Login / RegisterEric Doherty: Gateway's United Boulevard extension cancelled to applause in New Westminster
On Thursday (May 19), a large and determined group of New Westminster residents gathered to find out what design TransLink would be pushing for the first section of the North Fraser Perimeter Road. Instead, the crowd burst into boisterous applause when Sany Zein, TransLink’s director of roads, announced that TransLink would cancel the North Fraser Perimeter Road portion of the Gateway Program because local residents and New Westminster council would not support it.
New Westminster residents have proved a force to be reckoned with. Mayor Wayne Wright referred to the first NFPR open house as “a donnybrook”—slang for a mass brawl. It was this outspoken opposition that forced provincially controlled TransLink to back off on the United Boulevard extension, the first phase of the NFPR in New Westminster. If they had proceeded it would have cost about $175 million for a short stub of freeway and an overpass that would feed more traffic onto the already congested New Westminster street network.
“This is an example of what is possible when you get citizens involved in important issues. Now is the time to go back and focus on public transit,” said Andrew Murray, a member of the Council of Canadians’ New Westminster chapter. “We also need to fix the dysfunctional way TransLink operates; this needs to be an issue in the upcoming provincial election.”
Roadway expansion is one of the main drivers of increasing greenhouse gas emissions in B.C. and globally. While our provincial politicians talk about cutting carbon emissions, the reality is that they are often spending our money to increase the emissions that threaten the stability of our climate.
Until recently, the NFPR and the whole Gateway freeway megaproject looked unstoppable. Work is continuing on the $3-billion Highway 1 freeway widening which includes the replacement for the Port Mann Bridge. Despite vigorous resistance by local residents and legal action by the Burns Bog Conservation Society, work on the $2-billion South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway continues in Surrey and Delta. However, as the price of gas soars and concern about global warming mounts, spending billions on roadway expansions may no longer look like such a great way for politicians to get re-elected.
The people of New Westminster have shown that “unstoppable” projects can be stopped with determined resistance. Now it is time to stand up and demand an end to the Gateway freeway megaproject. Our limited resources should be invested in thing like electric trains and public transit, not on making global warming worse by spending billions on freeways.
Eric Doherty is a member of the Council of Canadians’ Vancouver-Burnaby chapter and StopThePave.org.
Nothing can be done right now about the level railway crossing...
...but why not double up on the bailey bridge to allow for two-way traffic?
I love that little bailey bridge, but two would be twice as nice.
it is very difficult to get people to quit their auto habit
Yes, this issue has been closely studied around the world. Whenever you expand freeways, GHG emissions and pollution increases.
To reduce GHG emissions investment must be shifted to public transit and efficient ways to move goods such as electric trains and short sea shipping (tug and barge). For details see the recent CCPA report Transportation Transformation www.policyalternatives.ca/transportationtransformation
- then become active and help Stop Sprawl in Your Community: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/resources/2003/driven-to-action-... ...
Yes, if we work together we can stop bad development decisions - starting with our own planning departments! With a new premier in place, we need to communicate our needs - and stay watchful...
Oh, and one more link - to help save Delta parkland, go to link and check out ways to get involved:
http://www.sunburyneighbourhood.ca
http://vtpi.org
David Suzuki knows a lot about urban sprawl
Was this double entendre intended?
BernadetteK
Now the plans are dead.
So what really happened here?
A gutless New Westminster City Council, seeking to protect thier own personal self interest, threw the entire Lower Mainland residents, including 99% of New Westminster residents, under a train.
Chicken Little, aka Mayer Wright, should have been a real leader, and promoted that New Westminster grab the offer of Federal Money, and get a plan that works for New Westminster. Instead, a handfull of bullies, the residents around Braid that are already subjected to a lot of traffic effect, which may well have been lessened by the new road system decided upon, stared him down with thier vociferous retoric.
The actions of New Westminster Council, is entirely consistent to what they did a few years ago, when they put a barracade at the Braid baily bridge, that was removed only with a court order.
Shame on New Westminster Council.
What happened to leadership?
Brian Anderson