Dear Editor,
Re: “Drive in my shoes,” Letters, June 7.
The recent letter (“Drive in my shoes”) reminds us of the urgent need to address the issue of traffic congestion around the Massey Tunnel, much of it caused by the sheer volume of single-occupant motor vehicles.
This bottleneck impacts the quality of life for many thousands in Richmond and around the region. It also negatively affects our regional economy by hampering the free flow of both people and goods. Unfortunately, the current bridge proposal is simply the wrong project to effectively address the problem. Because the current plan contravenes the Regional Growth Strategy and affects the environment, the Metro Vancouver Regional District board almost unanimously opposes the proposed bridge.
As envisioned by Kevin Falcon, a recent long-time provincial minister of transportation, strengthening and twinning the existing tunnel while making significant investment in more public rail and/or bus transit would be a far more cost-effective and environmentally-appropriate solution.
This bridge plan will simply shift to the Oak Street Bridge the current northbound traffic bottleneck. The connecting highway in some parts will be 20 lanes wide before it funnels into two lanes in each direction at the Oak Street Bridge. Much of the resulting congestion will spill onto Richmond streets in the vicinity of the highway. The project will also have a negative impact on farmland.
Currently, the proposal calls for a massive bridge three kilometres in length suspended from two towers, each of which is approximately the equivalent height of a 60 storey building. Bedrock in the area is estimated to be over 1,000 feet down. Transmission lines currently hidden in the tunnel will be replaced by overhead lines suspended from large BC Hydro transmission towers. There also have been no details on how this project is to be fully funded. We know from the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridge experience that the expected tolls will divert much of the traffic to non-tolled already-congested alternatives such as the Alex Fraser Bridge.
Despite dozens of meetings between City of Richmond staff and the project team, the Province has made negligible adjustments to its plan. There has been little substantiation for cost projections or even for the overall justification for such a massive bridge. And, now that the Port of Vancouver has finally confirmed it does not intend to dredge the river for larger vessels, why remove the tunnel?
We urgently need to solve the congestion issue that exists around the Massey Tunnel. Let’s reconsider this ill-conceived plan for a massive structure that compromises the environment at a cost to our grandchildren of billions of unnecessary dollars while it provides only a bandaid solution.
Malcolm D. Brodie
Mayor of Richmond
