Along the Fraser Liberals don’t like public education. p6
Big turnout for Canada Day event. p3
THE NEWS
Gardening Hops at the heart of every beer. p17
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, July 4, 2014 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · Delivery: 604-466-6397
Summer school cancelled
Those signed up will get priority to make up courses by Ne i l Cor be tt staff reporter
Monisha Martins/THE NEWS
Tandem jump
Summer school is the latest collateral damage of the labour dispute between B.C. teachers and the provincial government. There were 705 kids who took summer school in the Maple RidgePitt Meadows school district last year, but on Wednesday the board announced that it will be cancelled this year. The B.C. Public School Employers Association, which negotiates on behalf of the province, had asked the Labour Relations Board to declare summer school an essential service. The LRB ruled the essential service designation will apply only to students who have failed a Grade 10-12 course, and where the course is not available for the student next year. See Education, p9
Matt Liosis and Nathan Ferlan do a tandem jump on their scooters at the Thomas Haney skate park Thursday with friends Zac Wright, Jacob Telford and Cameron Budisa.
Bridge tolls climb a nickel It’s been five years since Golden Ears opened by P h i l M e l nychuk staff reporter
Phil Melnychuk/THE NEWS
It was expected that 50,000 vehicles a day would cross the Golden Ears Bridge.
Just when you got used to paying $6 to cross the Golden Ears Bridge there and back, the tolls are jumping again. Starting July 15, the price for a transponder-equipped car jumps a nickel to $3.05, and by another dime to $6.10 for small trucks.
GJ’s TREE SERVICES
604-945-2999
gjstreeservices@gmail.com
• Hazard Tree Removals • Topping & Falling • Pruning & Trimming • Thinning & Shaping • Stump & Root Grinding Fully Insured/WCB Free Written Estimates gjstreeservice.com
If you don’t have a transponder for your car and are not a registered video user, the toll goes up a nickel to $4.30. The yearly increases aren’t causing Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows residents to find another way to get to Surrey or Langley, said Sany Zein, director of infrastructure with TransLink. “We don’t find the annual CPI adjustment is affecting the crossing over the bridge.” Zein said the average number of daily crossings over the Fraser River, in both directions, is now 31,000.
Zein said that number, for the first six months of this year, is about four per cent higher than for the same period in 2013. In the last two years, the number of crossings has jumped a total of about six per cent. “We’ve seen about 30 to 40 per cent total growth since we started on the bridge,” Zein said. This July marks the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Golden Ears Bridge, an $808-million replacement for the Albion ferry that was shut down within weeks of the bridge opening.
Tolls charged on cars, trucks and motorcycles bring in about $39 million a year to TransLink, which is then paid to Golden Crossing General Partnership, owned by Bilfinger Berger, the construction company that built the bridge. As well, TransLink pours in another $35-million to $40 million annually from its general revenues to Golden Crossing partnership to top up the payments. The six-kilometre bridge will be paid off by 2041. See Bridge, p9
Index Opinion Letters Transportation Driveway Gardening Sports Classifieds
6 7 8 11 17 24 27
glass
With windshield replacement, • Wipers • Interior clean • Rental car
FREE
when you mention this ad.
22826 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge 604-466-4225