Re: “Port Mann Bridge deficit climbs,” The Leader, Feb. 24.
If you leave an alternative free option for any project such as this, of course people are going to choose it. The fact that the people that control the Port Mann crossing still vehemently back the fact that only drivers crossing the bridge should pay for the entire project is ludicrous.
When people can use a brand spanking new freeway from Langley to exit 50 before the Port Mann crossing for free and then sit in Pattullo Bridge traffic for half an hour to get back onto a freeway on the other side, why would they not take that option?
Same goes for people on the other side from Coquitlam to North Vancouver.
Why should only people crossing the Port Mann be saddled with the cost? Of course you’re going to lose money this way.
Charge per kilometre along the entire freeway corridor (say five cents a kilometre) for all vehicles instead of only those crossing and each driver then is charged $2.50 maximum each way (it’s 54 kms from Langley to North Van). Most will pay even less as they do not use the entire span.
This will bring in the required funds they need to keep up with the bills because now all drivers are paying. They could even charge less (all day) for HOV lane drivers as a reward for decreasing traffic congestion.
It’s better to charge less for more sales than to charge more for fewer. Expecting to have this entire project funded by a small group of users is unfair and destined to fail.
Taxpayers and people who do not use the service provided should not be charged for its upkeep. The same goes for all such projects, from buses, to ferries, to other highways throughout the province.
Roland van Kaauwen
