Gateway: the tip of the iceberg

Don’t believe the hype. The South Fraser Perimeter Road is not about “relieving traffic congestion” or “taking trucks off residential streets”. It’s about more roads, more trucks, and the rapid industrialization of the region. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

A home for sale in Surrey near the proposed South Fraser Perimeter Road alignment. The realtor confirms that if the SFPR is built, the whole area will be zoned industrial. This particular neighbourhood successfully resisted a 1970s plan to relocate it en masse to make room for trucks and industrial "development". Back then they actually tried to spin these kinds of nonsense plans as "urban renewal"!

At least 500 properties must be acquired to build the SFPR, including at least 200 residential homes. But that is just the beginning. Homeowners nearby are being pressured to sell to Gateway, even if indirectly. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon says these properties (already devalued by the threat of the freeway) will later be sold at a profit. How will this be possible, unless they are converted to industrial uses?

Follow the money. Buried deep in the mountains of documents generated in the “Environmental Assessment” is a report from Colliers which found that the SFPR would result in massively expanded industrial development across the South Fraser region. Build it and they will come. And yet more roads will follow. Meanwhile, renters get the boot, homeowners lose their equity, and big property developers get even richer.

Until now, little attention has been paid to the networks of new and wider “access” roads planned for areas surrounding the proposed SFPR alignment, like the truck road planned to carve directly through the community ballpark in Surrey’s Bolivar Heights neighbourhood. Building a freeway like the SFPR just encourages building more roads… and encourages “development” of sensitive areas that were previously inaccessible. The SFPR is just the first step of a much larger process. Add it all up, and we’re not just talking one new freeway. We’re talking new blacktop crisscrossing practically every which way, over neighbourhoods, parks, forests, streams, and farms. Recent events have shown that our parks, farms, and even lands in Metro Vancouver’s Green Zone are not as safe from development as we might have thought.

At this rate, before too long, our supposedly livable region will be a concrete jungle virtually indistinguishable from any other smogopolis in North America. Who here wants that to happen?

Gateway cancelled due to climate crisis

<<a bulletin from www.gatewaysucks.org>>

In recognition of today’s Global Day of Action Against Climate Crisis, the BC Government has announced the complete cancellation of The Gateway Project.

On the eve of the Day of Action, Premier Campbell sat down with a calculator and concluded that tripling Deltaport in order to bring in three times the amount of toxic disposable junk from China, then building a new eight-lane freeway to accomodate the truck traffic needed to transport all that stuff to eastern Canada and Atlanta, would not help him to achieve his government’s stated goal of a 33% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. In fact, it would increase emissions by 31%. Oops.

The $13 billion dollars allocated for Gateway will be redirected to fund transit, which will result in proactive measures against climate change, healthier communities, a robust and sustainable economy, and more jobs.

Thank you for supporting Gatewaysucks.org in helping the government come to its senses. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

For more info see www.LiveSmarterBC.ca

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday December 7th

Surrey Citizens Spoof Province
on Global Day of Action on Climate Crisis

SURREY: Jim Shook, an engineering contractor and concerned Surrey resident, took on the unusual role today of speaking at a press conference organized in front of a large Ministry of Transportation sign which had been altered to say that the Gateway Project had been canceled due to concerns related to Global Warming.

Shook’s only prior public speaking experience was at a friends wedding last summer but according to Shook, the hypocrisy of this government going ahead with this project and at the same time as claiming they are taking action to prevent the climate crisis is just too crazy not to do something about it.

Shook was among the local area residents who joined efforts today with a broad-based network of Lower Mainland activists who used the website www.gatewaysucks.org and its mailing list to orchestrate this surprise announcement of the cancellation of Gateway, timed to coincide with the Global Day of Action on Climate Crisis.

Gatewaysucks.org spokesperson Carmen Mills explained the reasons for the spoof action: “Gordon Campbell says he wants to address the climate crisis and get BC to live smart so cancelling Gateway is our friendly suggestion, to help him get it right.”

The sign was altered by placing a swatch over the Ministry of Transportation’s sign announcing the construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road. The hacked sign announced that funding for the project had been “diverted to transit improvement” by Live Smarter BC, a parody of the BC Government’s climate change initiative entitled Live Smart BC. The sign also featured a website address, www.LiveSmarterBC.ca, which mimics the actual government site.

“The Gateway Project is really where the rubber hits the road, in terms of the government’s commitment to reducing green house gas emissions,” said Shook. “It will be impossible for the government to meet its commitments if Gateway goes ahead.” He added, “Gateway won’t even ease our traffic problems, or help people south of the Fraser – it will actually make congestion worse, with a huge cost to the taxpayer and ultimately to our environment.”

According to a poll done by the David Suzuki foundation, 69% of Metro Vancouver residents support redirecting money away from road expansion projects toward a better public transit system.

The Provincial government has selected a contractor for the Port Mann/Highway 1 component of the proposed Gateway project but they have yet to sign a contract. No contractor has been selected for the new South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) freeway project. Many critics are saying that the economic downturn makes the private financing required for Gateway increasingly unstable, and the demand for port expansion has disappeared therefore, a key rationale for the project no longer exists.

Carmen Mills added, “Transit is a win-win deal – we can reduce emissions and congestion while creating far more jobs than we would by building highways. TransLink says that transit service and ridership must be doubled to meet the province’s climate commitments. But they are seriously underfunded and may have to cut service. It doesn’t make any sense for us to go forward with Gateway.” Mills predicts escalating citizen action throughout the region in the near future if the government does not begin to reconsider Gateway immediately.

For photos and video see www.gatewaysucks.org

Sunday Dec. 7 Global Day of Action on Climate Crisis

“Transit Not Gateway” Action this Sunday: Global Day of Action on Climate Crisis

<<a bulletin from www.gatewaysucks.org >>

Join us Sunday December 7 at 10:30 am near the Scott Road SkyTrain station in for a creative action against Gateway in support of better public transit. The action will illustrate our demand for better transit service, instead of destructive freeways, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

WHAT: With the support of www.gatewaysucks.org, an informal coalition of greater Vancouver residents organizing in opposition to the Gateway freeway projects, this event will feature symbolic action related to Gateway and climate change.

WHERE: On the overpass over the King George Highway from the Scott Road SkyTrain station (just exit the station to the east, and follow the footpath east and then north – about five minutes). The address is 126A St. & King George Highway in Surrey.

See Map http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=126A+st+%26+King+george+…

BRING: Water resistant footwear if you want to tour the proposed route of the South Fraser Freeway through Bridgeview after the action. Signs related to the climate crisis, Gateway and transit would be appreciated.

For more information contact info@gatewaysucks.org

For information on the Sunday December 7 Global Day of Action see http://www.sierraclub.ca/climatecrisis/?page_id=665

For more information about The Gateway Project visit www.gatewaysucks.org