Editor: British Columbia should be attempting to impress the world by making its main economic engine — the Metro Vancouver region — hospitable and attractive to prospective corporate and individual investors.
Not replacing the George Massey tunnel, which for over 20 years has been obsolete and is outrageously lacking in vehicle capacity, will continue to have exactly the opposite effect.
Provincial and federal politicians and officials should be collaborating to expeditiously replace the tunnel with a bridge that has sufficient vehicle and bicycle capacity to comfortably meet the region’s needs to at least 2060.
Another top priority for B.C. and federal government representatives should be identifying a legitimate “rapid transit” technology that must be used by the extensive commuter rail network that is proposed for Surrey and Langley — if it is to be eligible for federal/provincial funding.
The as-cheap-as-possible, human-driven “buses-on-rails (on already-over-crowded roadways)” technology that several of Surrey’s less far-sighted politicians are recommending would automatically be disqualified by such a process.
For many years, when compared to most of Metro Vancouver’s 20 other member municipalities, the city of Vancouver has had a disproportionately enormous rapid transit infrastructure.
But, unlike geographically larger cities — such as Surrey and Langley — Vancouver has negligible available land to accommodate future population growth and industrial developments.
Roderick V. Louis,
White Rock