While reading about the advancements of pushing for a new four-lane bridge to replace the aging Pattullo, it comes as no surprise that all the attention is focused on the bickering over whether the bridge should be four lanes or six lanes.
As a former resident of New Westminster, I agree that creating a six-lane bridge into New Westminster is highly disadvantageous to the residents of New West and will not relieve any current traffic congestion.
As a current resident of Surrey, I also do not agree with making a new six-lane bridge. The problem is that the infrastructure to handle the capacity is highly outdated and years behind and making a new bridge won’t resolve those problems.
In order to see any results, traffic will have to be pushed underground in order to alleviate traffic congestion in New Westminster.
The problems need to be addressed at the root level. This would include, from my point of view as a trucker, the following:
1. Create an above-highway on- and off-ramp interchange for traffic off Highway 91 to access 72 Avenue and eliminate the light which slows down traffic during morning commutes immensely going and coming over the Alex Fraser Bridge.
2. Create a new bridge direct to Marine Drive from the Queensborough landing area which would bypass traffic from the Highway 91/91A route and divert traffic from the Queensborough area to Burnaby/Richmond, which was also created by the big box stores at Queensborough landing.
3. Create an underground non-stop tunnel linking Surrey’s Highway 17 (South Fraser Perimeter Road) via King George Boulevard to a split junction connecting to Highway 1 at Braid/Brunette and to Kingsway just above 12 Street at the New Westminster/Burnaby border.
4. Create a Subway system or light rail transit system which links all points of the region (Surrey to White Rock; Surrey to Langley; Surrey to Richmond; Surrey to Port Kells) Making Surrey the central hub for all the subway systems will be the most cost-effective and economical than a central hub in Vancouver or elsewhere.
No matter the argument, there will always be some argument for or against.
Roger Simmons
Surrey
