FEEDBACK FORM ON BACK www.gatewayprogram.bc.ca PORT MANN/HIGHWAY 1 PRE-DESIGN CONCEPTS Pre-Design Community Consultation Discussion Guide • February – April 2006 PRE-DESIGN COMMUNITY CONSULTATION : Port Mann/Highway 1 The Ministry of Transportation will conduct community consultation at three design stages: Pre-design Consultation Open House Schedule February – April 2006 Langley: February 18, 2006 Walnut Grove Community Centre The purpose of the pre-design consultation on the Port Mann and 10:00 am – 1:00 pm 8889 Walnut Grove Drive Highway 1 Project is to obtain community and stakeholder feedback on pre-design concepts for improvements to the Port Mann/Highway 1 New Westminster: February 25, 2006 Centennial Community Centre corridor between Vancouver and Langley. The consultation seeks 10:00 am – 1:00 pm 65 East 6th Avenue feedback on goals for interchange upgrades, and draft options for congestion reduction measures such as high occupancy vehicle lanes, Burnaby: March 4, 2006 Burnaby Eight Rinks HOV and transit priority on-ramps, commercial vehicle priority access to 10:00 am – 1:00 pm 6501 Sprott Street on-ramps, potential tolling, and improvements to the cycling network. Burnaby: March 8, 2006 Bonsor Recreation Centre 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 6550 Bonsor Avenue Preliminary Design Consultation Vancouver: March 25, 2006 Hastings Community Centre 2007 10:00 am – 1:00 pm 3096 East Hastings Street With basic pre-design components determined, consultation on Auditorium preliminary design discusses refi nements to interchanges and accesses, lane use, congestion reduction measures and other key features. Vancouver: March 29, 2006 Roundhouse Community Centre 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 181 Roundhouse Mews, Great Hall Surrey: April 8, 2006 Guildford Recreation Centre 10:00 am – 1:00 pm 15105 105th Avenue Detailed Design Consultation 2008 Surrey: April 11, 2006 North Surrey Arena Detailed design consultation generally focuses on fewer but more detailed 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 10275 – 135th Street treatments, such as specifi c interchange and access features, lighting and landscaping. This stage also involves more fi nancial and technical analysis Coquitlam: April 22, 2006 Coquitlam Library, Poirier Branch to ensure designs are fi nancially and technically feasible. 10:30 am – 1:30 pm 575 Poirier Street Coquitlam: April 25, 2006 Planet Ice How Public Feedback Will Be Used: Feedback gathered through this pre-design 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 2300 Rocket Way consultation via open houses, stakeholder meetings, web and fax will be recorded and summarized in a Consultation Summary Report, which will be considered Abbotsford: April 29, 2006 Abbotsford Recreation Centre along with technical and fi nancial information as the Ministry of Transportation refi nes improvement designs. The Consultation Summary Report will also be 11:30 am – 2:30 pm 34690 Old Yale Road posted on the web and participants will be notifi ed of the posting. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Consultation Program . 2 The Gateway Program . 3 Environmental Review Process. 7 Port Mann Bridge . 8 Consultation Topics Pre-design Concepts . 9 Port Mann/Highway 1 Interchange Improvement Goals . 11 Tolling and Congestion Reduction. 16 Helping People Make Good Transportation Choices . 17 Lane Use: HOV/Buses/Transit . 18 HOV and Transit Priority Access to Highway On-Ramps. 19 Commercial Vehicle Priority Access . 20 Supporting Cycling . 21 Feedback Form . F1 - F4 1 Port Mann/Highway 1 Pre-Design Consultation • February – April 2006 THE CONSULTATION PROGRAM INTRODUCTION PUBLIC CONSULTATION FEEDBACK SCHEDULE The Gateway Program was established as part of a broader response by the Province of British Columbia to reduce congestion, improve people Consultation Milestones and goods movement and improve safety and reliability. Consultation on Pre-Design February – April 2006 Recognizing the importance of consultation and ongoing communication Environmental Assessment Review Process Late 2006 with interested stakeholders and the public, the Gateway Program is undertaking a comprehensive consultation program as well as ongoing Consultation on Preliminary Design 2007 (tentative) community relations to ensure community and public input is considered Consultation on Detailed Design 2008 (tentative) in the development of the improvements. PORT MANN/HIGHWAY 1 The Port Mann/Highway 1 project includes widening the highway, twinning the Port Mann Bridge, upgrading interchanges and improving access and safety on Highway 1 from the McGill interchange in Vancouver to 216th Street in Langley, a distance of approximately 37 kilometres. The Ministry of Transportation will be conducting the fi rst of three stages of public consultation in February, March and April, 2006 regarding proposed improvements to the Port Mann/Highway 1 corridor. This fi rst stage of consultation, the pre-design stage, will specifi cally consult on goals for upgrades to interchanges, congestion reduction measures such as HOV lanes, transit and commercial vehicle priority access to highway on-ramps, improvements to the cycling network and a proposed