Fairness returns for bridge and road users

When the BC Liberal government under then-premier Gordon Campbell decided to replace the original Port Mann Bridge (pictured) and upgrade Highway 1 between Vancouver and Langley, it failed to see how unfair it was to only charge bridge users a toll to pay for the entire project. That inequity has been rectified by their successors, the new NDP government under Premier John Horgan.
Stephen Rees photo

On Friday, Premier John Horgan announced that tolls would be removed from the Port Mann Bridge and the Golden Ears Bridge, effective Sept. 1.

This fulfills a key election promise made by the NDP – one that likely made the difference between winning and losing the provincial election. They picked up four seats in North Surrey and Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows (and a fifth one in North Delta). There is no doubt that the pledge to remove the tolls was a key factor in some voters switching their loyalty from the BC Liberals to the NDP in all those ridings.

(The importance of this promise to the overall election was predicted in this blog back in April).

Many of the “chattering classes,” particularly those who live and are based in Vancouver, call the decision foolish. They’ve been joined by the NDP kingmaker, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver, who also opposes the decision.

They show both their ignorance of the actual situation faced by people who have no choice but to use the two bridges, and their thinly-disguised contempt for people who live in what they call “the 'burbs.”

While there was some logic in tolling the Golden Ears Bridge, which opened in 2009, there was never any justification for tolling the Port Mann Bridge. The Golden Ears Bridge was built by TransLink, which has limited taxing ability and could not have afforded to simply carry the debt on the bridge by itself. It also provided a vastly-improved service over the previous archaic ferry link between Maple Ridge and Langley.

Unfortunately, the toll was too high. The bridge opened not long after the severe economic downturn of 2008 hit, and traffic levels have never been close to projections. The bridge is an excellent way to get from Surrey, Langley or Abbotsford to Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and the Tri-Cities area, but that traffic alone is not enough to pay for it.

The response of Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore to the removal of tolls indicates how Port Coquitlam decision-makers actually see the bridge. They don’t think it benefits them. They fail to promote their area as a destination for those who live south of the Fraser. Moore is likely blinded by the fact that he is Metro Vancouver board chair. Only Delta Mayor Lois Jackson refuses to drink the Metro bathwater, consistently speaking up for her community at the board table.

The Port Mann tolls should never have been imposed in the fashion that they were. When then-premier Gordon Campbell announced that the new bridge would be built and Highway 1 upgraded from Vancouver to Langley – a project long overdue – it was to be a P3 project, with the private sector paying for it and being paid back through tolls. However, the tolls were only imposed on the bridge users – not on all the rest of users of the improved highway. Tolling at each exit, as is done on many turnpikes in the eastern U.S., would have been a much fairer way to pay for it.

Because of the 2008 recession, the government was unable to find a private sector partner to build and operate the bridge, so it set up its own corporation, TI Corporation. Thus, as Horgan aptly pointed out Friday, the bridge is simply another provincial debt (like almost all other capital projects funded by the province).

Campbell, then-transportation minister Kevin Falcon, Christy Clark, who succeeded Campbell and most recently, Todd Stone, Clark’s transportation minister, all failed to see the inequity of charging significant tolls on just one bridge. The bridge was (and on Sept 1, will be again) the key link between the north and south sides of the Fraser River.

When Stone was asked earlier this year about the fairness of the government’s tolling policy, which stated there had to be a free alternative (defined by Falcon years ago as the Pattullo Bridge), it was obvious that the BC Liberals were giving the collective finger to bridge users. They were also ignoring the severe impact of the toll bridge on free crossings, most notably the Pattullo and Alex Fraser bridges.

Coupled with other government decisions which levied more and more taxes on working people, the bridge tolls grew into a major annoyance. It took a long time for the BC Liberals to realize that, and when they did, just before the election, they were only prepared to cut the toll bill in half.

Congratulations to Horgan and the NDP for understanding the unfair burden these tolls have placed on bridge users. Hopefully, this will lead to a better way of having users pay for the transportation services they consume, with mobility or distance pricing likely the fairest options. Something will be needed to help pay for the Pattullo replacement, which must be started very soon.

In the meantime, fairness in road and bridge use has returned – after a long absence.

It is going to be very interesting to see how traffic adjusts on Sept. 5, the first day of school. I predict much higher levels of traffic on the Golden Ears and Port Mann, with more congestion at certain times on the Port Mann.

I also predict that the Alex Fraser and Pattullo bridges will see slightly reduced traffic levels – which is good news for those who use those two bridges regularly. TransLink should use this as a golden opportunity to close the Pattullo to trucks over a certain weight. It would ease some of the pressure on the ancient span, which was never designed for today’s heavy transport trucks.

I also hope that there will be more bus services instituted across the Port Mann, similar to the 555 which runs between Carvolth park and ride in Langley and Lougheed SkyTrain station, with one stop at 156 Street in Surrey.

Surrey residents need many more fast buses across that bridge. That will reduce use of single-occupancy vehicles and provide a much-needed alternative to driving.