Editor:
Re: Can’t go down that road again, Jan. 5 letters.
Sven Stefanov brings up an interesting dichotomy in his letter to the editor.
I agree that some aging infrastructure such as the George Massey Tunnel and the Pattullo Bridge need to be dealt with as soon as possible. However, that’s as far as agreeing with Sven goes.
Building 12-lane monoliths are not a solution to gridlock and would only make things worse in other places. The letter writer contradicts himself by believing huge bridges would solve gridlock issues but in the same breath saying that “within weeks of the new Knight Street Bridge’s opening, it was at gridlock.” Same can be said of the new Port Mann Bridge.
It is easy to criticize the policy makers of the past, but at least they had the vision not to put a freeway through downtown Vancouver.
More roads and bridges will just lead to more congestion, as is the case in Seattle which voted in favour of cars rather than a transit system many years ago. Like them, we are constrained by mountains and water.
What we need is a vision of a different future.
We need to invest in transit and get people out of their cars. We need to have responsible, forward-looking development that concentrates people around transit options rather than car-dependent suburban sprawl. We need car sharing and ride hailing, different work schedules and less mini malls.
What we need is what is going to happen.
Sorry, Sven, but you don’t speak for all of the “poor taxpayers.”
Mike Hammersmark, Surrey