During the Christmas break I drove into Vancouver through the George Massey Tunnel. The weather was decent, there was minimal traffic and significant time was saved. The first business day of 2013 changed all that.
A provincial delegation has attended Delta and adjacent municipalities seeking input on the future of the tunnel, but as has been stated many times before, any crossing improvement is likely decades away. Kudos to the provincial government for visiting Delta for input, but it strikes me our own council could initiate a similar forum seeking short-term solutions. The last council initiative on tunnel improvement was in the early 1980s resulting in the counterflow lane.
I stand to be corrected, but none of our local elected officials use the tunnel daily as a commuter, therefore do not share our anxiety and frustration. I appreciate they have much on their plates with numerous issues and committee time, as well as looming land use hearings, but seeing and experiencing makes believers of us all.
I'm offering a friendly challenge to one of our municipal politicians by organizing the Tour de Tunnel time trial. It involves one of our leaders with a sense of adventure to debark by car from municipal hall at 7: 45 a.m. on any Monday in the next 30 days.
They would navigate Highway 17 through the tunnel using the right lane and exit onto the Steveston Highway overpass westbound, make a left turn at the west end of the overpass and proceed southbound through the tunnel on the way back to municipal hall.
Off rush hour this is a 10-minute trip. Should he/she return to the hall in less than 40 minutes, I will donate $500 to a charity of their choice in their name. All I ask is that if the experience is noteworthy, he/she initiates some dialogue with our beleaguered Delta drivers to seek input for any short-term improvements.
Delta's traffic safety committee might have a role in this as well. A major bottleneck northbound in the morning is the Steveston Highway overpass, which backs traffic into the tunnel and slows/stops the right lane.
I am a believer in the collective wisdom of a large group of people; surely there are other thoughts and ideas worth considering. I would like to think Delta council with staff support could engage in discussions with Richmond council.
Surrey council could add its weight to discussions as its constituents are part or the problem and encounter lengthy delays at the tunnel, which will only get worse.
To loosely paraphrase a famous quote, it is far better to take on a challenge with the risk of an occasional setback rather than be one of those who are afraid of failure so do nothing. This is a decades-old problem. We need an advocate who will work with adjacent municipalities and put pressure on our provincial government. Any takers?
Let's initiate some dialogue and perhaps improve a vexing issue.
As they say, timing is everything and we have a provincial election in May.
And a good night to you, councillors.
