The City of Pitt Meadows has committed to lobbying TransLink for a solution to drainage and noise problems plaguing a neighbourhood near the Golden Ears Bridge.
Council decided Tuesday to send a letter to the transportation authority in support of a request from the Southern Pitt Meadows Residents’ Association to extend the sound wall north to Hammond Road and south of Airport Way, as well as to plant trees at Hammond Road, on both sides of 113b Avenue to mitigate the visual impacts such as vehicle headlights, and to expedite the repair of the Katzie Slough culverts at Airport Way.
The letter is the latest attempt by residents to get TransLink to address their concerns.
It comes after a community action group, which has been meeting with TransLink to address noise and drainage issues, was dissolved in February.
“It is evident that Translink is not prepared to discuss or resolve these outstanding issues with the affected residents or the members of council,” wrote Mike Stark, president of the residents’ association.
To address complaints about noise, TransLink will increase the height of a sound barrier to 4.6 metres to dampen the sound of traffic along Golden Ears Way and Airport Way.
TransLink is also working with the city to fix the culvert under Airport Way.
“I think what the residents are asking from us is to be their advocates to Translink and that’s fair,” said Mayor Deb Walters.
Angry e-mails
Local mayors are fielding criticism from people across Metro Vancouver miffed by proposals to raise more money for TransLink by charging an annual vehicle fee or a new carbon tax.
Pitt Meadows Mayor Deb Walters is letting the angry residents vent and says she can empathize with them.
“The frustrating thing is it’s the board that makes the decision on capital funding and the mayors have to come up with a way to fund it,” said Walters, who once again voiced her support for a forensic audit of TransLink.
“It is really hard to go out to citizens and say we need money if we don’t know where all the money is going.”
Metro Vancouver mayors want the province to enable the new funding sources to raise an extra $30 million – committed last year to ensure the Evergreen Line proceeds – that will otherwise be added to property taxes starting in 2013.
They’re also pushing for the government to allow road tolls.
Those could extend across the region as a long-term revenue source to build new rapid transit lines on Vancouver’s Broadway corridor to UBC and through Surrey to Langley and White Rock.