TransLink should wait and see what impacts the Evergreen Line and the new Port Mann bridge have on traffic in the Tri-Cities before rushing to build the Murray-Clarke Connector, according to a local byelection candidate.
Christine Clarke, who is running under the B.C. Conservative banner in Port Moody-Coquitlam, was responding to Joe Trasolini, her NDP byelection rival, who earlier this week stated the province should step in with the money to fund the new roadway.
However Clarke said the $70 million connector may not be necessary once new projects like SkyTrain and an expanded Highway 1 come online.
"This is a hollow campaign promise," she said of Trasolini's recent announcement. "We don't know where the cars are going to go. There are other projects where the provinces are spending millions of dollars and they should have an impact on the traffic in Port Moody."
Clarke said in a press release that Trasolini's announcement harkens back to the NDP's "tax-and-spend" practices of the 1990s adding that the project "defies sound economic thinking."
She told The Tri-City News that a recent TransLink report questioned how much of an impact the connector would have on local traffic and whether launching the project was necessary.
Clarke also had concerns about the impact the connector would have on the character of Port Moody's waterfront area.
"Visually it is going to have a huge impact," she said. "You are building a four-lane highway through the heritage part of the city."
While a date for the byelection has yet to be set, all three of the major parties have already begun their campaigns. BC Liberal leader Christy Clark was in town Thursday and NDP leader Adrian Dix joined Trasolini in his Murray-Clarke announcement on Monday.
As the election draws near, the Conservative Clarke said members of the community will hear more from their candidates.
"This byelection is important to all three parties," she said. "We all want it very badly."
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
