NEW WESTMINSTER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – As the proposed expansion of the Trans-Canada Highway has serious consequences for the lower mainland, the New Westminster Chapter of the Council of Canadians demands that the BC government listen to lower mainland residents concerned about the magnitude of this expansion.

Under the guidance of Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, the BC Liberals want to toss the Livable Region Strategic Plan out the window by fast-tracking the expansion of the Trans-Canada Highway between Langley and Vancouver.

The BC government currently plans to widen Highway #1 to eight lanes and twin the Port Mann Bridge without public input.

“Any project of this scope and potential impact must take into account the views and concerns of area residents,” says Andrew Murray, chair of the New Westminster Chapter of the Council of Canadians. “What Minister Falcon is proposing is a potential public-private partnership with the private sector to build a super-highway which will only drive up land values, gobble up agricultural land reserves (ALRs), and contribute to urban sprawl and more pollution. Surely the public must be consulted and listened to.”

Study after study has shown that newer, wider highways attract more traffic and increase congestion and pollution. This is not a healthy vision for a livable region.

“We know that we cannot build our way out of congestion,” Premier Gordon Campbell told the Greater Vancouver Regional District Council of Councils in June, 2003. Why, then, is this proposal moving ahead under his government? Surely, public transit options such as the North-East Sector rail line and putting buses on the Port Mann Bridge need to be tried first?

“Transportation analysts who have studied this proposal have stated that it will lead to low-density urban sprawl, increased traffic congestion and higher levels of pollution in the lower mainland,” says Murray. “We are concerned that our ability to live up to our commitments under the Kyoto Protocol will be seriously compromised if this proposal is given the green light.”

On November 24, 2004 at 7pm, the New Westminster Chapter of the Council of Canadians will host a public information session at the New Westminster Library (716 6th Avenue, New Westminster) from 7 to 9 pm. Guest speakers include: Gordon Price (urban planner & former Vancouver city councilor), Ray Straatsma (Better Environmentally Sound Transportation) and Guy Patterson (Smart Growth BC). The public will also be invited to speak up about this proposal and discuss transportation alternatives for livable regions.

- 30 -