This is the third in a series of articles sharing highlights from NWEP’s mayor and council candidates questionnaire on environmental issues. While we shared the candidates’ opinions on traffic issues in our last post in this series, it’s worth taking a little more time to discuss one issue in particular that could have a profound impact on traffic flow in New Westminster: the proposed replacement of the Pattullo Bridge.

Translink recently announce a new bridge will be built in the next 5 years between New Westminster and Surrey, the third bridge across in the past 106 years.

Image by janusz l via Flickr

New Westminster Residents affected by the closure of the Pattullo Bridge last January will no doubt know what is coming as Translink closed the bridge again this season for a significant overhaul of the paved surfaces. Depending on where in the city you reside, festering traffic jams or placid car free streets resulted from the last bridge shut down, caused by a fire set by a transient, that spread to a wooden flex-brace structure. Areas around 20th st. and Queensborough had a nightmare on their …

I have been looking forward to tonight’s meeting of the New Westminster Historical Society. It is not so much that former New Westminster curator Archie Miller and the historical society’s organizer would be presenting commentary and images on the Hollywood Sanitarium and the New Westminster Mall (the mall replaced the hospital that was between 5th and 6th streets, uptown New West) and his usual photo groups of places and people throughout this cities 150 year history. I just missed being there.
I became a member of the group a little over …

While the rest of us brace for a month or more of commuting hell while TransLink repairs the burnt-out Pattullo Bridge, a few local thinkers on transportation issues offer an alternative view. No one doubts the short-term pain, but The South Fraser Blog and Stephen Rees suggest motorists will find alternate routes or change their travel patterns given some time. Meanwhile, the temporary loss of that bridge might actually get us thinking differently about Lower Mainland transportation problems if we take the time for self-reflection.
Back in the day (and even …

This is a media release from the City of New Westminster. We hope this New Westminster Park ‘N Ride solution will help some of the affected Pattullo commuters who are finding our blog via search.
New Westminster, BC –The City of New Westminster is offering Metro Vancouver commuters a new way to avoid travel delays across the Fraser River while repairs are done to the Pattullo Bridge.
Mayor Wayne Wright has announced that commuters can access nearly 800 parking spaces at the City’s parkade on Front Street and complete their trips …

Image via Wikipedia

As we blogged earlier today, a fire has shut down the Pattullo Bridge. Now it seems it will not just be Monday’s commute that will be affected. It looks like the bridge could be shut down for up to six weeks. 
“Because of the severity of the damage, it will certainly be closed for a couple of days, but there is a strong likelihood that it will be closed for an extended period, perhaps as long as four to six weeks,” [TransLink spokesperson Ken Hardie] said.
Source: Pattullo Bridge closed …

If you are one of the 80,000 commuters who cross the Pattullo Bridge to get to work, brace yourself: you may want to plan to work from home, time-shift or take a sick day on Monday. One of the trestles caught fire early this morning, and the bridge is closed to traffic until further notice.
“It’s heavily charred,” [TransLink spokesperson] Ken Hardie said. “When the blaze first broke out … reports were that there were flames shooting up from underneath the bridge on both sides.”
TransLink engineers are assessing the bridge’s structure, …