not everybody in the West End is rich, many are seniors.



People who live in the West End arent typically rich at all, in fact I would say incomes are pretty average. Apartment prices may be high, but theres usually more people living per suite than what it was designed for.

[queetz@home]

Downtown includes the 60,000 people who live in the West End. Remember that most of the people who live in downtown also work in downtown......and not everybody in the West End is rich, many are seniors.

Coal Harbour and Concord Pacific/Yaletown is a different story though.


From what I heard in the RAV topic in the transportation forum, Portland did this and it was a huge success.

Portland also does not exactly submit to the whims of the creme de la creme that results in skyrocketing construction costs to our rail lines. Perhaps this is why our MAX LRT is heralded as one of the best in the continent for it is built based on sound planning, not politics. This can be seen in its extensiveness to reach more people, a large impact in rejuvinating run down neighborhoods, and has successfully created transit malls and transit oriented development.

Plus Portland does not exactly demand its suburbs to pay and subsidize transit improvements that only benefits the inner city. Given that Translink is a regional transportation authority, why should Vancouver have a free fare zone while other town centers in the GVRD does not? Perhaps if Vancouver were to form its own transit authority instead of relying on some poor shmoe in Maple Ridge to pay for a subway line that he will never use, then you can have a free fare zone all you like within your city boundaries.

[Haber]

I thought this thread was about the "Gateway Program"

[mr.x]

I thought this thread was about the "Gateway Program"

i didn't want to create a new topic just for this.

[mr.x]

Council to vote on fare-free downtown zone

Jennifer Miller
Vancouver Sun


June 24, 2005

City council will vote on recommendations for a complete review of transit fares and a fare-free zone for downtown Vancouver after a public hearing at city hall Wednesday evening.

The recommendations, made by city engineers, are over and above proposals in a draft plan for transit in Vancouver over the next five years. A fare review cannot be included in the plan because it would apply to all regions, not just Vancouver.

Called the Vancouver and UBC transit plan, it is a joint effort between the city and TransLink, with input from the Coast Mountain bus company, the University of B.C. and a public advisory committee. Part of the plan is to give buses more priority on city streets, and a pilot project is proposed for the Broadway corridor.

Any fare review or free travel would have to be approved by TransLink, whose officials have "shuddered" at the idea so far, said Coun. Fred Bass, who was on two advisory committees that contributed to the plan.

He said in an interview Thursday that letting riders travel for free downtown would help buses move faster because there would be no delays while people pay their fares.

It would also encourage more people to leave their cars at home instead of fighting for limited parking downtown, he said.

"If you can very efficiently move people short distances and you have a steady flow of people getting in and out of the buses, then in fact the overall payoff to the flow of the city...may be enormous."

The idea comes from other locations that offer free transit. Portland's "Fareless Square" includes most of downtown, and Belgium recently made commuter trains free.

The suggestions for a fare review include changes so people who cross zone boundaries even though they travel short distances wouldn't have to pay so much, said Bass, adding that he would also like to see an end to fare increases every few years.

The transit plan going to council Wednesday includes new strategies to reduce transit travel times for the busiest bus route in the city -- the Broadway corridor. Designated bus lanes, technology that adjusts the length of traffic lights to accommodate buses, and getting people on board faster are part of a proposed pilot project for the congested area.

"The system has become quite inefficient," said John Schnablegger, a city engineer and co-author of the transit plan report. There has been a decline in reliability and travel times, especially on Broadway, he said.

The No. 99 B-line and the No. 9 bus routes carry about 60,000 transit riders along Broadway every day -- and according to city projections, overall B-line boardings are expected to increase by 40 per cent over the next five years.

To help keep the buses moving along the thoroughfair, curb lanes should become designated for buses during rush hour, Schnablegger said. But he said he doesn't know how much this might improve travel times, since those lanes are already used mostly by transit vehicles.

"Between the No. 9 and the B-line service, I mean, they pretty well own those curb lanes," he said.

So far, there is no plan to remove parking in those lanes during off-peak hours, but it might be considered in the future as ridership continues to increase.

"If you're going to have a serious bus system...then you have to give priority to transit vehicles," said Bass. "It's very simple."

To help reduce waiting times at lights, technology on the B-line buses would extend a green light or turn a light green sooner so buses don't have to stop at intersections. This is already being used on Granville Street for the No. 98 B-line, said Schnablegger.

Getting riders on board faster is also expected to speed up travel times. The pilot project includes allowing passengers to get on through all doors, not just the front, and a proposal for new payment technology called smart-cards that would deduct fares electronically without passengers even having to take the card out of their pockets, he said.

All-door boarding is already taking place on the B-line because there are so many riders, but inspectors would be added to check fares and make the practice more formalized.

