The Transit Deficit Begins To Bite
Thursday night’s massive traffic accident on Highway 99 was to be expected, as it could not be otherwise.
Zwei drives this route twice a week for my cardio-rehab in White Rock and my eyes have been opened wide at the utterly poor driving habits by both car and commercial drivers.
Just on Wednesday, I witnesses no fewer than four commercial drivers, driving their ‘rigs’ at high speed, weaving in and out of traffic, rat racing to the boarder.
The posted speed is 100 kph and I was going 110 kph, keeping up with the traffic flow, yet these trucks were passing us at 120 kph plus!
Regular car drivers are no slouches either, regularity passing me at speeds I estimate at 130 kph or more!
What is very noticeable is the lack of public transit on the route, with very few buses connecting to White Rock from South Delta (Tsawwassen Ferry), Richmond and South Vancouver.
The current NDP government is hell bent increasing highway capacity with more traffic lanes and even new mini-highways as they firmly believe “rubber on asphalt” traffic solutions win elections and to hell with transit and public safety.
Currently the government is spending over $16 billion to extend the obsolete SkyTrain light metro system to Langley and to Arbutus in Vancouver, a mere 21.7 km, which with around $4 billion in funding yet to be sourced which means there is little or no money available to improve regional bus services.
With TransLink hidebound with “flavour of the month” transit projects and a complete disdain for a user-friendly transit service, the car remains the only real transportation alternative. Sadly, government at all levels do not care about the carnage on our public highways and continue doing the same thing over and over again ever hoping for different results. Sadly more accidents and deaths on our roads and highways will only increase
And do not get me started on the commercial trucking industry and the free pass they have been given by both the provincial and federal governments, with many drivers firmly believe they can break any law they wish, including the law of gravity!

2 critical after 9-vehicle crash on HWY 99 in Surrey; highway remains closed

By Emma Crawford and Charlie Carey
Posted December 12, 2024 5:58 pm.
Last Updated December 13, 2024 7:13 am.
Highway 99 is closed in both directions due to a multi-vehicle accident that happened on Thursday evening just south of the Highway 91 overpass.
Surrey Police Service (SPS) Insp. Finch tells 1130 NewsRadio on Friday morning that the accident involved nine vehicles, including a semi-truck and trailer.
Public Information Officer Ian MacDonald adds that six people were injured during the crash, two of who are in critical condition.
“It needs to be investigated, and regrettably, the location is one that normally is a regular commuter route. So, apologies for the inconvenience, but obviously this is a serious incident that has to be investigated,” MacDonald said Friday.
The closure runs southbound from the Highway 91 interchange and northbound from King George Boulevard.
According to the SPS, the northbound lanes will be the first to reopen, with southbound lanes reopening later in the day due to the nature of the crash.
“The balance that has to be maintained is to be able to gather evidence and not necessarily move all the vehicles around. I know that some of the vehicles have been moved out of the way, and certainly, we will endeavor to continue to do that,” MacDonald explained.
“But ultimately, our task is twofold. The primary task is to gather evidence and see what happened and determine if anything happened from a criminal nature, and then secondarily, obviously, is to remove anything that might be impeding traffic so we can reopen the roadway,” he added.
The BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) told 1130 NewsRadio on Thursday evening that it was called to the scene around 5:30 p.m.
“Four ambulances with primary care paramedics, three ambulances with advanced care paramedics, an air ambulance helicopter with critical care paramedics, and a supervisor responded to the scene,” EHS said.
“Paramedics provide emergency medical treatment to seven patients. Five patients were transported to hospital, three in stable condition and two in critical condition.”
Ironically, the corridor through which Highway 99 runs was initially set aside for a rail line which would connect Vancouver to Seattle.
A bridge was to be built at Woodward’s Landing (where the Massey Tunnel is now) which would have been used by the BC Electric Railway and the Grand Trunk Pacific. Negotiations went far enough that BC Electric and Pacific Northwest Traction both place orders with St. Louis Car Company for compatible rolling stock.
The owners of PNT had made some dodgy decisions, and at the last minute abandoned the idea, so late in the process that their order from St. Louis was picked up by BC Electric.
After WW I, there was still interest in making a connection with US railroads farther up the Fraser Valley, but this never came about due to the dire state of the economy.
While such an extensive network was not technically possible when it was first proposed, BC Electric proved the concept when its track reached Chilliwack in 1910.
History could have been significantly different.
If we think about it, many of the benefits of the international rail line could still be realized at a cost we can afford. It’s the lack of political will and lack of imagination that stands in the way.
Imagine if the GN still serviced Ladner/Port Guishon and the BCE bridge was built, there would have been a complete different history for White Rock and South Delta.
When we worked in your metropolitan area 20 years ago, we found that your commercial drivers had little regard for the rules of the road and from this account, this has changed for the worse.
On our side of the pond, commercial drivers are regarded as “cowboys” and our traffic laws especially regarding articulated lorries are such that transgression of the law would means being banned from driving, which would bar the income source.
We also still have a lot of freight on our rails and the government has many programs diverting goods carried on the highway back onto the rails.
Commercial vehicles also pay much higher tolls to use the highways and many small villages have put up barriers to prevent large commercial vehicles access due to the damage caused by the heavy vehicles.
The time will come that your politcans will have to deal with commercial lorry traffic, but i understand the various groups and associations representing commercial haulage are very liberal with their politcal donations.