Nik Cuff, Geoff Senichenko, Wilderness Committee

The B.C. “Gateway Program” and the Canadian ”Pacific Gateway Strategy” is a $7 billion plan for trucks and trains servicing port expansions including:
Port Mann/Highway 1 Expansion
Involves widening Highway 1 from the McGill interchange in Vancouver to 216th Street in Langley, a distance of approximately 37 kilometres - see the map.
South Fraser Perimeter Road
An entirely new transportation route running generally in an east-west direction along the south side of the Fraser River from Highway 1 near Port Kells in Surrey/Langley to Deltaport Way in South Delta.
North Fraser Perimeter Road
A new highway constructed using existing roads along the north shore of the Fraser River, to provide a route between the Queensborough Bridge in New Westminster and TransLink’s new Golden Ears Bridge in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows.
Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange Project
A proposed new bridge to replace the existing swing bridges and an interchange to replace the existing Lougheed Highway and Mary Hill Bypass intersection.

The Gateway Mega-Development Plan
Greater Vancouver’s $7 Billion Road to Ruin

The B.C. “Gateway Program” combined with the Canadian “Pacific Gateway Strategy” is a $7 billion attempt to capture Asia-Pacific trade. The Gateway projects include new and expanded highways, bridges, rail expansions, rail yards and container terminals to service a three-fold expansion of port facilities to accommodate three times more trucks to move container goods through the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and across Canada.
You will pay $7 billion, plus interest, to build destructive transportation corridors through the GVRD, polluting the air you breathe and increasing climate changing greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the emissions from marine vessels, which have already increased 20% since 2000, are the leading source of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and cancer-causing pollutants. Deadly particulate matter, which has no safe level, is a principal component of diesel exhaust from ships and trucks. A single container ship belches more pollution than 2,000 diesel trucks. Gateway would triple container business and ensure 24-hour unrestricted movement of trucks, which would send even more of these deadly toxins into the GVRD airshed.
The Gateway plans have been developed without a full and impartial cost/benefit analysis, without public consultation, and without a cumulative effects assessment. The plans have not considered safety, the environment, air quality, farmland or communities. Alternative plans for a world-class public transportation system have not even been considered. Gateway plans, along with the expansion of the port in Delta (“Deltaport”) and industrial corridors, will cause ecological devastation at the mouth of the Fraser River and up the valley. Increased greenhouse gas emissions and toxic pollutants will funnel up the Fraser Valley poisoning our airshed. It’s time to act and make sure taxpayers don’t pay $7 billion to destroy one of the most spectacular places in the world. Gateway makes no economic sense. It’s time to protect our assets, our economy, and the health of the Lower Mainland. It’s time to STOP GATEWAY.

Port Destroying Fraser Estuary

Phase one of port expansion is underway at Deltaport, Roberts Bank, at the mouth of the Fraser River, the greatest salmon river in the world. Roberts Bank, a large expanse of intertidal eelgrass beds, marshes and nutrient-rich mudflats, is a vital link in a chain of globally-significant habitats for salmon, migrating birds and orcas. Migrating salmon on their way to the ocean stay in the estuary to feed and adapt to salt water.
Roberts Bank is a feeding area for three pods of endangered and declining populations of resident orcas. Their survival is threatened by toxic pollution, loss of food sources (primarily coho salmon), marine noise and collisions. At a time when legislation should be protecting habitat for orcas and other wildlife, the federal government, without public consultation, is in the process of revising the Fisheries Act to remove the current level of protection.
The Fraser delta is Canada’s major stopover on the Pacific Flyway for up to five million migratory birds from at least 20 countries. Roberts Bank, Boundary Bay and Sturgeon Bank have international recognition as Canada’s Most Important Bird Areas with the highest numbers of wintering waterfowl, shorebirds and birds of prey. This area is crucial to the survival of the world’s population of 3.6 million western sandpipers. In the words of Dr. Mary Taitt, “Any further development on Roberts Bank will exacerbate past cumulative effects and may even precipitate collapse of this globally significant system.”
In October, 2006, despite past and recent warnings from government scientists that port developments posed unacceptable threats to the Roberts Bank ecosystem, the federal Minister of Environment approved dredging and filling to create 55 acres of new land for a Third Berth at Deltaport. Plans to dredge and fill another 200 acres for a second terminal with three new berths are now being fast-tracked for approval. In addition to 255 acres of filled-in estuary, the BC and Canadian governments have entered into an agreement to transfer 2,850 acres of provincial Crown waterlot to the federal government to be managed by the Vancouver Port Authority (VPA). This waterlot area, formerly designated as a Wildlife Management Area, is nearly three times the size of Stanley Park. The VPA will be able to operate in facilities 11 times the size of their current operation.