Parts of the Broadway project, such as keeping lights green for buses, could begin within a matter of weeks and the route is a "test ground" for other areas in the city that need help moving transit along, Schnablegger said. The transit plan identifies Hastings Street, 41st Avenue, Main Street and Burrard Street as other hot spots for delays.

jmiller@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[Wonderwall]

How decadently ironic; they propose to fix the system for people forced to pay multi-zone fares if they are only going a short distance, but simultaneously they create a fare-free zone (for people working in the higher-income jobs of the downtown core) -- recreating the same problem.

[rt_0891]

Upgrades to roads won't bring traffic flood
Falcon: Port Mann, Highway 1 project will have little impact on city, transportation minister says

:rant: :rant:

William Boei
Vancouver Sun

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Almost no new traffic will flow into Vancouver as a result of the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and the widening of the Trans-Canada Highway, Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said Monday.

Falcon dismissed fears that the extra highway capacity created by the provincial government's Gateway Program will bring new waves of traffic flooding from the suburbs into the city of Vancouver.

He said ministry studies indicate minimal impact on Vancouver from the project, and promised the studies will be made public in August or September when he releases details of the multi-billion-dollar plan for road and bridge building.

"There will be a very, very modest, almost insignificant increase of traffic into Vancouver," Falcon told The Vancouver Sun's editorial board.

What increase there is can be easily handled by improving traffic interchanges between the highway and local streets, he said.

The Gateway Program includes:

- Twinning the Port Mann Bridge -- the region's worst traffic bottleneck -- and adding two lanes to the highway from Langley to Vancouver. Falcon said that will cost $1.4 billion.

- Building the South Fraser Perimeter Road, a major truck route along the south shore of the Fraser River, for $800 million.

- Building the North Fraser Perimeter Road, a goods-moving route on the north shore of the Fraser, including a new Pitt River Bridge, for $400 million.

Some of the plan's harshest critics, including the mayors of Vancouver and Burnaby, planners and academics, green transportation advocates and east Vancouver community activists, fear the extra road capacity will be an inducement to drive for thousands of people who now keep their cars parked.

But Falcon cited traffic studies that show most vehicles that cross the Port Mann Bridge from south of the Fraser are heading for other suburbs. Only 27 per cent drive all the way to Vancouver, and that's expected to drop to 22 per cent by 2021.

Studies by TransLink, the regional transportation authority, show that because of population and office-park growth in Surrey and other municipalities, the traditional commute between Vancouver and the suburbs is being replaced by an unpredictable pattern of trips throughout the region.

Falcon said the government also intends to use transportation demand management measures to keep a grip on traffic volumes.

That may include charging tolls to cross the Port Mann, additional high-occupancy-vehicle lanes and dedicated lanes for commercial vehicles. There will also be public transit across the bridge, park-and-ride lots, "queue-jumping" priorities for transit and new bicycle lanes, he said.

"We're not just building it and letting people use it. That would just induce traffic."

bboei@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[Haber]

Instead of building those highways on the banks of the Fraser River, why don't they have a perimeter road around Surrey that connects HWY 1 with the expresssay that goes to the U.S. border? I think that would make a lot more sense since it wouldn't be cutting through built up areas.

[Wonderwall]

Highway 15 already takes truck traffic from Highway 1 to the border. It's not so much a highway as a two lane road - but it's being widened. The South Fraser perimeter road is for trucks to get to the deltaport. Maybe it will also make it easier to get to highway 1 from the ferry terminal - since highway 10 is total crap.

[Westcoast604]

The South Fraser Perimeter Road will connect HWY 1 to HWY 99, down near HWY 17 in Ladner. HWY 15 (Pacific HWY) is being widened to 4 lanes..still hardly a highway but it's better than the current farm road it is. Once completed it will be the easiest way to get to the border from HWY 1.

[Haber]

As for the Sea to Sky link, why don't they have a train shuttling passengers during the Olympics? I saw that as part of the Gateway Program they're planning on using that B.C. Rail line for one lane of car traffic. To me where's the sense in that???? It would be great to go to Whistler and not have to worry about driving there.

[mr.x]

As for the Sea to Sky link, why don't they have a train shuttling passengers during the Olympics? I saw that as part of the Gateway Program they're planning on using that B.C. Rail line for one lane of car traffic. To me where's the sense in that???? It would be great to go to Whistler and not have to worry about driving there.

No need to as ferries will be faster. VANOC is renting twenty 500-passenger high-speed-ferries. They will go from Canada Place and the new BC Ferries terminal at YVR to the new Squamish port. From Squamish, they will take a coach bus to Whistler.

[Wonderwall]

see belo.

