WATCH: A recent media report suggested that the Lions Gate Bridge could be closed to vehicle traffic in the future due to a deal struck by various levels of government in 2000. But as Catherine Urquhart explains, such a scenario is unlikely.
Have you heard the story of the Lions Gate Bridge closing to car traffic by 2030?
A front-page article in The Province suggested there was “a plan on the books” to “close the Lions Gate Bridge to private cars and trucks.”
Technically, that’s true. The agreement drafted in 2000 between the City of Vancouver, the city’s park board and the provincial government called for the venerable bridge, which opened in 1938, to become restricted to buses, bicycles and pedestrians by 2030 – under certain conditions.
Those conditions included a new bridge to be built across the Burrard Inlet. The fact that hasn’t happened, and the fact no level of government appears to have seriously discussed the proposal for years, means it’s incredibly unlikely to become reality, according to the province.
“It’s a document that dates back to the former NDP government, about 15 years ago,” says Transportation Minister Todd Stone.
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“There hasn’t been a new third crossing built, and the Lions Gate Bridge is and will continue to be a critical piece of the Lower Mainland infrastructure for the movement of both people and goods.”
The proposal was first given prominence this week by Canadian Taxpayers Federation director Jordan Bateman. Global’s legislative bureau chief Keith Baldrey believes it was an attempt by Bateman to further undermine the “YES” side in the transit plebiscite – and that it may have worked.
“I think some media outlets got played by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation,” says Baldrey.
“This goes back more than 15 years. It had no credibility back then, it had no credibility between then and now, but it got a little life breathed into it today, and I think Jordan Bateman’s probably happy he got this much media attention.”
WATCH: Baldrey explains why a car-free Lions Gate Bridge is extremely unlikely
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