Paving Burns Bog, Farmland and Communities

The proposed South Fraser Perimeter Road will cut through prime farmland, wildlife habitat and heritage communities. SFPR is about the movement of goods from the expanded Deltaport container terminal to Highway 1, through the GVRD and across Canada. Less than 40% of incoming goods are for regional use. The new proposed road will pave over 241 acres of prime farmland, cut down 36 acres of forest on the edge of Burns Bog, and devastate families and neighbourhoods. The route cuts through the communities of Sunbury, Annieville, Royal Heights and Bridgeview with the expropriation of 200 homes and the acquistion of 500 properties. These neighbourhoods will be disfigured forever if this road is allowed to proceed. At least four valuable aboriginal archaeological sites will also be destroyed.
Guy Gentner, MLA for Delta North wrote in a letter to Premier Campbell on March 2, 2007, “The reality is this freeway will be yet another congested mess, crowded with large diesel trucks and commuter traffic. We all know that building blacktop is hardly a green endeavour . . . In fact, it is the exact opposite. Clearly the planned route will damage Burns Bog, will further damage the mighty Fraser River, and will result in even more greenhouse gases and other pollutants being spewed into our atmosphere and the very air we breathe.”

Deltaport expansion projects not needed

Roger Emsley, a member of APE (Against Port Expansion in Delta) states that using the Vancouver Port Authority’s own container traffic forecasts, future needs can be met without building the extra capacity at Deltaport. Productivity of BC ports, much lower than those in Europe and Asia, can be improved. Also, with current capacity in the Lower Mainland and new capacity coming on line in Prince Rupert in 2008, the Deltaport expansion is not needed.

Are we being fleeced?

There are no guarantees that the container business will come. Cheaper, alternative routes are being constructed through Mexico and the Panama
Canal. California has announced a $20 billion proposal to expand their port capacity. There are plans for mid-continent trade corridors from Mexico to Winnipeg and Calgary, and talks of a northwest passage. The only guarantees we have are increased debt, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Governments, working with big business, are operating without a fair environmental assessment process and without legitimacy for their projects.

Port expansion will destroy 1,000 acres of farmland

The Deltaport expansions require container yards, rail yards, rail upgrades and the South Fraser Perimeter Road. To meet these requirements, 1,000 acres of farmland will be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in Delta. According to Lois Jackson, Delta Mayor and Chair of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), that figure could double if the Brunswick Point lands (pictured above) are lost. As she said in the Delta Optimist newspaper on January 20, 2007, “It all points back to the port.”

Highway Expansion Doesn’t Stop Congestion

The BC government plans to spend $1.5 billion of taxpayers’ money to twin the Port Mann Bridge and expand Highway 1 from Langley to Vancouver to facilitate the increase in container trucks moving goods from ports in Vancouver through the Greater Vancouver Regional District and across Canada.

Expanding Highway 1 and twinning the Port Mann Bridge will...
• Increase congestion in the region over the long term
• Encourage sprawling, car-dependent development (big-box),
and loss of agricultural land
• Increase air pollution and smog, exacerbating health problems such as
cancer, stroke and asthma
• Threaten green space and agricultural land
• Increase greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change
• Reduce funds available for public transit.

Extensive studies show that widened highways encourage sprawling development and increase the number of trips made by car. Traffic volume increases and new lanes quickly fill up. Within a few years, congestion is worse than before as the region becomes more car dependent. The Alex Fraser Bridge, built to combat congestion on Highways 1 and 99, was expected to take seven years to reach capacity. It was congested within nine months and has remained that way.

Gateway plans also include giving priority to commercial trucks in congested areas. Heavy truck traffic is expected to grow 63% by 2021. Burnaby and Vancouver Councils formally oppose the projects which will significantly increase traffic on their already busy streets. The GVRD also opposes the expansion of Highway 1 because it does not adhere to the Livable Region Strategic Plan. Construction of transportation corridors that will increase traffic through Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Delta, Surrey and Langley is galvanizing people into action as residents recognize that their neighbourhoods will suffer increased traffic.

Smarter Alternatives to Highway Widening

The Livable Region Coalition (www.livableregion.ca) report Transportation for a Sustainable Region proposes:
1. Better land use (eg. more compact and transit-oriented communities),
2. Improved transit (eg. a regionally complete network of better bus service,
rapid transit and commuter rail),
3. More efficient use of existing roads (eg. HOV, truck and transit lanes,
trip reduction plans, congestion pricing and traffic management),
4. Better freight options (eg. moving goods by rail during off-peak hours).
The Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org) reports that shifting traffic from the automobile to transit on a particular highway not only reduces congestion on that facility, it also reduces vehicle traffic discharged onto the surface streets, providing “downstream” congestion reduction benefits.

Cooking the Books, Cooking the Planet
Estimated on-road greenhouse gas emissions in the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts

A recent report from the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC), Cooking the Books, Cooking the Planet, by Eric Doherty, reveals how the B.C. Ministry of Highways has erred in calculating on-road greenhouse gas emissions from the Gateway Program. SPEC examined the Ministry’s report and found that with Gateway there would be an increase of 31% in on-road greenhouse gas emissions as opposed to the Ministry’s prediction of a 0.3% total increase for the region.
The GVRD has published a report showing the possibility of reducing on-road greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2020 with strategic investment in public transit. This kind of planning is being shunted aside with the announcement that TransLink will be run by a government-appointed Board, effectively cutting the GVRD right out of running and planning our transit system. Critics have lamented this loss of democracy as a way for the provincial government to increase taxes and muddle it all into the Gateway agenda under the pretence of helping commuters.

