MIKE SMYTH: MLA posts signs in fight for a new bridge
Delta Liberal MLA sets his sights squarely on B.C. premier, Green party leader
Advertising pros say highway billboards are effective, even if drivers only catch a glimpse as they speed on by.
So imagine the impact of a trio of billboards near the chronically congested Massey Tunnel, where idling drivers trapped in traffic-jam hell have lots of time to let the message sink in.
“Stuck in traffic? Thank these guys,” the signs blare, along with grinning photos of NDP Premier John Horgan and Green party Leader Andrew Weaver.
The billboards were erected by Liberal MLA Ian Paton, elected in Delta South last May after a seven-year run on Delta city council.
The signs, which encourage stranded drivers to visit the Liberal website ReplaceTheTunnel.ca, are designed to pressure the new NDP government to build the 10-lane, $3.5-billion bridge proposed by the vanquished Liberal government.
“People in Delta and South Surrey and Tsawwassen are sick of sitting in that traffic bottleneck,” Paton said.
“So I went to bat for them. I got a couple of my buddies together and we put the signs up last Sunday.
“The reaction has been great. People told us, ‘Hey, thanks for at least giving us a laugh while we sit in traffic.’ But people are mad, too, because the NDP is doing nothing.”
The NDP government cancelled the bridge project on Sept. 6, pending further review. The NDP-Green governing alliance calls the bridge a “pet project” of former premier Christy Clark that was too big, too expensive and too under-studied.
“What we’re doing is the responsible approach — making sure we’re looking at all the options thoroughly,” said Transportation Minister Claire Trevena.
The government might build a smaller bridge instead, or widen the existing tunnel, or choose some other option to deal with the mind-numbing traffic snarls, Trevena said.
Paton said his Liberal party constituency association paid for the signs, and to also rent some time on a nearby electronic billboard displaying the same messages.
“I’m standing up for my constituents,” he said, estimating the sign campaign has cost a little more than $1,000.
A farmer let Paton put up the signs in his potato field at no charge.
But Weaver, the Green party boss, said the signs are backfiring on the Liberals.
“It’s hilarious,” Weaver said. “I’ve had dozens of people contacting me to say, ‘Thank you for stopping the reckless path of an unreviewed bridge that was promised out of nowhere of by the Liberals.’”
Weaver is opposed to the bridge for a whole number of reasons, including environmental harm to surrounding farmland.
He thinks widening the existing tunnel is a better idea.
Paton fires back: “Go take a look at the truck traffic in the morning. All these 40-foot trucks lined up from the tunnel all the way to Westminster Highway, going nowhere and spewing diesel fumes into the air. How is that good for the environment?”
As for widening the tunnel under the Fraser River, instead of building the bridge, Paton has an answer for that, too.
“Imagine the impact of building and digging for years and potentially disrupting the river bottom. How would that impact salmon and sturgeon? The bridge would span the river and all the pedestals would be on land.”
What about the soft, silty soil around the river? Won’t that pose an expensive engineering challenge for bridge builders?
“It would be extremely difficult to build with little bedrock,” Weaver said. “It could easily soar over budget.”
Paton scoffs back: “They build bridges on these type land surfaces all over the world. The engineers looked at all of it. The thing has been studied to death.” Paton also sees a safety hazard. “That tunnel could easily crack and break open in an earthquake,” he said.
“Our fire department and paramedics hate going in there because the traffic is jammed both ways. Sometimes the fire department guys have to go in on foot. There’s toxic fumes in there.
“Think about someone suffering a terrible, life-threatening stroke and an ambulance has to get a patient from Delta to Vancouver General Hospital or St. Paul’s Hospital. They can’t get through the traffic with someone clinging to life.”
But the NDP and Greens have clearly prioritized other Metro Vancouver transportation projects, like replacing the aging Pattullo Bridge.
Paton smells political pork. JOHN LEHMANN/B.C. LIBERAL PARTY
“Does politics play into it?” he asked. “Look at the Liberal ridings in South Delta and South Surrey. All the Richmond ridings are Liberal ridings.”
Expect this fight to keep raging through the fall, and ramp up again in 2018 as the New Democrats prepare their first full budget in February.
Paton and the Liberals will keep fighting for the bridge but Weaver has just three words for that: Bring it on.
“The highway signs have been great for me,” the Green leader said, pointing to a post on his Facebook page where he calls Paton’s billboards “one of the most ill-thought-out political campaigns I have ever seen.”
He said the Facebook post received over 20,000 views, over 500 “likes” from readers, and 83 mostly-positive comments.
“It’s quantitative evidence that the Liberal billboards are backfiring,” he said laughing.
Paton fires back: “I find that amazing. We’re getting tonnes of people contacting us to say thanks for fighting for a bridge we need so badly. If he thinks that’s translating into support, well good for him.”
The Liberal newcomer is putting up a spirited fight. But I suspect it will be in a losing cause.
The New Democrats and Greens show no signs of budging on Christy Clark’s “super bridge.”