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SURREY SHOOTS DOWN GUN SHOW
▶ SECURITY PLANS NOT REVIEWED, COUNCIL SAYS
KEVIN DIAKIW
Surrey council has refused to approve a permit for a gun show in Cloverdale until security plans can be completely reviewed by the RCMP. Council does not meet again until April 11, meaning the B.C. Rod and Gun Show scheduled for April 1517 has effectively been disarmed. Event manager Steve Bednash said he’s received no such word from the city. continued on page 5
▶ BLOODY WELL DONE Attended to by Canadian Blood Services phlebotomist Sonia Saggu, Grade 12 student Saman Brar, 17, donates blood at Tamanawis Secondary’s first blood donor clinic on Wednesday. Ninety-nine people had signed up for the day-long blood drive. See full story, page 10. BOAZ JOSEPH
PATTULLO BRIDGE TO BE TOLLED ▶ CITIES AGREE FEES MUST RECOVER CONSTRUCTION COSTS; NEW SPAN WILL BE FOUR LANES, EXPANDABLE TO SIX JEFF NAGEL
The cities of Surrey and New Westminster have formally agreed the new Pattullo Bridge will be tolled to recover the construction costs, and that the new span will be four lanes, expandable in the future to six. The agreement was brokered by TransLink, which expects it will take six to seven years to build a new bridge to replace the existing 79-year-old crossing. Tolls on the new Pattullo had been widely expected and
assumed by Metro Vancouver mayors as the main funding source for the $1-billion replacement project. Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner said she and other mayors also hope to develop a mobility pricing system that charges drivers by time of day and distance travelled and replaces the current system of bridge tolls, such as the ones levied at the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges. The agreement predicts a conventional bridge toll will be necessary when the new Pattullo opens, but commits the parties to determine how it could later integrate into an eventual road pricing system. “As an interim measure prior to the full implementation of mobility pricing, consistent tolling of all the Fraser River crossings may be considered,” the agreement says, citing the need to make bridge tolling fairer to south-of-Fraser residents.
New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Coté said tolling the new Pattullo is “very important” to his city, which has borne the brunt of rising traffic flows over the Pattullo as Highway 1 drivers divert to avoid paying tolls at the Port Mann. “We’ve seen a tremendous amount of congestion since the existing Pattullo has become the toll-free alternative,” Coté said, adding the impact on local roads has been significant. “By coordinating the tolls between the Port Mann and the Pattullo bridges, we feel traffic patterns will actually change and there will be reduced congestion on the Pattullo Bridge and the surrounding road networks.” continued on page 4