TransLink’s freeway push must be stopped

November 16, 2010

By Eric Doherty and Andrew Murray

TransLink has been crying poverty as of late, claiming that it does not have the money to keep a third SeaBus in operation. Never mind completing the long-promised Evergreen Line or providing enough buses to implement the planned U-Pass expansion. However, TransLink has lots of cash when it comes to freeway expansion.

TransLink is running full speed ahead with what's being called the "United Blvd. Extension - North Fraser Perimeter Rd. Phase 1". It would cost $150 to $175 million for a little stub of freeway and an overpass that competes with the Evergreen Line, for both money and passengers. It is also a climate crime, as government spending on roadway expansion is one of the major drivers of increasing greenhouse-gas emissions in Canada.

In case you have never heard of the North Fraser Perimeter Road, it is Premier Gordon Campbell's little-known plan to push a freeway through downtown New Westminster.

The North Fraser Perimeter Road freeway is reminiscent of what Mayor Tom "Terrific" Campbell had in mind for downtown Vancouver in the early 1970s. Tom Campbell got run over by a major freeway revolt. Vancouver city council is now considering tearing down his legacy-the half-kilometre-long Georgia Viaduct, which never became the network of freeways he dreamed of. [snip]

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