Bridge tolls helped reduce traffic congestion in the Lower Mainland, says UBC professor

Bridge tolls were already bringing in revenue and helping to reduce traffic congestion in the region before the NDP government — and others before it  — removed them from the Port Mann, Golden Ears and Lions Gate bridges, says a University of British Columbia professor.

"If we had not removed all the tolls in the region, the amount of revenue that ... would have been enormous by this time," said Patrick Condon, a professor in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at UBC.

​The Mobility Pricing Independent Commission released its first report last week and began seeking public feedback on potential fee models.

The commission is exploring how to pay for transportation in Metro Vancouver in the future.

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The objectives of mobility pricing — also known as road pricing — are to raise revenues to fund the overall transportation system and reduce congestion by discouraging drivers from using the roads during peak times, according to the commission.

But those objectives were being met, at least in in part, by tolls on the Golden Ears and Port Mann bridges according to Condon.

"We don't have congestion in our downtowns in the same [way] London or Stockholm did," he told Rick Cluff, host of CBC's The Early Edition.

Bridge tolls 'quite unfair'

Condon said the tolls have fallen victim to politics and have been chopped in favour of votes.

"We actually had that source of revenue at the most appropriate places but it keeps consistently being taken off at election time," said Condon.

On top of that, traffic spiked by more than 25 percent on the Port Mann Bridge and there was an increase on the Golden Ears Bridge after tolls were removed on both crossings

More than 50 years ago, the Lions Gate Bridge was a toll bridge. The fees were removed in 1963.

Along with reducing congestion and generating revenue, the commission said it is aiming to increase fairness in how transportation is funded.

"Only two bridges were tolled and people felt that was quite unfair for certain parts of the region who were paying tolls," said Allan Seckel, chair of the Mobility Pricing Independent Commission.

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The commission maintains it is open to all ideas and wants to create a "made-in-Metro-Vancouver" model with the public.

A number of models have been floated, including charging drivers a flat fee to access core congested areas, pricing based on geography or charging only at peak traffic times.

With files from CBC Radio One's On the Coast and The Early Edition