What to do with the Pattullo? v.2.0

Voice director, Neil Powell, has an opinion on the replacement options too. This letter was also published in The Record, January 24, 2009.

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It was almost two years ago that I wrote a letter to the editor regarding the, then FraserPort authority’s, idea of creating a new Island in the middle of the Fraser River for a Pattullo Bridge replacement and a container port. With the recent unfortunate closure of the Pattullo Bridge this issue is once again in the forefront in New Westminster.
I too have noticed a reduction in the morning traffic along E. 8th Avenue. In the afternoon though E.8th Avenue is a parking lot from Cumberland to Braid and Brunette with vehicles sitting idling and spewing more exhaust into our airshed.
So how do we solve these traffic issues when we build a replacement bridge and should Sapperton Island be considered as an option? In 2007 I encouraged, “our mayor and council to act within the spirit of our OCP in any and all future discussions regarding these sensitive islands.” I now read that they have asked, “TransLink to keep the Sapperton Bar option under consideration as part of future financial analyses.”
New Westminster’s Official Community Plan (OCP) tells us that the City has a desire, “for this parcel of federal land to be made into unserviced park (to maintain green viewscape)” (p.65). These islands, known as the “New Westminster Islands (Sapperton Middle Ground)” in the OCP, are described as a “sensitive environmental habitat” (p.44). These islands are given a special designation, “in order to preserve its scenic value when viewed from the rest of the City and for its valuable aquatic and wildlife habitat” (p.165). Two of the objectives of this designation are to, “Guide this area towards use as a natural conservation area” and to, “Preserve and enhance the natural environment” (p.165). We go on to read that any guideline issued shall be in accordance with the following guidelines:
1. Maintain a permanent circle of trees around the circumference of the Islands to protect
the fish habitat.
2. Where possible, accommodate log booms around the periphery of the Islands.

Once again I feel the need to encourage our City council to act in manner consistent with the vision found within our OCP. The idea that Option 4 would involve a tunnel from East Columbia Street at Cumberland, “under Cumberland to a portal on McBride Boulevard near Eighth Avenue,” can only be considered a pipe dream. Although it might seem as if the Sapperton Island alignment would divert traffic around New Westminster in reality it would just move it to an area where commuters don’t really want to be and this would just result in further shortcutting as they try to get where they really want to be.
I am heartened to learn that TransLink is firm in their resolve to have the new bridge tolled. This is consistent with the original tenets of the Livable Region Strategic Plan which calls for us to: 1. Protect the green zone, 2) Build complete communities, 3) Achieve a compact metropolitan region; and 4) Increase transportation choices. A greater Vancouver region-wide toll system should be considered. The technology exists to have variable rate tolls at different times of the day across an entire system. Congestion pricing such as this could be an effective tool in getting the most out of the Lower Mainland’s bridge and highway system and it would generate funding for capital expenditures. For example, transit options that are realistic alternatives to driving a car.
Let’s think through all the possible consequences of location, tolling, alignment with local roads, and access by cyclists and pedestrians as we plan this much needed replacement crossing.

- Neil Powell
New Westminster