Appendix(2*I(–(Written(Submissions
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Appendix(2*I(–(Written(Submissions( ( ! ! Dec(18,(2012( Ironically,!I!was!unable!to!attend!tonight!as!a!result!of!spending!90!minutes!driving!from!Surrey! to!Richmond!this!morning!due!to!the!snowfall.!As!a!general!rule,!I!travel!to!Richmond!via!the! Alex!Fraser!Bridge!because!of!the!capacity!constraint!called!the!George!Massey!Tunnel.!Traffic! congestion!is!apparent!throughout!a!larger!percentage!of!each!day.!It!is!likely!that!near!gridlock! from!dawn!to!dusk!will!become!a!chronic!condition!of!Highway!99!within!the!foreseeable!future.! The!replacement!of!the!existing!tunnel!with!a!sixGlane!structure!might!relieve!the!congestion!for! a!while,!particularly!if!the!Stevenson!and!River/Ladner!Trunk!Road!access!issues!are! simultaneously!addressed.!However,!such!a!fix!is!likely!to!be!temporary!in!nature!(like!the! twinning!of!Highway!10)!due!to!the!continued!population!growth!along!the!Surrey!–!Langley! corridor,!the!limited!number!of!routes!across!the!Fraser!River!and!the!exceedingly!poor!public! transit!system!south!of!the!Fraser!River.!The!only!way!for!area!residents!to!realistically!travel!to! work!or!school!is!via!automobile.!Short!of!banning!future!housing!developments!east!of!Delta,! the!replacement!of!the!local!tunnel!by!itself!is!only!a!temporary!fix.! The!transportation!network!must!be!treated!as!an!integrated!system,!a!fact!was!apparent!today.! Snowfall!resulted!in!accidents!on!the!Pattullo!and!Queensborough!bridges,!creating!gridlock! across!the!Fraser!River.!Drivers!redirected!their!vehicles!along!Highways!10!and!99,!creating! dozens!of!kilometers!of!congestion!leading!north!up!to!the!George!Massey!Tunnel.! Congestion,!besides!being!an!inconvenience!for!motorists,!has!serious!economic!consequences! for!the!Lower!Mainland.!The!replacement!of!the!Tunnel!should!be!part!of!a!larger!integrated! transportation!plan!that!includes!a!major!expansion!of!light!commuter!rail!south!of!the!Fraser! River.! ! ! Dec(18,(2012( HI!George!Massey!Tunnel!Replacement!Consultation!Representative.!Please!accept!the!email,! which!directly!follows!this!preamble!as!part!of!the!!consultation.!In!addition,!the!tunnel! replacement!should!remain!in!more!or!less!same!!geographic!location!as!the!existing!tunnel!in! order!to!preserve!community!delineations!and!the!basic!municipal!road!framework.!These!roads! should!have!increased!capacity!as!well.!It!is!good!to!maintain!a!fair!distance!from!!the!Alex! Fraser!Bridge.!Alternate!routes!should!not!be!in!close!proximity.!Overall,!it!may!be!thought!that! bridges!are!safer!than!tunnels.!Arguably,!!one!cannot!jump!off!a!tunnel,!but!tunnels!have!far! more!confined!spaces.!In!general,!stewarding!the!environment!is!important.!The!environmental! !concerns!surrounding!a!tunnel!replacement!should!be!minimal.!Currently,!the!!contribution!of! idling!vehicles!in!terms!of!the!release!of!greenhouse!gases!!to!the!atmosphere!is!not!insignificant.! Thanks!for!your!consideration.!Registered!owner!of!a!strip!of!Richmond!ALR!land!and!one!who! has!a!deep!!interest!in!innovative!urban!agriculture!!! ! ! ! GGGGG!Original!Message!GGGGG!!! From:!NAME!REMOVED! To:!NAME!REMOVED! Sent:!Friday,!October!05,!2012!12:54!