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Loss of drivers on Port Mann Bridge not surprising

Bridge tolls are a strong incentive to look for alternatives — including moving.

Use of the Port Mann Bridge declined every month of 2014, with the exception of December.

Total traffic for 2014 was down 3.9 per cent.

This comes at a time when the economy is improving slightly, albeit in very gradual increments. B.C.’s job picture is probably best described as cruising along at the same rate of speed.

It also comes at a time when more and more people are moving south of the Fraser River, to Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Yet the number of bridge crossings is not keeping pace.

There are a variety of reasons. One is that people often seek employment closer to home, and are particularly  motivated to do so by bridge tolls. Given that people living here must pay tolls to cross both the Port Mann and the Golden Ears, that is a strong motivation.

Another is that more people are using the transit system, particularly the 555, 503 and 502 buses which take people to SkyTrain. In the case of the 555, they can cross the Port Mann for free.

Some people are making the distant trek to the Pattullo and Alex Fraser Bridges, which is made easier by the South Fraser Perimeter Road. However, that is a long trek from Langley, and it only works if your destination is somewhere near or beyond those bridges — not if it is close to Highway 1.

The fatigue from bridge tolls, which cost regular commuters a sizable amount each month, may be a factor in the stiff opposition to the proposed TransLink congestion improvement tax from people living south of the Fraser.

At  a debate last Tuesday in Langley, it was obvious that the vast majority of attendees were on side with Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who made the case for voting “no.”

Comments received here at The Times since that time have been almost universally in support of his stance, which can be summarized as “no more money for TransLink, which cannot manage what it has now.”

The provincial government has set the tolling policy for the Port Mann. It needs to collect so much each year to pay off the project by 2050. The project, incidentally, includes a large number of freeway improvements north of the Port Mann, which most users pay nothing towards.

The Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce opposes the TransLink congestion improvement tax. It believes that mobility pricing makes more sense. If there was such a system, all those who use the improved Highway 1 would help pay for it — not just those who must cross the bridge.

The province needs to do a major review of its tolling policy. When the new Port Mann was close to being completed, drivers were told that the Pattullo Bridge would be the free alternative. Yet the Mayors Council plan, which the tax will fund,  calls for a tolled Pattullo Bridge.

Drivers are asking for some fairness.