New West mayor calls for Pattullo toll to curb volume
Wright says his city is already over- capacity for vehicles
New Westminster wants Translink to consider tolling the Pattullo Bridge to ease an expected traffic crunch on the aging and dangerous crossing when the new Port Mann Bridge opens at the end of the year.
Mayor Wayne Wright said his city is already over capacity for traffic, with close to 500,000 vehicles funnelled through the downtown daily.
About 60,000 of those vehicles now use the Pattullo, and traffic is expected to increase once the new Port Mann opens in December and drivers are charged $ 3 a trip to use it.
That means frequent users would pay about $ 1,500 per year, Wright noted, which could send them fleeing to the Pattullo for a cheaper trip across the Fraser River.
He maintains it would be more equitable if all bridges were tolled across the region.
“If that’s one of the choke points, they have to fix it,” Wright said. “If that bridge is narrow, quite dangerous and unfriendly to the size of trucks, how is it going to work if we put 10-, 13- or 30- per- cent more cars on it? It’ll just stop.
“We’re already over what our roads can handle. This is regional; it’s not just for the city of New Westminster. If that’s a chokehold, then everything stops.”
Sany Zein, Translink’s director of roads, said there are no plans to toll the existing bridge because the legislation doesn’t allow it. Bridges can be tolled to recover the costs of the structure, but not for traffic management, the legislation states.
Wright’s call comes as Metro Vancouver’s regional mayors are in discussions with the province for new ways to generate revenue for future transit projects, including a new sixlane, $ 1- billion replacement for the Pattullo Bridge. One of the proposals that is favoured by mayors but would require new legislation by the province is road pricing, which could see tolls on all bridges, tunnels and roads, or drivers charged for the distance they travel.
If the Pattullo is tolled, drivers seeking a toll- free route would have no choice but to take the Alex Fraser Bridge ( or the George Massey Tunnel).