LG} Office of the Chairperson
Greater Vancouver Regional District Telephone (604) 432-6215
4330 Kingsway, Bumaby, British Columbia, Canada V5H 4G8 Fax (604) 432-6248

14 January 1993

Mayor and Council
GVRD Member Municipalities

Re: Rehabilitation Options for the Lions Gate Bridge

Dear Mayor and Council:

On 28 November 1992, the Development Services and Transportation Committee met with the
Minister of Transportation and Highways, at the Minister’s request, to consider a number of
issues including the rehabilitation of the Lions Gate Bridge. The Minister has since forwarded
to the GVRD the attached rehabilitation and improvement options for the Lions Gate Bridge and
requested the GVRD and member municipalities to give consideration to the proposed options
so that they may form a part of the input to the decision on the bridge's rehabilitation and
improvement. As noted in the attached materials, the current maintenance and piecemeal
remedial works are expensive and not cost-effective. The Minister informed the Committee that
the "Do Nothing” option, i.e. the continuation of current maintenance and remediai programs, is
no longer acceptable and that a decision on how to maintain a safe and effective crossing of the
First Narrows cannot be delayed.

The function of the Lions Gate Bridge is of regional and municipal significance, and its
rehabilitation and improvement embrace policy issues affecting all levels of jurisdiction. From
a regional perspective, the following Creating Our Future policies are applicable when
considering the rehabilitation and improvement of the Lions Gate Bridge:

No. 21: Sustain and develop a cooperative transportation planning process with the
provincial government and its agencies based upon the GVRD Board’s approved policies to:

- Make the best use of existing transportation investment.

- Support improvements to the public transit system and programs.

- Improve the capacity of the roadway system giving appropriate weight to the following
factors: use by transit, goods movement, continuity, safety, community and
environmental effects, high-occupancy private vehicles.

- Manage demands on the transportation system through acting as a catalyst for carpooling
and encouraging people to work close to where they live and live close to where they
work.

- Pursue funding, policy and institutional arrangements that support coordinated planning,
development and improvement of the region’s transportation system.

- Pursue development of bicycle and pedestrian networks as part of the region’s
transportation system.

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