The Editor,
"A million more people are due to move into this region by 2040," says the Yes side in the transportation referendum. No, they're not. A million more people may want to come into this region but it's not a given that they have to come in.
As I pointed out on the Letters page a while ago, we can control new population growth to only that which can be accommodated successfully.
Don't panic at the million figure. Major projects are completed successfully by doing them in manageable chunks. As each developer approaches a municipality for a building permit, the city could grant it only if the plan includes funding and plans to mitigate the impacts on the community in question.
If done this way, a million or two million or however many new residents could be accommodated without open ended and unnecessary taxation. Once they are residents, this new group's taxes maintain the transportation, education, etc. services needed.
Jonathan Myers, Port Coquitlam
