Dear Editor,
Re: “I have safety concerns over Christy,” Voices, Aug. 17.
Premier Christy Clark is purporting, once again, to be deeply concerned about the seismic risk facing commuters in the Massey Tunnel, and apparently the only way to reduce the risk is to spend $3.5 billion dollars on a bridge that most Metro Vancouver cities have declared is a waste of money and won’t solve traffic congestion in the region. Further, the Massey Tunnel has received upgrading and an early warning earthquake detector, mitigating a large portion of the seismic risk.
At peak rush hour, there are approximately 7,000 people in the “seismically risky” Massey Tunnel.
On a school day, there are approximately 7,200 children in Richmond alone, attending schools that are at risk of “widespread damage or structural failure” and “failure to building elements such as walls.” Yet, the B.C. government, led by Clark, is dragging its heels on protecting small children.
She is not leading the charge to spend $3.5 billion to make them safe. She is making them wait in unsafe schools, forcing school closures that will overcrowd those same dangerous schools, and only then will the B.C. government start evaluating schools for repair — maybe.
The cost per person to make commuters in the Massey Tunnel safe is $500,000. The cost per child to make our sons and daughters safe is $23,000. Clark has added up her priorities. I hope voters will do the same.
Kelly Greene
Richmond Schools Stand United
