Traffic in the Tri-cities is going to be at a stand-still as Burke Mountain and the rest of the north east sector continues to be built out. Even if the Evergreen Line was brought on board by 2014 or 2015, and whether it is ALRT or LRT, it is not going to provide enough relief to the traffic gridlock.
It is distressing that two transport authorities funded by taxpayers have been unable to work together on building the Evergreen Line and Murray-Clarke Connector in west Port Moody. In the absence of the Murray-Clarke Connector it is appalling how such a flawed plan could have advanced so far.
The Murray-Clarke Connector was identified almost three decades ago and now the business case is more justified than ever, and its omission flies in the face of Transit-Oriented Development principles espoused by our officials at all levels as being the responsible way of spending our taxes.
Why did the province build the Golden Ears Bridge at a cost of over $800 million for future traffic needs when today we have unmet needs (from decades ago) for almost the same volume of daily traffic on the Rocky Point Overpass? This is outrageous!
The province arbitrarily imposed an ALRT system on us with its additional capital cost, instead of LRT. So why is TransLink (the province in sheep clothing) now expecting the Mayors to come to the table?
Now that the former Transportation Minister, who chose ALRT, is in charge of the provincial finances, surely he shouldn’t have any trouble funding his decision.
As a standalone infrastructure project there are opportunities for considerable cost savings on the Evergreen Line that have not been explored. In addition there are substantial economic savings (and environmental) to be had by building the Murray-Clarke Connector with the Evergreen Line.
Hopefully our new premier will remember fondly the traffic needs of the Tri-cities from her Port Moody days; our local MLA’s will likely be sacrificial lambs if she doesn’t.
So who is going to fund the Murray-Clarke Connector with the Evergreen Line; Premier Christy Clark or Premier Adrian Dix?