North Vancouver - Dear Editor:
Who's looking out for the North Shore? I find it interesting that every area in the Lower Mainland experiencing traffic congestion gets major projects to alleviate traffic. There was congestion in the mid Lower Mainland so we built a new Pitt River Bridge, a new Port Mann, and yes, a Golden Ears Bridge (which turned out to be unnecessary). They are experiencing congestion on the Patullo Bridge, so let's build them a new bridge. George Massey has back-ups so we will build them a new bridge as well. Where does that leave the North Shore? Any afternoon I happen to drive to Lonsdale I notice the traffic consistently backed up from the Second Narrows. I dread using the Lions Gate as I always seem to encounter congestion with three lanes funneled into one. Is there a plan to assist the North Shore? None.
So let's take a look at transit. Vancouver, Burnaby, New West and others have been provided multibillion dollar SkyTrain developments with more to come. Is the North Shore part of this plan? I am sorry, but a third SeaBus will not cut it. The only participation from the North Shore involves the huge taxes that we must pay to TransLink to assist these other jurisdictions. We are talking about some major money here.
The big surprise to me though is the "silence" from everyone. No one seems to care. The North Shore MLA s, mayors and councils seem completely unconcerned about the
"gouging" of the North Shore taxpayers. Have any of you examined what we receive compared to what we pay? A simple remedy for TransLink is to tax the beneficiaries of these SkyTrain developments with higher proportional tax rates as has been done in some areas of the U.S.
Calvin Smyth
North Vancouver
