Thurs0900.Alternatives.Doherty

SPEC / Livable Region Coalition Better Transit, Not Freeways Eric Doherty

Kevin Falcon Twinning the Port Mann Bridge and expanding Highway One is not a matter of if, but of when, provincial transportation minister Kevin Falcon said this week in Langley. Public consultation for the project is not to decide if it will go ahead, he said. Public input is only wanted on how it will be done - February 8, 2005

BTNF Objectives:

Make Transportation a Global Warming Issue in BC

Funding for Better Transit

Stop Highway 1 / PM Freeway Expansion

When roads are widened, travel can rise dramatically When the new, wider Interstate 90 bridge across Lake Washington and Mercer Island opened in 1989, state transportation engineers anticipated it would carry more traffic. What actually happened took them completely by surprise. Almost overnight, total cross-lake traffic jumped 20 percent . January 23, 2003

About a year after opening in 1986, the Alex Fraser Bridge had generated so much additional traffic that it had to be widened from four to six lanes. It is now the third most congested bridge in the region.

Traffic Forecast to increase about 50% in 2 Years after Gateway* Opening Source: Steer Davis Gleave The Gateway Programme: Traffic and Revenue Forcasts P. 80 http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/reports/GTWY_traffic-revenue-forecasts.pdf * Expansion of Hwy 1 / Port Mann 2, SFPR, NFPR & Golden Ears Bridge

Cross Road

"[T]ransit service is not at levels to offer the majority of residents a real alternative to the automobile“ TransLink 2005-2007 Three-Year Plan and 10-Year Outlook: Strategic Transportation Plan Amendment .

(24%) (30%) (18%) (13%) (15%) (9%) (10%) (32%) (11%) (8%) (8%) (5%) (6%) 152nd 160th 176th 200th Port Mann (100%) Coquitlam Town Centre (11%) King George Surrey Central Guildford Town Centre EXPO LINE MILLENNIUM LINE Columbia LRSP Growth Concentration Area LRSP Growth Concentration Area Langley City

(24%) (30%) (18%) (13%) (15%) (9%) (10%) (32%) (11%) (8%) (8%) (5%) (6%) 152nd 160th 176th 200th Port Mann (100%) Coquitlam Town Centre (11%) King George Surrey Central Guildford Town Centre EXPO LINE MILLENNIUM LINE Columbia LRSP Growth Concentration Area LRSP Growth Concentration Area Langley City Town Centre Legend Proposed Surrey – Coquitlam Bullet Bus Route Proposed Fraser Highway Rapid Bus Proposed King George Busway LRSP Growth Concentration Area Boundary

Transit Priority

“A truly effective transit system is only possible with significant priority being given to buses on the crowded roads in the region.”

TransLink 2005 - 2007 Three-Year Plan & Ten-Year Outlook Strategic Transportation Plan Amendment February 2004

Highway 1 Congestion

Surrey – Coquitlam Bullet Proposed queue jumper would allow transit riders to bypass congestion Traffic usually flows smoothly on Port Mann Bridge deck Queue jumper (bus lane) * Assessment of transit only option for Port Mann Bridge March 31 2006 (Based on express bus service improvements only) Westbound buses merge into traffic and cross existing bridge Merging cars cause choke point at 152 nd St. on-ramp Illustration by Eric Doherty Existing traffic queues would be reduced by up to 1/3 rd according to a Ministry of Highways study*

Capital Investment

240 buses - $170 million.

Ten additional SkyTrain cars (in addition to the 34 TransLink plans to purchase) - $53.4 million

King George Busway - $140 million

Fraser Highway transit priority measures - $10 million.

Surrey - Coquitlam link - $20 million.

Other transit priority measures in the Surrey / Tri-cities area - $20 million.

Total: $300-$500 million

Ministry of Transportation’s Initial Response:

4-step (black box) transportation model

Bus routes to nowhere = low ridership

Growth Concentration Area (Regional Town Centre) Fraser Valley Regional District Greater Vancouver Regional District Maple Ridge / Haney 152 nd St. Port Mann Bridge Growth Concentration Area Aldergrove Abbotsford South Surrey Base Map Source: Impacts of Enhanced Transit on Port Mann Bridge – Final Draft (Gateway Program Engineer May 26 2006)

BC Govt. Secondary Response Premier Gordon Campbell announced the Provincial Transit Plan in Vancouver in January 2008—a strategy to double transit ridership with more buses, new rapid transit lines and innovative services like RapidBus BC.

Q1. I'd like you to think about two transportation options being considered for the Lower Mainland. 1. Twin the Port Mann Bridge and widening Highway 1 2. Build rapid transit to Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, expand bus and rapid transit service in Surrey, and extend rapid transit out to UBC in Vancouver. Which of these two options would be your first priority? PMH1 Transit Other

Q2. Next, the provincial government's study on the Gateway Project shows that the project will increase emissions that cause global warming. However, in order to meet the emissions reduction targets set by the provincial government, the regional transportation authority has said that transit use must double by 2020. Given this, would you support or oppose redirecting money from the province's road building plans into better public transit? Support Oppose Other