Car pool, transit better than twinning Port Mann, group claims

[rt_0891]

Car pool, transit better than twinning Port Mann, group claims
Citizens Concerned with Highway Expansion worried increased traffic will negatively affect their neighbourhood

Krisendra Bisetty Sound Off
Vancouver Sun

Monday, April 11, 2005

More than 60 per cent of motorists using the Port Mann bridge travel alone and steps should be taken to get them into public transit or car pools rather than twinning the bridge and widening the Trans-Canada Highway to ease congestion, says a group opposing the government's multi-million-dollar expansion plan.

The group says while the proposed expansion of the highway and bridge will alleviate congestion in the short term, the experience of other North American metropolitan areas is that congestion will be worse in the long term as more people take to the highways.

Members of the east-Vancouver-based group, called Citizens Concerned with Highway Expansion, are concerned that increased traffic will negatively affect their neighbourhood.

"This community should be vibrant, but when there's so many cars, the noise, the exhaust fumes and pollution, it makes it an unhealthy and unpleasant place to be," David Fields, a spokesman for the group, said in an interview Sunday.

"This is by no means a NIMBY [not in my back yard] issue but a regional issue. Other neighbourhoods stand to experience the same problem."

The provincial government is pushing ahead with the expansion despite lack of public consultation or presentation of its plan, said Fields, adding there's a dearth of information available on the merits of the expansion.

Which is why the group set out to find out just who the majority of road users are, using physical traffic counts on the Surrey side of the Port Mann bridge during peak weekday periods in March to gauge volume and usage.

On one such count on the morning of Wednesday, March 9, the group said it counted 935 vehicles heading west in a 15-minute period (3,740 per hour), of which an average of 64.7 per cent were single-occupancy vehicles and an average of 12 per cent were commercial vehicles.

On Wednesday, March 16, there were 4,880 eastbound vehicles in peak afternoon traffic, of which an average of 72.6 per cent were single occupancy vehicles.

On a Saturday, Feb. 26 count of westbound traffic, there were was an average of 28-per-cent single-occupancy vehicles.

Fields, who calls himself an "environmental campaigner" who is in-between jobs, admits the survey was a very basic one. But he says it still shows that if half these drivers can be taken out of their vehicles and put into public transit, it will ease traffic considerably.

"Right now there is no public buses that cross the Port Mann bridge," he said, adding that public transit to and from Vancouver and communities east of the bridge would help, as would car-pooling if there are incentives for commuting in groups.

"At the very heart of this is that the provincial government is not willing to consult with the community and has not even presented a plan for the highway expansion so we don't know what the province is thinking.

"There's no dialogue between the GVRD [Greater Vancouver Regional District] and the province. If there is, there will be an opportunity for us to look at alternatives," Fields said.

Apart from twinning the Port Mann bridge and adding two lanes to the Trans-Canada Highway from Langley to Vancouver, the government's so-called Gateway Program, aimed at expanding the capacity of goods-moving corridors, calls for a new perimeter road along the south bank of the Fraser River, from Port Kells in Surrey to Deltaport Way near Tsawwassen and a perimeter road along the north bank of the Fraser from Maple Ridge through Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and New Westminster, including a new Pitt River bridge.

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said in a February interview with The Vancouver Sun that the $3-billion road-and-bridge-building plan is going ahead "full speed" with a $291-million initial allocation announced in February's budget.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[mr.x]

FUND PUBLIC TRANSIT!

its moronic to do this without detailed and length public consultation with local officials and public. its dead against the GVRD Livable Strategic Plan.



it would be suicide for Greater Vancouver and it may solve the problems in the short-term but in the long-term it will encourage more cars on the road meaning congestion will be back once again.

this just doesn't sound right. there must be a lot of backroom talking and perhaps, maybe even a scandal? why else would Falcon push it so much.....i don't think its to punish those who were against RAV. i hope he's fired.


like the article said, add in bus service across the Port Mann and expand rapid transit more out east. How about SkyTrain from King George to way out to Abbotsford and along with that, a lot more bus service. If Falcon has $3 billion to spend on highways and bridges along this Fraser River corridor here in the GVRD, he sure can spend billions on this.

[rt_0891]

Campbell promotes Port Mann Bridge expansion

Last Updated Apr 12 2005 03:32 PM PDT
CBC News

VANCOUVER – Premier Gordon Campbell says the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge is the key to solving transportation problems for many suburban commuters.

Speaking to the South Fraser Economic Forum in Surrey, Campbell said expanding the bridge will be an environmentally friendly move, as vehicles won't be stuck in congested traffic.

And he says it will also provide better transit and other alternatives to private vehicles.

"Twinning the Port Mann Bridge allows us to provide for public transit," he says."Twinning the Port Mann Bridge allows us to provide for cycling over the Port Mann."

The bridge expansion would be part of a $600-million freeway expansion from 200th Street in Langley to First Avenue in Vancouver.

The twinning has run into stiff opposition from the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which has asked the province to hold off on the project.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has said the increased traffic would turn his suburban community into a parking lot.