PM!! Subject:!the!George!Massey!Tunnel!replacement/retrofitGGGcommercial!traffic! !!! [FIRST!SENTENCE!REMOVED!FOR!PRIVACY!REASONS]!!The!congestion!not!only!affects! commutersGGGGGit!impacts!commercial!vehicles.!When!these!vehicles!are!not!flowing!smoothly! thorough!the!road!network,!it!is!a!detriment!to!our!economy.!!Adding!light!rapid!transit!or!other! public!transit!does!little!to!help!transport!trucks,!container!transit,!trucks!carrying!equipment! such!as!cement!mixers!etc.!make!the!crossing.!Commercial!vehicles!constitute!a!fair!proportion! of!the!traffic.!!Port!Metro!Vancouver!should!be!consulted,!as!they!could!contribute! some!funding,!Riverport!is!nearby,!and!the!tunnel!is!a!vital!transportation!link,!!not!merely!of! people!but!of!goods.!!!Also,!animals,!with!the!exception!of!service!dogs!and!"persona;"!pets,! !including!those!associated!with!farming!are!not!moved!from!A!to!point!B!by!public!transit.!!!It! should!be!a!priority!to!address!the!problem.!Time!is!money.!!!Many!thanks.!!Have!a!good! Thanksgiving!long!weekend.!!!! NAME!REMOVED!! P.S.!The!population!of!the!region!is!only!expected!to!rise.!Even!if!a!higher!percentage!of! commuters!adopt!public!transit,!the!number!of!"cars"!using!the!tunnel!or!its!replacement!is!not! anticipated!to!decrease.!!!!PP.P.S.!Whether!the!replacement!for!the!George!Massey!Tunnel!is!a! bridge!or!another!tunnel!or!expanded!capacity!(be!it!in!about!the!same!location!or!not),!it!is!ill! advised!to!allow!fuel!tankers!in!the!South!Arm!of!the!Fraser!River,!especially!with!respect!to!the! Vancouver!Airport!Fuel!Delivery!Pipeline!Proposal.!Seismic!risks!have!to!be!taken!into!account.! ! ! Dec(18,(2012( I!have!been!doing!a!lot!of!thinking!since!the!meeting.! !! I!suggest!KEEP!THE!PRESENT!TUNNEL.!Upgrade!the!lighting!and!ventilation,!which!you!told!us,! needs!to!be!done.!Restrict!the!tunnel!to!cars,!buses,!and!small!trucks.!! !! GENERATE!A!SEPARATE!PLAN!FOR!LARGE!TRUCKS!building!what!is!necessary!regionally.! !! Promote!the!concept!of!many!small!value!per!hit!tolls!in!many!places!on!roads.in!the!region.!Get! behind!expanding!transit!to!make!more!rides!faster!and!more!cost!effective.! !! ! Dec(18,(2012( Property!acquisition,!engineering!and!construction!would!be!far!less!costly!and!less!disruptive! than!a!bridge!such!as!the!Alex!Fraser!Bridge.!!The!Tunnel!should!have!had!another!4!lane!!!tube! at!least!30!years!ago!to!keep!up!with!the!South!Fraser!developments!foreseen!by!the!forward! thinking!men!in!Government!60!years!ago.!!Earthquake!engineering!would!protect!or!replace! the!existing!tubes.!!The!design!and!functionality!of!the!eastGside!tunnel!system!in!Seattle!would! be!an!incentive!to!get!going!now!without!redGtape!delays!and!PR!posturing.! ! ! ( ( Dec(18,(2012( Thanks!for!the!reminder.!!I!did!provide!feedback,!namely,!that!it!makes!one!cynical!that!the! MoTI!is!so!coordinated,!competent,!and!motivated!when!it!comes!to!highway!projects,!but!is!all! about!delay!and!efficiency!audits!when!it!comes!to!needed!transit!projects!(Broadway,!Surrey,! etc.).!!The!MoTI's!Massey!Tunnel!approach!looks!incredibly!wellGexecuted!and!is!very!admirable,! it's!just!a!pity!that!the!MoTI!can't!seem!to!pull!this!off!for!the!transit!projects!that!the!region! (TransLink,!Metro!Vancouver,!your!own!BC!Transit!Plan)!has!decided!on.! ! ! Dec(11,(2012( There!is!no!reason!to!delay!replacement!of!the!G.M.!Tunnel.!Having!lived!in!White!Rock!since! 