The City of Pitt Meadows hasn’t given up on the Harris Road underpass project, and city councillor Bob Meachen wants residents to know the fight for funding continues.
Meachen highlighted a batch of correspondence about the issue on council’s Oct. 24 agenda, in which the city asked for meetings with federal and provincial transporation ministers and other officials. He gave kudos to Mayor Nicole MacDonald and city hall staff.
“It’s worth just reflecting on the fact that our mayor and our staff, with the support of council, (are) working behind the scenes, steadily and firmly, working with every level of government… to proceed and go forward with the underpass that was talked about for the last five-six years,” said Meachen.
He said the correspondence makes the case for why the underpass is critical to the city, is going to some 17 ministers and other parties, and explains the issue well.
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“The incredible amount of background work that is going on, is not being seen, in my opinion, as much as it should be by our municipality, by our community,” said Meachen, and noted he had seen negative comments in social media.
In late 2022, the city learned the estimated cost for the underpass had increased to $195.2 million – a shocking increase over the original estimate of $63.3 million. The city was asked for $50 million to help cover the gap, but refused, calling it an unacceptable burden on taxpayers.
The city has been looking for other funding sources.
“Our mayor has not given up, our staff have not given up, because we see this as an essential asset needed by this city,” said Meachen. “As this city continues to grow, and we have all the traffic concerns that we currently have, we cannot go without an underpass.
“We should not be paying for an underpass that benefits a major corporation like CP Rail,” Meachen added.
MacDonald said the crux of the issue is the national trade corridor, and the nation’s top port in Vancouver, are impacting the livability, safety, and vibrancy of small communities like Pitt Meadows.
The letters reviewed by council Tuesday saw MacDonald request meetings with Canada’s Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraser, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez, provincial Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming, and interim president and CEO of Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Victor Ping.
The current street-level rail crossing on Harris Road is one of the busiest crossings in the Lower Mainland. By 2030, it is predicted that the crossing will be blocked by trains for up to 7.5 hours per day.
The underpass project has the support of Premier David Eby and the province, the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Committee, TransLink Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, Katzie First Nation, emergency response organizations, as well as local and regional businesses.
”We won’t accept no for an answer, so we keep trekking ahead,” said MacDonald