Meanwhile, Campbell also told the crowd that the South Fraser Perimeter Road which the municipality of Delta has been lobbying for, is too expensive for the province alone.

He said the road would cost $800 million, and that B.C. would need the federal government's help in order to build it.

Delta wants the new road, to keep heavy trucks out of residential neighbourhoods.

[mr.x]

^ Campbell as well?


ok, somebody should make this project an election issue to get this project off its feet!

[Westcoast604]

Twin the Port Mann! Its a mess. Try getting on the TCH at 152nd st, its pathetic. It doesnt matter how much they invest in Transit and Car Pooling, people will still want the privacy and convienence of their own vehicle. The only thing that will make people get out of their cars is with rapid transit, and I don't think there will be rapid transit throughout Surrey anytime soon.

[mr.x]

^ if the gov't can spend billions on this highway and bridge expansion, they can definetely spend billions on expanding rapid transit and transit in general in Surrey.

[Westcoast604]

I'm not one for widening of Freeways, but to be honest, we don't even have a freeway to begin with. Arterials are wider than that highway. At least bring it up to par of what it SHOULD be, and invest in transit at the same time. It has to be a joint effort on transit and roads. Cars are not going away its simple. The bridge only has 2 westbound lanes right now, that is hardly a decent goods-movement freeway and access point to the rest of Canada. WIDEN IT WIDEN IT WIDEN IT!

[Westcoast604]

^ They could spend it yes, but it wouldnt pay for itself because of the lack of density in Surrey = Not enough ridership.

[rt_0891]

BC Gateway plan: http://www.gatewayprogram.bc.ca/

Video: http://events.onlinebroadcasting.com...mentum_400.asx

Map: http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/Gateway_Map_Jan05.pdf

lol @ the 2 lanes:

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Westcoast604

I'm not one for widening of Freeways, but to be honest, we don't even have a freeway to begin with. Arterials are wider than that highway. At least bring it up to par of what it SHOULD be, and invest in transit at the same time. It has to be a joint effort on transit and roads. Cars are not going away its simple. The bridge only has 2 westbound lanes right now, that is hardly a decent goods-movement freeway and access point to the rest of Canada. WIDEN IT WIDEN IT WIDEN IT!

then this project should be the last of its type for this region.

[ssiguy2]

I strongly endorse transit expansion BUT..................I must admit I strongly am in favour of twinning the PortMann. There will be one lane each direction for carpool. That would allow commuter buses and carpoolers to speed into the city.
The road is horribly busy and near the bridge itself, down right dangerous. Sometimes coming into Vancouver from Chilliwack it would be very busy and slow going from Abbotsford and backed up from Langley in the middle of the day.
My brother and I were on the Surrey/152nd onramp and it took 20minutes to get onto the TCH mid-day on a Sunday. It really is absurd.
I don't agree with a lot of highways but some are simply mandatory. The amount of money it costs Vancouver each year due to congestion is estimated at 2.5billion.
Twin the PortMann and 8lanes to 200th then HOV to Chilliwack.
Its the ONLY major highway construction I agree with in the LowerMainland {except rail overpasses for safety, or any other road safety upgrades} but I strongly endorse it.

[zonie]

No need to twin it. Just add another lane each way for trucks - elevated with a maglev link and a tube-enclosed, air-conditioned bike/rollerskating/skateboarding/etc. path between the lanes. Oh, and don't forget the green roof. That'll be the ticket - no less than the ticket to highway success.

[*Jarrod]

i think that they should twin it because traffic is only going to get worse, but i believe that they should also expand skytrain further into surrey, because i think that they need it...

just my 2 cents...

[mr.x]

I don't agree with a lot of highways but some are simply mandatory. The amount of money it costs Vancouver each year due to congestion is estimated at 2.5billion.

its actually $1.5 billion.

if the Port of Vancouver was open at night when there's no congestion as suppose to during the day when there is, there wouldn't be this lost in the economy.

[Westcoast604]

The city needs a freeway into it. The TCH is not a freeway. Once we get a Freeway, then objections to widening it would be relevant.

[sukh]

Im glad the provincial government is not consulting with these nature loving fools, who will always oppose something that is proposed. Widen it!

[crazyjoeda]

The TC should be the biggest highway in Vancouver but the street 3 blocks from my house has more lanes, its a joke. Funding Transit is essential but so is having a desent highway. The amount of pollution coming from those cars just parked on that excuse for a highway for hours is discusting. If I travel west (Against the Rush) during the afternoon rush hour I travel at 40K (if im moving) towards the bridge!

Not widening the highway would be just plain stupid!

[EastVanGuy]

i think that it should be twinned/widened. Hopefully translink will introduce some new bus routes that utilize the HOV lanes (like those buses that come from the White Rock/Delta area)

[crazyjoeda]

Skytrain basicly mirrors HWY 1.

[ssiguy2]

I think that seeing the twinning is a go for all intensive purposes, the GVRD should DEMAND that part of the cost be 20 or 30 commuter buses to take the HOV to Downtown/Lougheed/Broadway SkyTrain