Click Here for the HTML Version of This Page
VANCOUVER – Dr. David Suzuki, the Mayor of Burnaby and a UBC transportation expert joined forces at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver today to call on the province to abandon its controversial plan to twin the Port Mann Bridge and expand Highway 1.
“Vancouver has an international reputation as being a world leader in urban planning and, as a result, is one of the most livable cities on the planet,” said Dr. Suzuki, a Canadian scientist, broadcaster and chair of the David Suzuki Foundation. “Twinning the Port Mann Bridge is not part of any long-term sustainable growth strategy. It will lead to increased suburban sprawl and result in more traffic, more pollution and less livable communities.”
The B.C. government plans to spend $1.5 billion to twin the Port Mann Bridge and expand Highway 1 across Greater Vancouver. Dr. Suzuki called on the province to seek alternatives, such as rapid transit, an expanded SkyTrain and rapid bus service across the Port Mann Bridge.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan is also a strong opponent of the plan to twin the Port Mann. He joined Dr. Suzuki on stage at the World Urban Forum this morning to say the province’s plan jeopardizes the health and well being of the entire Lower Mainland.
“Visionary political leadership is the reason why Greater Vancouver has such a high quality of life today,” said Mayor Corrigan, who chairs the Greater Vancouver Regional District's transportation and land use committee. “We need that same kind of political will once again to ensure the Lower Mainland retains that quality of life for tomorrow.”
Dr. Lawrence Frank, UBC’s Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Transportation, studies how urban sprawl and transportation affects travel patterns, public health and the environment. Dr. Frank pointed out that experience from around the world shows building more highways can actually lead to longer commutes, more sprawl and more time spent in cars, and eventually worsens traffic congestion instead of relieving it. Investing in public transit and better urban planning will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improve regional and local air quality, ease road congestion, and reduce both unproductive commuting time and municipal infrastructure costs.
“Mounting evidence makes it clear that there are environmental, health and economic benefits to providing safe and appealing places for walking within our communities and fast and efficient transit for longer trips between centres,” said Dr. Frank. “This is, and should remain, the ethos of this region that has set a standard and shown the world what can be accomplished when we abstain from building highways and promoting auto dependence.”
More than 8,000 delegates from around the world are in Vancouver this week, discussing how to make life better in the world’s cities. Dr. Suzuki said it’s ironic that a conference on improving livability is being held in a province that is proposing short-term, ineffective and expensive solutions to traffic congestion.
The Greater Vancouver Regional District’s own plans have called for cheaper, more effective alternatives to the expansion of the Port Mann Bridge and Highway 1 that supports the Livable Region Strategic Plan, which has made Vancouver one of the most livable cities in the world. Last week, Vancouver City Council unanimously passed a motion opposing the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and widening of Highway 1.
“The province has a tremendous opportunity to secure the livability of the Lower Mainland for future generations,” said Dr. Suzuki. “Delegates at this forum look to Vancouver as a model of great urban planning. Let’s hope at the next World Urban Forum, they’re not looking at Vancouver as a model of what not to do.”
For more information, contact:
Sarah Marchildon
Communications specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
604-732-4228, ext. 237
Ian Bruce
Climate change specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
604-732-4228, ext. 275
Cell: 604-809-7332
Dr. Lawrence Frank
Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Transportation
University of British Columbia
604-290-4260 (cell)
604-822-5387 (office)
City of Burnaby
Mayor’s Office
604-294-7340