A22 THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
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Minister Trevena bridging the infrastructure gap
“We are having to look at leaving Richmond, with our warehouse first and even our head office, because we cannot get staff here” was the sentiment shared by a prominent local executive, exemplifying the palpable frustration of the business community in a roundtable with the Honourable Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation & Infrastructure at the beginning of March. The minister heard many stories from local employers that Massey Tunnel traffic was affecting their business. Connor Williams, of Ashton Service Group said that “often times, I have to pay an extra guy to sit in the car, just so we can use the HOV and get them to the jobs.” Doug Nightingale, of Nightingale Electrical, is among the employers losing his valued staff to the commute. “We try to promote from within and these employees have worked their way up with us for 15 years or more. But we lose them because of the commute. They don’t want to but they weigh the time spent in traffic and choose to leave.” Despite the airing of grievances, the roundtable, organized by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and hosted at YVR, focused much more on the opportunities that a holistic, bigpicture approach to transportation can achieve. “Our focus is on the big picture,” said Trevena. “One of our
priorities as a government is having an economy that is sustainable and will grow. A concept we are looking to further grow is B.C. as a trade corridor to the East and we’re working with Asian partners, Federal partners and US stakeholders to see this continue.” As for the George Massey replacement bridge proposed under the previous government? Minister Trevena is “not going to pre-judge the report”, which is due for delivery in spring 2018. The group shared the view that a big picture focus is the right step forward and there are a myriad of transportation and infrastructure projects that would alleviate congestion for commuters, local business and international exports, along with improvements to the Highway 99 corridor. With the rapid pace development happening in Richmond, as well as south of the Fraser, it was clear to the group that all avenues should be considered. The increased use of existing rail lines for goods transportation, short sea shipping, Rice Mill Road access to the freeway, ride-hailing, as well as a light rail along Highway 99 to South Delta were all ideas conferred at the roundtable. Craig Richmond, President & CEO of the Vancouver Airport Authority summed it up: “Infrastructure changes everything. We have a good example of mass transit in
Upcoming Events Wednesday April 4 Annual General Meeting: Members of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and Guests are invited to attend the 92nd Annual General Meeting, Wednesday, April 4th, 2018. This year, our AGM is part of an evening cocktail-style reception. We hope you will join us for key updates on the Chamber, as well as election of our Board of Directors followed by a casual networking reception. The Board of Directors of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce will be elected during this portion of our Annual General Meeting, Audited financials will also be voted for approval by the Members of the Richmond Chamber. Location: B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena met with the Richmond Chamber of Commerce this month. Photo by Rob Newell
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action at the Airport. The Canada Line changed the city. Now, 20 per cent of Sea Island workers take the train every day. We need to have in our mind ‘we are going to do these things’ or we’ll be here in 20 years wondering why we never reached our potential.” The province announced a $5.3 billion investment in trans-
Schedule:
portation in Budget 2018, which was a $632 million increase over the Budget 2017 Update. Minister Trevena has said she welcomes business people to bring forward those ideas which will help make our cities and province more attractive to residents and the business community.
The Richmond Chamber of Commerce • Published Monthly
The Richmond Chamber of Commerce has been “Proudly serving our community since 1925.” In partnership with local media the Chamber produces the Business Report once per month. The statements and views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publication’s intent is to keep Chamber members, and prospective members, informed on important information, events, and educational items. The Richmond Chamber of Commerce is located at Suite 202 - North Tower - 5811 Cooney Road, Richmond, BC, V6X 3M1. For more information and to reserve tickets for the events, please call 604-278-2811, email rcc@richmondchamber.ca, or see us online at: richmondchamber.ca .
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