[Wonderwall]

A while ago it was mentioned that it would cost 1.4 billion to upgrade the tracks to whistler for faster service. In spite of that, paving over train tracks for more cars does seem very north american.

A ferry terminal at YVR? Is it a BC Ferries ferry, or simply a ferry that operates in BC, à la Harbourlynx. And wait; if one ferry goes from Canada Place, why is there a need for a route from the airport? Doesn't the RAV line take you directly from the airport to the convention center?

[Sphynx]

I saw that as part of the Gateway Program they're planning on using that B.C. Rail line for one lane of car traffic. To me where's the sense in that???? It would be great to go to Whistler and not have to worry about driving there.

It's not part of the Gateway Program, just part of the Sea to Sky highway improvements. The rail line will only be used in the area around Porteau Bluffs where a third lane can't be added due to building constraints.

The purpose of the temporary paved rail lane is to permit 2 morning northbound lanes during the 2 week Olympics period, while the rail lane will be used for local southbound traffic, which will be led by a pilot car, providing temporary additional highway capacity.

[Westcoast604]

Double trouble?



EVAN SEAL/THE LEADER

Traffic studies have shown the Port Mann Bridge is congested for 13 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Unclogging this commuter chokepoint by twinning the crossing is a key component of the province's $1.4-billion Gateway program. Critics say it's a quick fix that will result in even more gridlock and increased urban sprawl.
By Jeff Nagel Black Press
Sep 28 2005

(Part I of a Leader series examining the province's $1.4-billion Gateway program, which will begin public consultations in the coming weeks)
Much like the Fraser River, the plan to double the Port Mann Bridge from five to 10 lanes divides the Lower Mainland.
To defenders, it's an essential move to remedy a critical but congested corridor and ensure trucks, goods and commuters can move, while opening up better transit and cycling access.
Opponents see a misguided scheme that won't work, will intensify congestion and urban sprawl, and shatter dreams to create a livable region.
Both sides will go head to head in the coming weeks when the province's Gateway program unveils its detailed vision and rationale and begins public consultations on the $1.4-billion plan to twin the bridge and widen Highway 1 from 1st Avenue to the edge of Langley.
It is certain to be a lightning rod for critics.
But transportation minister Kevin Falcon hopes it will be a chance to educate - and convert - many of them.
"We will have a public debate based on the facts," Falcon told The Leader. He maintains the twinning is going ahead - the issue is strictly how and when it's done.
Falcon no longer sets 2010 as his target date for opening the twinned bridge. He instead says his "most optimistic forecast" for a construction start is 2007 - with the span opening a few years later.
Among the skeptical are city councillors and mayors from Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Port Moody and Coquitlam. They, as well as the Greater Vancouver Regional District board, have all registered their concern or opposition.
The twinning may hand many municipal politicians a convenient platform to attack the province as local election campaigns shift into high gear.
Falcon says it's time for a little more sympathy for the suburbs south of the Fraser
"In Vancouver, there would be a revolution if they were having to put up with the kind of traffic congestion that people put up with every single day on that Port Mann Bridge," he said.
Traffic studies have found the bridge is congested for 13 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Gordon Price, a former Vancouver councillor and a transportation analyst, doesn't dispute the problem.
The key question he says Falcon and his officials must answer is how long it will take before a twinned Port Mann and Highway 1 rebuilds to its current volume.
"When do you expect your eight-lane road to be as congested as the current highway is now?" he asks. "The same day? Maybe it will be a year. Maybe it will be five years or 10 years. Tell us what your model says."
He and others fear it will clog up almost instantly, exposing the plan as one that only gave motorists false hope while devouring billions of dollars.
"The long-term outcome is people ending up even angrier than they are now," says Marion Town, executive director of Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST). "That's what will come and bite Mr. Falcon's project on the behind."
Without even factoring in the booming region's growth rate, Price says there are three main ways traffic will materialize to fill up the twinned bridge and widened highway soon after they open.
- People who take transit to avoid bridge congestion will be tempted back onto the roads
- Rush dodgers, commuters who drive sooner or later than peak periods, will return to their old habits if they believe there's room.
- Route-dodgers, drivers who now find a different route - other east-west connectors or bridges - could gravitate back to the Highway 1 corridor once it's twinned.
"Even without growth - which is brutal - the day you open that highway, you're going to fill it up," Price predicts.
Falcon said he takes that scenario very seriously.
"I share those concerns," he said.
"I in fact oppose the idea that you just build additional lanes and believe that's the answer. I have never said that. I've never agreed to that. And that's not what we're doing."
He said the pending Project Definition Report will prove much more is in the works to ensure the bridge doesn't reload with single-occupant vehicles. Tolling of the bridge is one plank of the strategy that, subject to public discussion, would help put the brakes on re-congestion, he said.
Also under consideration:
- Extending HOV lanes all the way to Langley, and possibly doubling existing HOV lanes
- Adding dedicated bike lanes that would connect to a regional cycling network
- Creating commercial lanes for all truck traffic
- Adding queue-jumping lanes for buses to pull out and pass traffic, allowing transit service to resume across the Port Mann
"Returning public transit across this corridor is very very important to me," Falcon said. "You cannot do it today. It's impossible because of the traffic congestion - no bus could ever keep a schedule."
Finding a solution that allows traffic to move is critical to goods movement, he said, or else business and commerce will be paralyzed.
A staggering 10,000 trucks a day cross the Port Mann and that's expected to grow as ports expand to handle burgeoning trade with China and India.
"We are looking at a potential 300 per cent increase in container traffic over the next 20 years," Falcon said. "Doing nothing means we are going to have absolute gridlock in terms of the movement of goods."
Price wants to see what the ministry's own research says about whether the plan will work. Tens of millions of dollars have already been spent on studies, but none have been released.
"The minister, we think, is obliged to open up that black box," he said.
BEST's Town agrees.
"We need to see them," she said. "I'm fairly certain their numbers are going to prove this isn't a reasonable solution."
Part II in Friday's Leader: Alternate solutions to congestion and the impact of Gateway on growth in the Fraser Valley.

