VICTORIA – For years, commuters have been stuck in Massey tunnel gridlock.
But instead of finding a replacement project that worked for commuters and communities, the BC Liberals tried to jam through a costly $3.5 billion 10-lane bridge that was rejected by communities across Metro Vancouver. And they tried to make drivers pay for it with unfair tolls.
Even former Transportation Minister Todd Stone admitted the BC Liberal approach to transportation had failed:
“I think we had our elbows up a bit too much with the mayors. I think the tone of the conversation was not always one of partnership and working together.” – Todd Stone, Oct 13, 2017
Municipal leaders from across the region agree:
“I think there can be a solution that is much more acceptable, and avoid having a 10-lane bridge. A 10-lane bridge just induces traffic.” – Darrell Mussatto, June 29, 2016
“The thing is: a new Massey replacement bridge exacerbates the problems. It’s short-sighted. It’s absurd. It goes against 40 years of regional planning focused on confining suburban sprawl, and getting people out of cars and onto transit.” – Malcolm Brodie, Feb 24, 2017
“A 10-lane, auto-oriented bridge is too big in scope.” – Greg Moore, March 17, 2017
“I think it can be a much quicker improvement and investment with an additional tunnel there versus a gigantic bridge.” – Gregor Robertson, July 7, 2017
“We have real concerns about the impacts in Richmond and Vancouver of cars just piling up basically when they hit city streets. That will be a major problem.” – Gregor Robertson, July 7, 2017
“I believe all of us know that something needs to be done there, but we never were part of the discussion about what’s the right solution.” – Sav Dhaliwal, Dec 2, 2018
“I think when we’re talking about any billion-dollar investment in transportation and infrastructure in the region, that is a discussion that needs to involve all of the municipalities.” – Jonathan Cote, Dec 2, 2018
“Under the previous group, they made the announcement that there would be a 10-lane bridge and that was all, that was the end of it. We tried for, what, five years to discuss and to have them rethink the options that were available, to absolutely no avail.” – Malcolm Brodie, Dec 2, 2018
It’s clear: the BC Liberal “elbows up” approach led to the wrong project and has left drivers stuck in traffic.