The Editor,
Re. “Answer to conflict: having just one city — not three” (Letters, The Tri-City News, July 21) and “Irresponsible to not look at amalgamation” (July 26).
Some readers of The Tri-City News are talking about amalgamation and a livable community, and yet there seems to be no desire on the part of mayors and councillors to co-operate at the municipal level except as part of Metro Vancouver. In Port Coquitlam, our municipal leaders seem upset that individuals from outside the community might be using our recreation facilities and that our neighbours do not want to build their own.
The reality is, as stated by Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart, the boundaries of communities are such that individuals use whatever facility is close regardless of the community in which they live. Frankly, we need as many individuals as possible to use our new recreational facilities to pay for the day-to-day operations and long-term financing.
Municipal governments, including PoCo’s, need to have robust and ongoing inter-municipal committees to address traffic and the establishment of arterial routes.
Why did PoCo build the Coast Meridian overpass? Did we think no other individual from any other community would use this overpass?
PoCo’s mayor and councillors need to get real. Allowing rush hour traffic to flow through our downtown core, neighbourhoods and residential streets does not make this community livable. Feeder and arterial routes need to be established, and traffic measures established to keep traffic out of our neighbourhoods.
We need to co-operate with our neighbours as our communities grow. Metro Vancouver was established to deal with issues that affect the region. It is hard to believe that PoCo was unaware of the changes coming to Burke Mountain area.
Amalgamation of cities does not work. In other jurisdictions, it has been shown that it costs taxpayers more and does not address the issues.
But amalgamation of some services has been shown to reduce the tax burden on taxpayers, and provide more effective and timely service. Fire services, police services, snow removal and traffic flow benefit from amalgamation.
Burke Mountain development is no surprise. The Tri-Cities’ city councils need to stop wasting taxpayers’ money and work together.
Geoff Taylor, Port Coquitlam
