Increased tolls on Port Mann causing gridlock
Posted January 11, 2014 7:56 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) – Heavy-duty safety nets are now up under the Pattullo after concrete was seen falling off the 76-year-old crossing.
The condition of the aging bridge is not what people in the area are most worried about anymore.
New Westminster councillor Chuck Puchmayr says it’s the gridlock that has evolved this week that everyone in his community is talking about.
He says it’s all because people are avoiding the recently increased tolls at the Port Mann. “We’re starting to see some bizarre maneouvers that people are taking to try and get on the Patullo Bridge. They’re literally doing illegal u-turns, they’re accessing streets that are closed off during rush hour.”
Puchmayr says the traffic jams are a look at what could happen if a proposed six-lane crossing goes through. TransLink has also been monitoring the number of vehicles using the Pattullo this week but hasn’t released any official numbers yet. “The police are seeing it, emergency services are seeing it, the residents are seeing it, the activity in the emails that we’re getting, and just my personal observation seeing an increase in traffic and a lot of cars blocking the intersections.”
