Editor: Imagine my surprise on May 22 to be forced to reduce my passage over the new 208 Street freeway overpass to one lane. I’ve been dealing with that traffic disruption for the last year while it was being built and always saw it as being a good project, well-managed and now almost complete, although its four lanes do lead to only two lanes to the south. I’m sure that will be completed someday.
What distressed me, though, was the reason it was back down to only one lane each way. Here’s a gaggle of dignitaries and media and goodness knows who else gathered on top of the overpass for a self-promoting photoshoot.
Meanwhile, hundreds of cars are lined up on either side of the overpass waiting to get by.
Where do these people get off taking any more claim to the building of that overpass than me? I pay exactly the same taxes as they do and as far as I can see they had little or nothing more than that to do with its construction. God only knows what it cost for the flagging companies to block off two lanes not to mention the inconvenience and frustration of a couple hundred drivers waiting to get across.
I, for one, am sick and tired of politicians promoting themselves on my dime. They have regular duties to attend to and taking a stroll up over an overpass and posing for the cameras is not one of them in my humble opinion.
Especially being as how the very next day two lanes were closed off all day anyway, this time for legitimate final landscaping work. Could they have not checked with the contractor to see if this was in the plan and would have done their preening then and saved us a lot of money?
Jeff Laurie,
Langley