toll on the Port Mann Bridge. The public will be asked to consider the pros, cons and trade-offs of measures that limit growth in traffi c, such as tolls and HOV lanes. In addition, the public will have clear choices regarding the acceptability of tolling and other congestion reduction measures. The Port Mann/Highway 1 pre-design consultation program consists of 50 to 60 stakeholder meetings with community organizations, residents and businesses, 11 public open houses, and a web-based discussion guide and on-line feedback form. A Consultation Summary Report of the results of the consultation will be posted on www.gatewayprogram.bc.ca. 2 Introduction to the Gateway Program THE GATEWAY PROGRAM – COMPLEMENTS PLANNED REGIONAL ROAD AND TRANSIT IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCTION including more transit, new bridge connections, better access to border Congestion on regional roads and highways is increasing, with growing crossings and expanded cycling networks. Key commuter and goods impacts on residents, communities, the environment and the economy. movement corridors also require attention. In 2003, the provincial Transportation is now the top concern for Lower Mainland residents, and government established the Gateway Program to complement other the B.C. Trucking Association estimates that goods movers are stopped or regional road and transit improvements planned or underway. Three slowed 75% of the time, costing approximately $500 million per year. priority corridors were identifi ed for consideration: Transportation infrastructure and service improvements are needed • The existing Highway 1 corridor from Vancouver to Langley throughout the region to address current and future transportation • The South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) – a new east-west corridor needs and to support economic development associated with increasing along the south shore of the Fraser River trade and goods movement. A number of agencies have initiatives • The North Fraser Perimeter Road (NFPR) – an improved east-west underway in the Lower Mainland to provide needed improvements, corridor along the north shore of the Fraser River Forecast Growth in Gateway Truck Volumes, 1999-2031 Average Weekday Hourly Traffi c Volumes on the Port Mann Bridge 5000 12000 4000 BRIDGE CAPACITY 10000 2004 3500 1987 8000 3000 6000 2500 2000 4000 Number of cars per hour 1500 2000 Average Westbound Vehicle Volumes Vehicle Westbound Average Light and Heavy Truck Volumes (24 Hour) Volumes Light and Heavy Truck 1000 0 1999 2003 2011 2021 2031 500 This graph illustrates the projected growth in truck volumes associated with 0 the forecast growth in international trade. Approximately 50% of containerized 2 am 8 am 6 am 4 am 8 pm 2 pm 6 pm 4 pm Noon 10 am goods are currently transported to and from Greater Vancouver’s terminals by 10 pm truck; the other 50% move by rail. Midnight Time of day 3 Port Mann/Highway 1 Pre-Design Consultation • February – April 2006 RISING CONGESTION REDUCES QUALITY OF LIFE, INCREASES COSTS Change in Greater Vancouver Commuting Patterns The population of the Lower Mainland has grown by 750,000 over the past 20 years and is anticipated to reach over three million by 2031. Automobiles are increasing at a rate of 20,000 per year. This growth is creating gridlock on Greater Vancouver’s road network, which has had no signifi cant improvements since the 1980s. Greater Vancouver is a strategic North American gateway for international trade, emerging as Canada’s hub for the Asia-Pacifi c region. The Port of Vancouver has seen a 56% growth in trade with China in the past year and the volume of BC port container traffi c is expected to quadruple by 2020. Coupled with population growth, this economic growth means more pressure on regional transportation infrastructure, such as highways, transit and intercity buses. Existing roads and bridges cannot support forecast demand. In fact, a number of key routes are already at capacity. Changing Regional Travel Patterns The Ministry of Transportation and the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink) completed a travel survey of Greater Vancouver A residents in 2004. One of the key trends from this survey shows increased job growth outside downtown areas. For example, in the past decade, growth in Vancouver residents working in other municipalities exceeded the growth of other municipal residents working in Vancouver by a factor of 9 to 1.This type of job growth creates a greater need for travel from Vancouver to other municipalities, and for inter-municipal travel, which is not easily served by transit. The consequences of not making the necessary road and bridge improvements include increasing congestion, longer and longer “rush hours”, increased costs to the economy, delayed goods movement, and unreliable transit connections through the region. Overall, the cost of living and quality of life will suffer without comprehensive improvements to the transportation and transit network. B Change in Nature of Trips - There has been in a shift in the traditional municipal to downtown travel pattern (A), to more complex travel patterns (B) as a result of increasing population and dispersed locations for job creation.