If there's a no vote in transportation plebiscite, TransLink board should boost tolls on Golden Ears Bridge

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      This morning, Maple Ridge mayor Nicole Read went on CBC Radio's Early Edition to push for a no vote in the transit plebiscite.

      At the core of her argument was that her community on the eastern edge of the Lower Mainland doesn't get its fair share of transit.

      I can remember hearing similar complaints from politicians in the late 1990s when TransLink was created as a regional transportation authority.

      At that time, politicians on the board tried to mollify Maple Ridge and Langley by approving a costly six-lane tolled bridge across the Fraser River. It opened in 2009, replacing the Albion Ferry.

      The $808-million Golden Ears Bridge was a sop to Fraser Valley residents so that they would support transit and transportation infrastructure projects in other parts of the region.

      It spurred a real-estate boom in Maple Ridge, enriching many landowners. The rising population rise necessitated another major transportation project—a new $200-million Pitt River Bridge—that replaced swing bridges linking Port Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows. This helped Maple Ridge–bound residents get home more easily from the western part of the region.

      Maple Ridge mayor Nicole Read's community benefited from the $200-million Pitt River Bridge.

      The Golden Ears Bridge never generated sufficient tolls to cover the cost. Even with higher traffic volume last year, TransLink will still have to provide a $35-million annual subsidy, according to a 2014 article in the Surrey North Delta Leader.

      That means there's less money for transit and transportation in other parts of the region.

      Now, led by their mayor, many Maple Ridge residents are voting "no" in a plebiscite that might help ease congestion bottlenecks around the region and improve the movement of goods and services.

      If the no side wins, the first order of business for the TransLink board should be to increase the toll on the Golden Ears Bridge.

      Now, it's $3.05 to cross the bridge for those who've registered with TReO and $4.30 for unregistered motorists who pay as they go. The average toll per crossing in 2014 was $3.45.

      To break even with the same number of crossings, the toll would have needed to be about $6.70. A good start in addressing the subsidy would be for the TransLink board to jack up the Golden Ears toll to $5 per crossing if the plebiscite fails.

      Mayor Read should accept that there will no longer be subsidized rides for Maple Ridge residents if she's going deprive Surrey residents of three light-rail lines and thwart the transportation needs of students, seniors, and the poor in the rest of the region.

      Comments

      21 Comments

      Amanda

      May 25, 2015 at 9:26am

      It's not a question of "if" it's a foregone conclusion it's a No. Residents have gotten wise to negligent government and the mismanagement of Translink.

      One of the biggest problems with this vote is that Clark recently gave a tax break to the rich which would have covered translink's upgrade costs 10x over. Things like that don't fly with the population.

      Frank Bucholtz

      May 25, 2015 at 9:39am

      Funny, I always thought Charlie believed that mayors and TransLink should work together for the good of the whole region. That's why the proposed added sales tax would fund a tunnel along Broadway to replace the crowded 99 and 9 buses. Because Mayor Read of Maple Ridge dares to suggest a 'no' vote, the article says that regional politicians should start stabbing each other in the back instead of working together to benefit all transportation users in the entire region. The article was written to spur debate — good. But let's start to think rationally about what should happen if there's a 'no' vote or a 'yes' vote.

      SPY vs SPY

      May 25, 2015 at 9:52am

      For the Record - Vancouver does not have any Traffic Problems - Vancouver has Traffic Problems with all the Traffic from West Vancouver - North Vancouver - Surrey - Richmond - Langley and So On and So On.

      So to start with - A $5.00 per car Toll on Lions Gate Bridge and 2nd Narrows Bridge from 5:30 AM to 9:00 AM for all vehicle traffic heading into Vancouver!!

      Any one who drives into Vancouver from any Suburb on a day-to-day basis - pays a fee of $25.00 per week!!!! Yes you must register and have a sticker of some sort on your windshield.

      Vancouver for Vancouverites I say!!!!! Let all the Parasite Communities around Vancouver build enough Office Buildings in their Communities for 100,000 office workers!!!

      And of course - Build enough UBC Owned - Student Housing for 30,000 UBC Students at UBC and then do what many - many Large Universities do - and Move all the First Year University Students to Community Colleges all over BC!!

