Drivers punished as NDP idles on Massey replacement
Vancouver: Today’s NDP failure on a Massey Tunnel replacement shows government plans to continue punishing drivers, with no plan to fix the largest bottleneck in the province.
“The Massey Tunnel is a traffic catastrophe – and it’s only getting worse,” says Leader of the Official Opposition Andrew Wilkinson. “The Massey Tunnel is a serious safety hazard. Today’s announcement shows the NDP is planning bandaid solutions, like minor upgrades to the tunnel or a small bridge. Neither of these options will get commuters home to their families sooner or more safely. We need a solution that plans for the next century, not a half-baked effort from the NDP.” Transportation Minister Claire Trevena announced yet another study today, after sitting
to be then getting the business plan together by the fall of 2020, which on the $1 million report since the summer. She still isn’t prepared to commit to a seismically safe replacement and instead continues to push it off as a non-priority.
“After months of waiting, people in the Lower Mainland want results, not more study,” says Delta South MLA Ian Paton. “This is a slap in the face to those who spend hours every week idling in this huge traffic jam. It has been studied to death, the reports all say the same thing: a replacement is needed and needed now.”
will be saying this is how we’re going to be going forward and from that “People who are trying to get to work, truckers moving goods, parents late for their kid’s soccer practice and seniors off to appointments don’t have more time to give,” says Richmond-queensborough MLA Jas Johal. “It’s pure politics – the NDP threw away a $100 million investment on a 10-lane bridge, and now 18 months later they tell British Columbians how they’re going to fix the problem.” “Maybe the minister and the Premier don’t drive south of the Fraser, maybe they’ve never been stuck in what has become a massive parking lot,” says Paton. “Why in the world are they condemning thousands of drivers to another decade of delays and frustrations? It seems everyone knows the tunnel needs to be fixed now, except the NDP.”
point we’ll be moving expeditiously.”