[rt_0891]

B.C. may get $560m for Asian trade

Peter O'Neil
Vancouver Sun

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Prime Minister Paul Martin promised Friday a major federal effort to help Canada capitalize on booming growth in China and India -- a promise that officials say will likely include a $560-million down payment for "gateway" infrastructure in B.C. and the construction of a new Western Canadian-focused body to oversee federal spending.

The federal cabinet is currently considering a gateway package that includes $560 million to help B.C. build or improve road and rail transportation corridors linking Canada's economy to booming Asian markets through B.C.'s deep-sea ports.

The money will be coupled with "omnibus legislation" affecting several departments, including Transport Canada.

One proposed bill would create an advisory council to help Ottawa determine where the money will go. The council, called the Gateway Council, would be made up of federal and Western Canadian government officials, as well as business leaders, who will make sure the federal cash is being spent wisely.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell has already asked the Martin government for at least $2.5 billion over 10 years.

While the federal government is an enthusiastic proponent of the initiative, Martin has stressed that the project is national in nature, and therefore justifies B.C. getting a larger chunk of federal infrastructure cash.

"We're working with the government of British Columbia and, indeed, with the governments of all of the western provinces to take advantage of the fact that for Asia the closest major deep water ports, the closest major international airport in North America, are located here in British Columbia," he told 1,700 city and town politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities' convention.

"And more will be done as we seek to nurture and enhance the trade connection between Canada and Asia."

The gateway package was debated in cabinet Thursday, and will go to the domestic affairs committee next week for consideration and fine-tuning. The $560 million will likely be targeted at B.C. initiatives that can be launched immediately -- an important consideration given a pending election expected no later than early April.

WISH LIST

Some major elements that have been discussed as part of a western transportation makeover:

- Pitt River Bridge and North Fraser Perimeter Road.

- Railway line improvements.

- New overpasses to remove rail bottlenecks at Deltaport container terminal at Roberts Bank.

- A new South Fraser Perimeter Road, which would reduce gridlock in an area targeted by Liberals in the upcoming election.

- Twinning a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Rocky Mountains.

Ran with fact box "WISH LIST", which has been appended tothe end of the story.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[ssiguy2]

The SouthPerimetre Road is devinatly a go. Thats the one of the three of them that seems to be generally accepted.
The NorthPerimetre is a bit iffy. It has some detractors but something will be worked out.
In terms of the Gateway the only real point of contention is the PortMann twinning and the double widthening of the HWY#1. Thats where the battkeground really starts.
It basically is pitting people on the westside of the Fraser against the East.
It really doesn't help a lot of people from NuWest to Vancouver. The problem is that it will a lot more traffic into Burnaby and Vancouver who are the most opposed with NuWest.
The province of course wants it built regardless of what anybody wants.
It will be interesting to see how things develope. The province controls the HWYs but the cities and Translink the smaller inner city streets.
So Vancouver for example could totally cut off all traffic inbound from the FirstAve entry into the city which would back up the freeway and yet the province couldn't do a damn thing about it. Same thing goes for the very busy 12th Ave exit.
This could turn out to be a real battle.

[rt_0891]

They need a long term solution for all this. If Whistler and the Squamish area is to substain higher levels of tourism, it needs a direct commuter rail link from Vancouver. Ferries could work too (Van to Squamish), but they need fast ones (maybe like those hydrofoils that cut across Hong Kong and Macau).