6 options to help the North Shore's traffic problem make it to study's shortlist

Six options for fixed-link rapid transit between downtown Vancouver and communities on the North Shore have made it to the short list, as part of a study narrowing the list of options to consider as potential solutions for frustrated commuters crossing the Burrard Inlet.

"This is an extremely exciting study ... it's been a long time coming," said Bowinn Ma, parliamentary secretary for TransLink and MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale. 

The province and local governments have been exploring ideas for possible crossing points for bridges and tunnels as part of the first phase of the Burrard Inlet Rapid Transit Study, which began last year. 

The six options that have been short-listed are as follows:

• Tunnel crossing from downtown Vancouver to Lonsdale, via First Narrows.
• Tunnel crossing from downtown Vancouver to Lonsdale via Brockton Point.
• Tunnel crossing from downtown Vancouver to West Vancouver via Lonsdale.
• New bridge from downtown Vancouver to Lonsdale via Second Narrows.
• New bridge from Burnaby to Lonsdale via Second Narrows.
• Existing bridge crossing from Burnaby to Lonsdale via Second Narrows.

The options will now be further explored in the second phase of the study, according to a statement Monday. Any recommendation on options will be folded into TransLink's 2050 transportation plan, and no budget has been set yet.  

"All six options fall within the same ballpark," said Ma,

"It's still too preliminary for us to release cost estimates, but it is definitely in the billions of dollars."

'They need to walk the walk'

Travelling between downtown Vancouver and the North Shore has been notoriously frustrating for years. For drivers trying to get across the inlet, the Lions Gate Bridge and Ironworkers Memorial Bridge are often bottlenecks.

"We had the Ironworkers Memorial built in 1960, and there hasn't a replacement since then," said North Vancouver City Mayor Linda Buchanan.

"Certainly the volume of traffic, people coming here to work here and then people flowing through here to get to other places, it's seen as a pinch."

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has said it's not possible to expand either of the existing two bridges to the North Shore due to structural limitations.

Buchanan and North Vancouver District Mayor Mike Little both applauded the government's announcement, with Little suggesting the options that didn't go through downtown Vancouver would be more appropriate because of the possibility of building more affordable housing along those routes. 

But everyone acknowledged that the biggest decision would be whether the province and federal government would fund any recommended solution. 

"They're going to have to put their money where their mouth is. All these studies are relatively cheap, and they need to walk the walk," said West Vancouver councillor Craig Cameron, who represents the District on TransLink's mayors' council.

However, he was optimistic that the region would have leverage to lobby for a new fixed link once the report was done.

"It's going to be a question of priorities," he said.

"We think there's a strong case to be made. And what's exciting about this work is that we're going to have data to back up our sentiments."