Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past will be a recurring feature as we approach our 40th anniversary in 2024.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Anyone who listens to traffic reports is familiar with the tie-ups that occur almost daily on the Trans-Canada Highway westbound where the entrance ramps merge from the Mary Hill Bypass and Lougheed Highway.
It wasn't much different in 1993, when a spilled load from a truck or even a minor fender bender could snarl the old Gordian knot known as the Cape Horn interchange for hours.
"I don’t know where they come from," said Sgt. Gary Kaminski of the Coquitlam RCMP's traffic section of the general busyness that seems to slow everyone's commute in September.
"It's people coming off holidays. Everyone is driving their kids to school."
Or maybe it's just too many cars, because in the same Sept. 26 issue of the Tri-City News, a front page story reported an announcement about commuter rail to help relieve congestion was still weeks away as provincial officials continued to negotiate with CP Rail and Burlington Northern for access to their tracks.
Another story on Page 12 of the same issue said bus drivers are also frustrated because "awful traffic" and "unrealistic schedules" are pushing many of them to take stress leave.
"They're telling people to get out of our car and into the bus," said veteran bus driver Brian Windjack of a government campaign encouraging transit use. "But we can't keep the bus on schedule."
The new 10-lane Port Mann Bridge, which opened at an estimated cost of almost $2.5 billion including upgrades to 37 km of Highway 1 as well as a redesign of the old Cape Horn Interchange, was supposed to provide some relief for motorists.
But in 2019, average traffic volumes crossing the bridge had increased by almost 60,000 vehicles a day from 2014.
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