1981!and!having!and!commuted!into!Vancouver!for!most!of!that!time!I!am!very!qualified!to! comment!on!the!efficiency!of!the!tunnel!today.!! The!best!way!to!get!better!flow!through!the!tunnel!during!rush!hour!today,!and!during! upcoming!construction,!should!include:! ! 1)!eliminating!large!truck!use!during!rush!hour! 2)!restricting!large!truck!use!to!hours!outside!of!rush!hour!(both!morning!&!afternoon)! 3)!strongly!encourage!the!public!to!carpool!and!find!incentives!to!make!it!work.! 4)!make!a!dedicated!HOV!lane!the!best!alternative!for!cars! 5)!fine,!toll!or!limit!vehicles!with!single!occupants!during!rush!hour.!Not!enough!has!been!done! to!get!people!out!of!single!occupant!vehicles.!This!will!be!mandatory!during!construction!of!a! new!crossing!as!not!everyone!will!be!able!to!use!the!Alex!Fraser!Bridge!as!an!alternative.! 6)!greatly!improve!(i.e.!double)!transit!options!from!South!Surrey/White!Rock!and! Ladner/Tsawwassen!to!Bridgeport!Station.! ! Insufficient!transit!and!insufficient!Park!&!Ride!parking!is!made!available!today.!With!added! growth!in!S.Surrey!traffic!on!Hwy!99!will!only!continue!to!increase!unless!something!is!done.! ! ! Dec(11,(2012( Amazing!how!fast!you!guys!are!moving!on!this.!It's!impressive!to!see!what!the!BC!MOT!can!do! when!motivated!and!determined.! ! Maybe!you!could!try!this!approach!with!capital!projects!for!transit,!in!Surrey!or!out!to!UBC?! We're!left!to!assume!that!another!TransLink!efficiency!audit!will!be!enough!in!that!case.! ! It's!truly!disappointing!how,!in!spite!of!the!renaming!from!MOTH!to!MOTI,!'I'!just!never!seems!to! include!transit.!It!would!be!great!if!you!could!demonstrate!how!Massey!tunnel!replacement! helps!Metro!Vancouver!move!forward!with!its!growth!strategy,!TransLink!with!their! 2040!vision,!and!indeed,!the!BC!Government's!plan!for!transit,!which!involves!a!significant!mode! share!increase.!One!also!wonders!about!the!future!land!use!impacts!of!everGincreasing!vehicle! (but!not!transit)!accessibility!to!the!south!and!east!of!the!Lower!Mainland;!how!will!you!address! increased!pressures!on!ALR!lands,!and!continued!dispersal!of!employment!into!autoGoriented! business!parks.! ! All!in!all,!very!impressive!approach,!but!thoroughly!disappointing!analysis!of!the!problem,!and! really!quite!appalling!misalignment!with!regional!priorities.! ! ! Dec(10,(2012( I!believe!traffic!flow!could!be!increased!if!lighting!in!the!tunnel!was!improved.!Many!drivers!fail! to!turn!on!their!lights,!believing!erroneously!that!their!daytime!running!lights!turn!on!their! taillights!as!well.!This!leads!to!traffic!slowing!down!or!the!distance!between!vehicles!increasing! significantly.!In!addition,!ideal!conditions!would!be!entrance!lighting!levels!and!the!light!in!the! rest!of!the!tunnel!being!similar!to!the!natural!light!on!the!highway!leading!up!to!the!tunnel.!It! seldom!even!comes!close!to!matching!the!requirements.!This!also!reduces!traffic!flow.!Give!us! older!drivers!(and!many!younger!ones)!a!break!and!turn!on!the!lights!!And!turn!down!the! entrance!lights!at!night!so!they!don't!blind!you!as!you!enter!the!tunnel.!