Editor, The News:
Re: GE Bridge sound wall to come down (The News, Feb. 15).
TransLink is going to spend $800,000 on a new noise controlling fence.
It’s good to see that affected homes are going to receive improved noise abatement measures.
But whatever was spent on the existing fence is now pure waste, a cost borne by taxpayers.
This is not the first problem on the Golden Ears Bridge project that resulted from a desire to save money that is microscopic compared to the overall $800-million price tag for the whole project.
Farmland was acquired under duress for just $40,000 per acre, well below market prices. Drainage schemes near 210th Street and 128th Avenue had to be redone because the initial design was totally inadequate.
Despite elegant sketches showing a tree-lined boulevard landscaped along the access road has never materialized on the north side of the Fraser River, in marked contrast to what we see on Golden Ears Way through northeast Surrey.
Some errors didn’t even save TransLink any money. One blueberry farm was cut in half instead of running the access road right of way against its southern edge, which would have minimized the impact on the agricultural business of the property.
If Translink has not been responsible or responsive in the design and execution of this project, the ultimate responsibility for this failure lies with the Government of B.C., since TransLink is its creation.
Cherie Delainey
Maple Ridge
