Christy Clark And The BC Liberals Refuse To Commit To Replacing Pattullo Bridge

Christy Clark and the BC Liberals just don’t care about the crumbling Pattullo Bridge and what it means for commuters, Surrey Whalley NDP candidate Bruce Ralston said today.

In Christy Clark’s response to the Mayors’ Council’s election survey, she refused to commit to replacing the Pattullo Bridge. The Pattullo has been falling apart for 16 years. It is 80 years old. Pieces have literally been crumbling off of it and there have been warnings that it is vulnerable to a strong wind. Its narrow lanes are increasingly dangerous, with an increase in traffic and head-on collisions since tolls were im-

posed on the Port Mann Bridge. John Horgan has been clear that he will work with TransLink to immediately replace the Pattullo Bridge and fund 40 per cent of the cost, and Horgan will also eliminate tolls on the nearby Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges, which will help to take traffic pressure off the Pattullo. “We can’t afford to stall on replacing the Pattullo Bridge, or taking the tolls off the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges,” said Surrey Whalley NDP candidate Bruce Ralston. “Affordability is one of the key issues I keep hearing about over and over again in Whalley. British Columbians are being squeezed every day by rising costs, including the tolls that only they have to pay to get to work.” “Christy Clark and the BC Liberals stall and underfund, and they ignore the mayors’ plans for fixing our traffic problems. We will work with mayors and the federal government to fix them,” Ralston said.