It's time to look at tolling all the crossings, says Lois Jackson.
In a recent interview, the five-term Delta mayor continued to express frustration with the ongoing saga of the transit referendum, an on-again, off-again ballot that's supposed to give the public a choice on funding transit improvements. Although the wording or format of the question is still up for debate, there's little doubt so-called "road pricing" will figure into the discussions, which means the potential for regional bridge tolls.
It's now a given that new crossings will be subject to a toll, meaning the bridge that will eventually replace the aging George Massey Tunnel will come with a charge, but Jackson believes other existing crossings should also have a fee.
She said too many drivers are still going out of their way in order to not pay.
"The problem with the free alternatives is we're finding the Patullo and Alex Fraser (bridges) and the (George) Massey Tunnel just jammed. The new (tolled) Port Mann and the Golden Ears bridges, you can hold a golf game on them and you wouldn't hit anybody. I don't think it's the purpose of these structure to have them sit empty."
Jackson, who's in favour of a referendum coinciding with this year's municipal election, said she predicted years ago that drivers would simply move to another crossing, especially if tolls on new bridges are unreasonable and add up quickly. Transportation Minister Todd Stone last week released a traffic study showing average weekday vehicle traffic on the tolled Port Mann Bridge down three per cent this January, compared to January 2013. It happens to coincide with the introductory toll of $1.50 each way last year now raised to $3. The report notes most of the decline occurred during off-peak hours (mid-day, overnight and on weekends) when there is additional capacity on other routes, so time savings on the Port Mann aren't as pronounced. As a result, some drivers are diverting to alternate routes.
In January, the off-peak diversion was most noticeable during weekends, the report states.
As a result, revenue projections are down 20 per cent for the new crossing.
Despite complaints truckers are avoiding the toll in big numbers, the report found truck volumes on the Port Mann were generally consistent with last year, with a weekday increase of approximately four per cent compared to the year before.
As far as the argument in other communities that they shouldn't have to pay for a new bridge elsewhere, Jackson's responded, "Somebody said on the radio why should they in North Vancouver want to pay for a bridge in Delta. I said the Lions Gate (Bridge) is going to have to be upgraded or replaced somebody, so what then?" Jackson said a small, across-the-board charge for all the bridges would be fair, while bringing down the fee for the crossings now tolled.
"I did a calculation and there's something like 33 lanes of bridges in the Lower Mainland. If every lane was tolled, let's say 50 cents, even if you took an average of all the bridges, you're looking at a considerable amount of money per year. Whereas you compare that to just the Port Mann and Golden Ears, and they're way below their projections for income," she said.