      This will never happen because the BC Liberal Party (Not Really Liberal at all) is 100% dedicated to Inflation from Ultra High Real Estate Prices - as Dictated by the Owners of the BC Liberal Party (Not Really Liberal)

      Why did Premier Gordon Campbell order the NDP - ICBC Build Central City Building in Surrey (A 23 Story High Rise Office Building) to sit empty for 5 years???????????

      It was to guarantee that Downtown Office Building Prices would always (for Eternity) keep rising - International Big Money has bought Downtown Vancouver Office buildings - with the BC Liberal Governments Absolute Guarantee - that there will be no other downtown core in any Municipality in the Lower Mainland.

      East Van Girl

      May 25, 2015 at 10:30am

      Agreed. Add a toll to the Pitt River Bridge too. You're not getting your perceived fair share? Boohoo. Based on the size of you're community you are getting more than your fair share with the improvements over the last 10 years. How about building the infrastructure we need so those who still need their cars in MAple Ridge can avoid bottlenecks once they hit more urban areas.

      so you're saying...

      May 25, 2015 at 10:41am

      get on board with an undefined plan that 'might' achieve some undefined results or get punished?

      and your statement regarding thwarting other residents receipt of service is baseless. without a detailed plan that describes how the additional tax will achieve all the desired outcomes, along with some kind of timeline, there is no foundation for that assertion. and that is without respect to addressing the real issue, which is a desire by the public that translink provide prudent financial oversight and own responsibility in management of their taxpayer funded operations.

      this plebiscite is a non-binding political show, created to remove ownership and responsibility from government, while pretending to provide democratic control of an organization that is not elected and not answerable for its performance. its ridiculous to present it as a panacea for all our transit ailments and just as ridiculous to pretend there are no alternatives. when did throwing good money after bad ever solve anything and why do you have such a hate on for people who are asking for good government?

      Off base

      May 25, 2015 at 10:56am

      Charlie:

      The Pitt River Bridge replacement had been needed since the early 90s when I first moved out to Maple Ridge. First it was the bottleneck at the Mary Hill Bypass connector that was fixed when they widened it to 4 lanes. Then was the stretch of 7 between Harris road and the bridge that would choke down whenever they introduced the counterflow-lanes. The Maple Ridge-exiting buses would be stuck in crawl traffic for an hour everyday for the entire rush hour. None of this was fully addressed until they replaced the bridge.

      In additional to being deliberately divisive and petty, your argument is both casually and temporarily wrong.

      Maple Ridge has nearly 100k people, or 1/6th the population of Vancouver. What do you think ratio of transit spending is? Lot more than 6 to 1.

      That being said, anything that discourages people from living in Maple Ridge is good thing.

      Just another hack piece in the GS is my issue.

      400 ppm

      May 25, 2015 at 11:21am

      Three light rail lines... ha... 3$billion on the Port Mann, $500 million for the roof on the gladiator stadium that's never been used (how much just to keep the place running ?).

      Would've been done but now if it was going to be. Lots of money around. The public purse is wide open and we'll shuttle you to the airport.

      You can't "fix" cars and sprawl with three or thirty LRT lines. The distances are huge--never mind the geography and the psychology---it's not the 1930s.

      Sprawl and cars aren't going anywhere any time soon, way too much invested. They'll have political power right to $10/litre gas.

      Don't get sucked in by a vote that isn't even a vote, a thinkvote in Newspeak. Get out as fast as you can. The whole thing is running on Windows Vista.

      Shawn

      May 25, 2015 at 12:15pm

      Charlie is oblivious to life outside his own little neighborhood. Few residents of Maple Ridge/ Pitt Meadows are travelling back & forth to Langley. Raising tolls there would likely reduce use of the bridge further.

      The Stalk

      May 25, 2015 at 2:17pm

      It's a no-brainer for anyone living East of Boundary Rd to Vote Yes in the Translink referendum

      They get twice the capital investment and it's completed 30 years earlier

      Everyone West of Boundary Rd on the other hand...

      James Blatchford

      May 25, 2015 at 4:55pm

      The West Coast Express is a fantastic commuter service that municipalities south of the Fraser would kill for. Last time I looked it still served the citizens of Maple Ridge despite the bleatings of our new mayor that we get short shrift from TransLink. Why she is taking the no side mystifies many out here.