Delta could end up being the meat in someone's sandwich.
That's what Scott Hamilton had to say about the very public tiff between Surrey and New Westminster over a potential replacement for the aging Pattullo Bridge.
"Of course we want a new bridge, but we really have to look hard over the tolling issue because, obviously, as we become the meat in the middle of the sandwich, it's going to have an effect on the Alex Fraser Bridge," said Hamilton, the veteran civic politician who stepped down from his Delta council seat this week to focus on his duties as Liberal MLA for Delta North.
"Of course, as a provincial government, we are going to have to look at the issue of tolling throughout the region, or road pricing, whatever is up for discussion, otherwise Delta is going to feel the crunch."
Hamilton made the remark earlier this month at a Delta council meeting that heard from a delegation of New Westminster council representatives.
Earlier this year, the province announced it was willing to fund one-third of the cost of replacing the bridge if Surrey and New Westminster can come to an agreement.
Surrey reportedly desires a six-lane untolled crossing, while New Westminster wants a tolled four-lane span.
Describing how their city is already overwhelmed with traffic and couldn't handle what a larger bridge would bring, New Westminster Coun. Lorrie Williams and engineering director Jim Lorie presented their case while seeking Delta's support.
"This can make or break us because right now the situation is becoming quite intolerable. If they had a larger bridge and dump more traffic into New Westminster, we have no idea how we're going to solve this problem," said Williams.
She noted traffic volumes had been falling on the Pattullo until the new Port Mann Bridge opened, prompting motorists who don't like paying tolls to use the 75-year-old structure. A New Westminster position paper notes the tolled Port Mann has already led to 6,000 more crossings per day as well as a 75 per cent growth in truck traffic on Royal Avenue.
According to the position paper, tolling is not only a means of financing the project, but is also a critical measure of discouraging discretionary travel across the river.
Another option New Westminster supports is a new four-lane bridge between Surrey and Coquitlam, with a direct connection to the South Fraser Perimeter Road, combined with a two or three-lane rehabilitation of the Pattullo.
Whatever form a new bridge would take, and whether it's tolled, could have an impact on neighbouring Delta, which hasn't taken a position on the issue.
Delta councillors told the delegation they sympathized with New Westminster's situation, but said they'll wait for staff to come back with a report.
Surrey will be coming out with a position paper of its own, but city staff there has already publicly taken issue with figures in the New Westminster paper.
