SURREY (NEWS1130) – A new Insight West survey shows 65 per cent of respondents are satisfied with the new span, but there’s still a division on tolls.
Not surprisingly though, those that never or rarely use the bridge are most in favour of paying for it.
“The issue of tolling seems to have divided Metro Vancouver into two camps – those who are in favour since they don’t drive over the bridge, with the opposition camp being firmly entrenched among drivers who are impacted,” says Steve Mossop, President of Insights West. “Residents south of the Fraser remain bitterly opposed to the toll, despite being satisfied with the new bridge overall. It will be interesting to see whether drivers follow through with their bridge avoidance plans and we end up with an under-utilized bridge like the Golden Ears while congestion move to the free routes.”
The survey shows a significant number of weekly bridge users plan to use different routes, free routes. SFU City Planning expert Gord Price says that won’t last though. “You’ve got that nice wide bridge and that new highway, widened, it’s going to be a tough thing to turn down if you’ve got to fight traffic,”says Price.
He says once people try out the alternatives they’ll likely realize that they can get value for their money using the new bridge.
Price does point out that the real results will show once the South Fraser Perimeter Road is completed and how much easier it will make other commuting options.
Port Mann Bridge (November 2012)
New Port Mann bridge liked, drivers not sold on tolls
A survey shows 65 per cent of people in Metro Vancouver are satisfied with the new span
Anita Bathe
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I found that drivers using 152nd for access / exit are not deserve for the HOV lane discount
Ahh now it makes sense. People like a faster commute, but don’t like paying tolls. I wouldn’t have thought of that.
I live in Surrey and work in Surrey too. I don’t cross the Port Mann Bridge. I strongly oppose the expensive toll on the bridge. The full toll is $3 for a car, very expensive. I am not sure how many years the toll will stay in effect. For example, if the toll will be collect in 25 years and the toll is $3 per trip. Now let the toll be collect 50 years, but the toll is $ 1.50 per trip. This is fair for people who travel across the bridge every day. This is fair for this generation and the next.
If they make this generation pay all the toll, the next generation uses it for free. This is not right
I too live in Fraser Heights and must now deal with this significant cost burden.
There are several issues here, but I would like to express this one: driving over the bridge is fairly swift and without issues which I am surprised about. BUT, here is the big problem: once you reach IKEA, traffic comes to a near standstill. It hardly moves at all – average speed of about 20 or 30 km/hour.
I have not seen ANY time savings. None.
The traffic flow issues have remain – they are simply shifted further West by a few hundred meters.
I have tried to learn about completion dates for the rest of the highway, hoping that it will be soon and I can experience even a few minutes savings per day for my $5000 cost.
I am unable to see anything about completion about the rest of the project. It is not looking like much has changed in that section of the highway for months now. But that is often the way it seems with such a large project, and then all of a sudden, it’s complete.
I am a resident in Fraser Heights which is right off PortMann but work at Burnaby so I am a frequent user of the bridge. I like the new bridge but I don’t like the toll which is too expensive. If you think about it, it costs me $3 per day, $60 per month, or $720 per annum at the current discounted rate. It will be around $1500 in one year from now. And my husband will go across the bridge too. So my family will pay ~$3000 extra to go to work. It is after tax money so before tax it probably will cost us /$5k. Why should we be punished for living at south of the Fraser?!
I want to know who determined the price. Any public consultation been done at that time? Maybe it was decided by the group who will never use the bridge at all so they don’t care. But as a government benefiting from the toll revenue, they should think about affordability and equity!
Surrey residents pay a equal fair to the Canada line and Evergreen line. Surrey has been the biggest municipality in the region with the minimum transportation support. The promised rapid bus going Guildford without a stop…ridiculous!
I will support whoever gonna scratch the toll or reduce it to an afford level.