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Letter: Bus 'em through the tunnel

Dear Editor, I believe that the most sensible letter on the tunnel argument came from Douglas George Massey. He suggested having the major engineering company, Tunnel Engineering Consultants, examine the crossing.
Massey Tunnel
Since 2007, the George Massey Tunnel has been monitored by an earthquake warning system designed to help shut the busy commuter link to traffic if a quake powerful enough to damage it is detected. Photo submitted

Dear Editor,

I believe that the most sensible letter on the tunnel argument came from Douglas George Massey. 

He suggested having the major engineering company, Tunnel Engineering Consultants, examine the crossing.

It seems to me that if an earthquake is a rolling wave type, a tunnel could “ride out” the quake better than could a wobbly, top-heavy, high bridge sitting on clay.

Don’t be surprised if the proponents of a bridge don’t want to pay the $5.50 toll charge that I’ve heard would be necessary to partly defray the huge cost of the bridge.

They may want their cake and eat it too! Anyway, a temporary solution may be possible, now that the NDP is in office; that is, put more buses on the tunnel run.

There are probably many who could and would take a bus, if possible. Those who could, but won’t, could be convinced to do so by putting a toll of $4 on any car with only one person in it. 

On the political grapevine, I heard that even though former B.C. Liberal MLA Kevin Falcon spent $4.7 million having extra bus stops installed, someone in the Liberal government stopped TransLink from putting more buses on the tunnel run so as to exacerbate the tunnel problem. 

Now that the NDP is in, TransLink is under “new management” and maybe more buses can do the tunnel run.

Garry Simpson

Richmond