|
Transportation: Opponents blast Gateway
by Matthew Claxton - Langley Advance •
Friday March 24, 2006 at 01:32 PM
Groups gathered at the Fort Langley Community Hall to discuss the Gateway project's impact on the environment, roads and neighbouroods.
Langley Advance Transportation: Opponents blast Gateway Groups gathered at the Fort Langley Community Hall to discuss the Gateway project's impact on the environment, roads and neighbouroods. by Matthew Claxton A coalition of environmentalists, homeowners and politicians met in Fort Langley Wednesday to declare their ongoing opposition to the Gateway Project. Donna Passmore, a local resident and member of the Fraser Valley Conservation Coalition, organized the meeting of 20 groups at the Fort Langley Community Hall. "This is not the last of these events," she promised. The group plans to keep the pressure on the provincial government, first with a bus tour of the South Fraser perimeter road area, then with a series of community events where people can articulate their concerns, Passmore said. "Until the structures are in place, it's not too late," Passmore said. The groups object to Gateway because they are worried about its impact on the environment, because they favour other transit options or road routes, or because their neighbourhoods could be affected. The project aims to twin the Port Mann Bridge, which will be run as a toll span after completion, to add perimeter roads north and south of the Fraser River, and to expand Highway One to six lanes as far east as Langley. The $3 billion plan has been in the works for years, but was given the green light just last February by Highways Minister Kevin Falcon. It has come under considerable criticism from residents of Vancouver and other north of the Fraser areas, but Wednesday's event was the first organized opposition from among groups entirely from south of the Fraser. The Boundary Bay's Conservation Committee's Mary Tait called the project the "Gateway to Oblivion." The South Fraser perimeter Road will cut through and destroy productive farmland, wild habitat and the wintering areas for many migratory birds, Tait said. The Burns Bog Conservation Society is also opposed because of the environmental impacts. The society's Frank Driscoll said the road, as proposed, skirts very close to the sensitive bog. "The Gateway Project has the burden of proof," Driscoll said. "They have to convince us there is a 'do no harm' approach." The Sunbury Neighbourhood Association's representative said he is worried about the road punching through the middle of his community. The project could result in many homes being expropriated by the government, including some pioneer houses, said Don Hunt. The province needs a good transit and road concept before it moves ahead, Hunt said. While many of the groups present said they wanted to see the project stopped because of its environmental impact, not all of them are opposed outright to roads. Greg Hoover represents a consortium called "There is another way" and wants to build a different route that will avoid Burns Bog and keep truck traffic moving. Cathleen Vecchiato of the Langley Conservation Network compared the project to the way transportation is handled in Los Angeles, and said she felt like a time traveller warning people about a bleak future. All the groups called for more rapid transit and a look at alternatives to more highways. Against Port Expansion, the Fraser Valley Conservancy, SmartGrowth BC, the BC NDP and the Surrey Environmental Partners were some of the other groups, which sent representatives or expressed support. Langley's two mayors were not surprised by the opposition. City mayor Peter Fassbender noted the presence of many groups from Delta, especially groups opposed to expanding DeltaPort. More rapid transit options do need to be examined, Fassbender said. "But I definitely think it [Gateway] is a very critical element," he said. Mayor Kurt Alberts of Langley Township said that, since the Port Mann Bridge was built 40 years ago, little has been done to improve transit over the river. "It is high time the capacity was increased to deal with growth in this area," Alberts said.
www.langleyadvance.com/issues06/034206/news/034206nn1.html
| 
