Gateway Rally and Panel Discussion from SFU’s Cornerstone down to AQ

16h30-17:14, November 08, 2007, Cornerstone, SFU, a Rally of 20 to30 gathered to protest the Gateway Project. Carrying signs saying things such as, ‘Hug a bus Driver,’ ‘Gateway Sucks’ and ‘Give us: Buses, trains HOV lanes’ protesters chanted “Highways and pollution are not the solution,” “We want buses to get through the rushes” and “We want trains and cue-jumper lanes.” Bruce McArthur, of the coalition to save Eagle Ridge Bluff bused out from West Van for the protest.

John Buker, a resident of Chilliwack has already collected about 700 signatures in his campaign demanding a train from the Fraser Valley (http://www.railforvalley.com/). There have been rallies in Vancouver, Chilliwack and Abbotsford calling for more transit and there is a Facebook group, ‘Fraser Valley Needs Passenger Service Now’. Mr. Buker intends to send his signed petitions to Premier Gordon Cambell and Transportation minister Kevin Falcon.

On the south end of SFU Transit exchange Stop #53096 or Bay 2 and Stop #51861 or Bay 1, these political activists cheered for each 145, 135, 144 and 143 that took away riders. A drummer and some noise makers and one megaphone made noise while rally attendants cheered, “We want U-Pass not pass you” and “we need trains and not free lanes” Richard Cambell from the Livable Region Coalition took the Mic and said, “Regardless of the massive surplus, the provincial government has ignored transit.” He then added, “They do not care that buses pass by people in the rain.”

Burnaby-Douglas MP Bill Siksay attended a portion of the rally holding a ‘Say something Now’ sign and spoke in favor of transit, Federally funded Buses and repair of the Railway Bridge. He did not mention the BC Ministry of Transportation or the Federal Asia Pacific Gateway and Corridor or the Pacific Gateway Project that have all begun expanding roads for Motor Vehicles. By 17:20, protesters had made their way chanting down the S.E stairwell into SFU’s Academic Quadrangle building to attend a panel put on by SPIRG.

17:30-18:50, November 08, 2007 a panel about the expansion of the Tsawassen Delta port, building another bridge next to the PortMann and expanding of Highway 1 sat speakeing and answering audience questions in AQ 3181 at SFU. Biology grad student and member of SFPIRG Climate Change Action Group, Jenn Sunday, helped organize the panel and said sspeakers “were chosen in a way to make the discussion inter-disciplinary and to raise awareness of their research to students on campus.” Abstracts and a list of sponsors of the speaker series can be found at www.SFPIRG.ca under ‘Climate Change Speaker Series’.

The panel was divided on the one hand Bob Wilds of the Gateway Council and Allen Domaas from the Fraser River Port Authority. On the other end, Dr. Gordon Price from SFU Urban Studies and Shane Simpson an NDP MLA Environment Critic received considerable support from the audience during the later question period.

First, Mr.Wilds spoke in favour of both the Gateway project and more transit projects. He talked of population growth, a lack of meaningful land use and the jobs that the gateway project has created. Next, Mr. Price spoke passionately warning everyone not to “let the guys who drive big trucks design our region.” His biggest criticism of the project was that it acknowledged or perpetuated the idea that “you would be nuts to get around without a car.” He warned that the Gateway project would create a situation not unlike the San Fernando Valley and the Long Beach Port in L.A. Mr. Domaas then announced that he does not drive a big truck, nor make all the decisions. He spoke of the problem with funding the million dollar projects that would be required in order to make the areas South of the Fraser River more transit accessable. Finally, Mr. Simpson spoke about BC premier Cambell’s promise of a plan to achieve a 33% reduction of Co2 and a 20% increase in transit use. So far Simpson says he has only planned on getting 20 buses for the next 6 years. He is concerned that if the legislation the Gateway project is pushing for is passed, there will no longer be any elected representative involved in transit planning.

Ms. Sunday noted that there was such “a positive response from more profs than we could accommodate, [that] there is potential for a second speaker series at a later date.” The last panel in the SFU Fall Speaker Series on Climate Change series will be ‘The Role of Local Economies’ Thursday November 22, 3pm in room C9001.