A proposal to designate a pair of routes through Port Moody as part of a Major Road Network drove debate among council Tuesday night.
Council approved a staff recommendation to request TransLink to extend the Major Road Network to connect Heritage Mountain Boulevard to East Road.
If approved, TransLink agree to fund $19,100 per lane-kilometre for a main and alternate route that would cover stretches of Heritage Mountain Boulevard, David Avenue, Forest Park Way and Aspenwood Drive. The main route would see the city rake in $183,360 in annual funding from TransLink while the alternate route would carry another $38,200 in annual funds.
"When you look at those particular stretches of road, there's absolutely no reason they shouldn't be designated MRN," said Coun. Diana Dilworth.
In order to qualify for the TransLink designation, the roads must see peak traffic volume greater than 800 vehicles an hour with a minimum of 70% of trips being longer than 10 kilometres, or see a minimum of 10 buses during peak hour traffic or a minimum of 800 trucks a day.
Neal Carley, the city's general manager of engineering and parks, said the routes have the traffic volume to meet TransLink's criteria and making the application would only cost a small amount of staff time.
Staff say the proposed routes would meet TransLink's criteria.
"Identifying them as a major road network will get us additional funding to cover the maintenance," said Dilworth. "They already are major routes. My home backs onto Heritage Mountain Boulevard and I can assure you that is a major road with or without the designation."
But Mayor Mike Clay was somewhat wary of strings might be attached to any TransLink funds.
"What's missing is the downside and there's always a downside. People don't give you money for nothing," said Clay, who was successful in attaching an amendment asking TransLink to specify what its expectations would be from the city if it were to enter into an agreement.
"We know when we've gone through this process on other roads that they have expectations about signal timing, carrying capacity, speed limits, things like that."
Coun. Zoe Royer joined the mayor in opposing the application, saying she feared the road designation would facilitate more development in Anmore.
Clay said municipalities continue to pressure for additional transit projects but then sit down at the mayors' council where they refuse to fund them.
"Their priorities are to get the Evergreen Line built, to get transit built, to get the Pattullo Bridge fixed up, to get the big stuff done. And messing around with little roads like this for them isn't their highest priority and it shouldn't be."
