One solution that might alleviate the regular northbound bottleneck at the George Massey Tunnel is converting a seldom used turnoff lane on the Richmond side of the tunnel into a dedicated traffic lane, says Delta's Coun. Ian Paton.
Located on the far right, immediately as drivers leave the tunnel northbound, the lane also serves as parking for Tourism Richmond's visitor information centre.
Paton would like the province to explore changing the parking/traffic lane into a lane for Richmondbound motorists trying to get onto Steveston Highway, easing congestion in the other northbound lanes.
"I've discussed it with some other members of the community that are frustrated with the waiting times getting through the tunnel. So if you create a big lane or two to the right as you get out of the tunnel, at least then you can create a bit of a parking lot, but at least it's a place to get cars out of the way so the rest of the cars can keep moving," he said.
"For the cars that want to go into Richmond on Steveston Highway, get rid of that (tourist information) building and create some space to create more lanes for them to get off and out of the way. We can think of putting better places for tourist information centres than when you're roaring out of the tunnel," Paton said.
Paton recently asked his council colleagues to request the Ministry of Transportation look into the idea.
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