Emissions toxic to health

Recent studies show that even with higher emission standards, lung damage can be substantial when high numbers of trucks and port activities add pollutants to the air. A 2006 Washington State Environmental Protection Agency study of cancer-causing pollution found: “With only a few exceptions the most unhealthful air in the state is found in neighborhoods near ports.” The Guardian, January, 2007, reporting on a recent study in California by the Keck School of Medicine stated: “The study is the first to link permanent lung damage, which can shorten life expectancy, to traffic pollution.” The US Sierra Club has published a list of 15 key studies on air pollution and health effects near high-traffic areas linking air pollution to cancer, respiratory illnesses and mortality from particulate matter. It’s time to protect our children!

So who benefits?

The Vancouver Port Authority, rail and shipping companies will certainly benefit. Land developers will make huge profits with the rezoning of agricultural land and green zones. The companies, who will build Gateway with our money, will end up owning much of Gateway under Public Private Partnerships (P3s). And those politicians who the companies choose to financially support in the next election will benefit as well. P3s are private consortiums, building and financing public projects in return for annual fees and operation contracts that last 25 to 40 years. P3 infrastructure projects cost more and deny public control for many years after projects are built. P3s lack transparency, clarity and accountability. The provincial government has already put taxpayers in debt with P3s to the tune of $4.7 billion. If the proposed Gateway projects go ahead, the debt for future taxpayers will be staggering.

Check it out

You might enjoy helping out those who are actively fighting to stop the Gateway developments and save the environment.
Gateway 30 Network
Phone: 604-536-2790 www.stopgateway.ca
A network of organizations from south of the Fraser River fighting Gateway including ACORN Community Services; Against Port Expansion (APE); BC NDP Agriculture Committee; BC Great Blue Heron Society; Birdland Residents Association; Boundary Bay Conservation Committee; Bridgeview Community Association; Burns Bog Conservation Society www.burnsbog.org ; Canadian Action Party www.canadianactionparty.ca/home.html; Canadian Auto Workers, local 111 (bus drivers); Central Valley Naturalists; Delta Residents for a Healthy Community; East Ladner Residents Association; Federation of BC Naturalists; Fraser River Coalition; Fraser Valley Conservation Coalition; Green Party of BC; Langara Students for Sustainable Transportation; Langley Conservation Network; Livable Region Coalition (Langley Chapter); Port Mann Community Association; SmartGrowth BC; Student Action for the Environment (SAFE) – Kwantlen Students; Sunbury Neighbourhood Association www.sunburyneighbourhood.ca; Surrey Environmental Partners; Soil and Water Conservation Assoc of BC; There is Another Way – Hoover/Naas; Wilderness Committee; and White Rock/South Surrey Naturalists.
APE (Against Port Expansion in Delta)
Phone: 604-946-3969
www.againstportexpansion.org
Educating local citizens about the negative impacts of Deltaport expansions and related infrastructure. APE urges people to contact elected politicians.
SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation)
Phone:604-736-7732 www.spec.bc.ca
A non-profit charitable organization that addresses environmental issues in British Columbia, with a particular focus on urban communities in Lower Mainland and the Georgia Basin. The full copy of SPEC’s Cooking the Books report can be found at www.livableregion.ca/pdf/Cooking_the_Books_Report_Final_05-02-07.pdf
Livable Region Coalition
www.livableregion.ca
Supports the GVRD’s Livable Region Strategic Plan and believes the Province’s Highway #1 expansion threaten LRSP principles and will weaken the region’s growth management goals. LRC’s members include the David Suzuki Foundation; SPEC; Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST); Smart Growth BC; BC Sustainable Energy Coalition; Burke Mountain Naturalists; Sierra Club of Canada (BC Chapter); Transport 2000 BC; and West End Residents Association. LRC’s “alternatives” and other policy papers can be found on their web site.
Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) www.best.bc.ca
Offers innovative programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and to inform people about the environmental, health and community issues surrounding transportation.
Gateway Sucks www.gatewaysucks.ca
A small but growing group of individuals who are, in their words, “ticked off” about the Gateway Program.
Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs
www.eagleridgebluffs.ca
A group of individuals, elected officials, organizations and other supporters who are standing up to protect the Eagleridge Bluffs, the Larson Creek Wetlands and the Baden Powell Trail from destruction. Although not specifically part of the Gateway Project, the destruction of Eagleridge Bluffs was the first part of the BC government’s environmentally destructive transportation plan that was imposed on an unwilling community.
Please accept our apologies to groups working to stop Gateway that were inadvertently missed.