Editor:
While I am very happy that there was a happy ending to the mental health crisis of the male involved recently on the Alex Fraser Bridge, I think one has to rethink how it affected thousands and thousands of commuters on their way home from work.
I went over the Alex Fraser Bridge northbound as the situation was unfolding at around 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 23. All lanes were closed southbound and one was closed northbound.
I immediately felt bad for the poor man in crisis.
At 8 p.m., I was also feeling extremely bad for all the people affected by the closure. Cars were still backed up along my road (River Road in East Richmond) just trying to get home from work. Several ran out of gas and left their vehicles by the side of the road.
When affecting so many commuters for such a long time could the Delta Police have at least left one lane, possibly two of the three lanes southbound open so that traffic could move along? The lane closest to the man in crisis would have still been open and they could have still negotiated at a distance. By closing all lanes southbound it created a huge mental health crisis for all those stuck waiting for hours in their cars, which in turn resulted in the loss of patience, which then caused accidents and shouting.
It was handled poorly as far as I am concerned and hopefully the Delta Police will rethink how they handle something like this.
Trudy Haywood
