I can’t believe how unfair the closure of the Pattullo Bridge is.
I am not saying it doesn’t need to be fixed. I am talking about the unfairness of forcing us to pay tolls because the non-tolled option is closed.
The fair plan would be when a non-tolled bridge is closed for repairs, one of the tolled bridges should be free until it re-opens.
Since tolls have been introduced, I have been watching the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges. Both of them are like ghost towns. Just like I predicted when Kevin Falcon introduced this stupid toll bridge idea, people are avoiding these bridges like the plague. I see more traffic on the three non-tolled crossings, the Pattullo Bridge, Alex Fraser Bridge, and the Deas Island tunnel than ever before in my 24 years of commercial driving.
I find everything from tolls, to the billing of the tolls, to the heavier traffic and stress it puts on every motorist nothing but a big pile of brown bananas. The tolls must be removed at once and be replaced with a more affordable way to upkeep and build new structures.
My idea is to divide the province into three sections – north, central and south. Every time you renew your insurance there is a one-time payment of $10.
This goes for every truck, car, motorcycle, trailer, mechanic plates and everything else that has wheels or uses our roads, bridges and highways. One hundred per cent of this money collected should be used for roads, highways and bridges.
Hopefully the B.C. Liberals and TransLink will remove their earplugs and bring their heads down from the high skies to really listen to the motorists of B.C. and bring an affordable solution to our infrastructure problem.
Bill Vander Zalm built the Alex Fraser Bridge and Highway 91 with no tolls and far fewer taxpayers.
Todd Allan
Surrey
