Delta motorists could not only find themselves without a new crossing but also having to pay to drive around Metro Vancouver in order to fund other projects.
Metro Vancouver announced this summer that a Mobility Pricing Independent Commission will examine ways to manage congestion and support investment in transportation infrastructure. According to the commission’s terms of reference document, Greater Vancouver currently has systems in place to charge for usage of transit, but the region’s approach to charging for the use of roads and bridges is still somewhat undeveloped, ad-hoc and limited.
Mobility pricing includes a range of fees and charges but with tolls having been recently taken off the table by the province, the much talked about idea of road pricing will likely be at the forefront. Used in other cities around the world, road pricing could include charging a fee for driving into or within a specified area or for a distance travelled, which could be a difficult concept for Delta residents to swallow if it’s not seen as fair, said Mayor Lois Jackson.
“That’s very much, I think, on the minds of the people who live a long distance from work, whether you live in Tsawwassen or White Rock or some of those other outlying areas. Are they going to have to pay by the mile? I have a real concern about that because the jobs are usually in the big centres like Burnaby and Richmond and Vancouver and the workers can’t afford to live in those places,” she said.
Jackson said it will all depend “how much muscle” the mayors of higher density communities have in trying to impose distance pricing on residents who live across the river and throughout the Fraser Valley.
“I’m not sure how it’s going to work and there’s no doubt the money has to come from somewhere, but where it’s going to come from and is it going to be fairly distributed amongst users and others is going to be the challenge, as it always has. I think it’s going to be more of a challenge because the mayors were counting on tolls to pay the local share of the construction of the Pattullo Bridge and these big projects,” she said.
Jackson said Delta residents who have little choice but to drive due to the lackluster transit service shouldn’t be forced to pay high charges unless they have options.
“There’s many areas that don’t have options to take a TransLink bus, so what may apply in another country doesn’t mean it will work here,” she said.
The commission will submit recommendations to the TransLink board and the Mayors’ Council on Transportation next spring.
As far as the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project, the NDP government announced earlier this month it’s suspending any further work until a third-party analysis is completed.
Almost all Metro Vancouver mayors have voiced opposition to the project with some suggesting the money be directed to other priorities.
