Rob's Ramblings

Public barred from Gateway Announcement Originally uploaded by Robs__ Residents of Surrey and Vancouver were blocked from entering the site of an announcement regarding the controversial Gateway Program on Monday. The announcement was held on private property behind barbed wire fences. Some in attendance speculated this was a deliberate attempt to keep the public from attending an event about the project which is becoming increasingly unpopular. The announcement was billed as the official launch of construction on the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) portion of the program. But it contained little new information. The Federal government promised support but did not offer any specifics in terms of funding. The Prime Minister painted the project as part of his government's economic stimulus package. But opponents pointed out that transit projects create seven times as many jobs as highway building. Dozens of protesters turned out to meet the federal and provincial government of...

Surrey Residents "Cancel" Gateway Originally uploaded by Rob__ As part of the International Day of Action on the Climate Crisas, residents of Surrey, BC modified a sign advertising the Gateway program . Light duty vehicles are already the largest source of ghg emissions in the lower mainland and the the Gateway program is projected to increase those emissions. Two signs on either side of the Pattullo Bridge were modified.  The banner added to the signs reads, "CANCELLED, Funding Diverted to Transit Improvements by LiverSmater BC, www.livesmarter.bc 'helping the Province go green'" The group also created a new website, www.livesmarter.bc , which parodies an official government program designed to help citizens reduce their ecological footprint.

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon claims the we need to expand the Port Mann to accommodate “commercial-goods–movement” ( Jan 24 Georgia Straight ). But according to his own department's figures, only 8% of the traffic on the bridge is truck traffic . Clearly the current bridge has plenty of capacity for commercial-goods-movement. The vast majority of the traffic on the bridge is single occupancy vehicles and these drivers need to be given the option of transit now, not years in the future. Falcon does get one thing right - tolls will help induce people to take transit. But we need to start congestion pricing on the current infrastructure not future infrastructure. That is what other cities that are taking sustainable transportation seriously are doing. Why is Metro Vancouver falling behind? Powered by ScribeFire .