The BC Conservatives have called on Premier Eby and his government to take action to solve the "traffic woes" between the North Shore and the rest of Greater Vancouver.In the 47 years since the third and newest method of crossing Burrard Inlet was inaugurated, the population of the region has more than doubled."The Conservative Caucus strongly supports residents' demands for immediate action," the party wrote in a statement to the West Coast Standard. "For years, traffic congestion on the North Shore has steadily worsened, severely impacting residents' quality of life and the local economy."One frustrated North Vancouverite recently launched a petition calling on all levels of government to take action. It has since garnered over 5,000 signatures..Harman Bhangu, Conservative MLA for Langley-Abbotsford and Opposition Critic for Transportation, agreed that it was about time that the province stepped up."The North Shore doesn't need more empty promises," he told the West Coast Standard. "It needs a government ready to act. Conservatives are committed to prioritizing transportation solutions, including a new third crossing."He argued that the government "can only achieve this by reining in the NDP's reckless spending, shifting away from their costly Community Benefits Agreement model to a more effective Project Labour Agreement approach, and genuinely prioritizing traffic infrastructure.""Our communities deserve a government that delivers results, and gets to work to get commute times shorter," Bhangu declared. "BC is sick and tired of the endless traffic gridlock the NDP has allowed to get worse year after year."He said his fellow BC Conservative MLAs were committed to "solving the region's traffic woes," but lamented that the BC NDP "has yet to put any substantial, funded, third crossing project on the table, despite the clear and growing urgency.".The North Shore is currently served by the Lions Gate Bridge to the west, the Ironworkers' Memorial Bridge to the east, and the SeaBus in the middle. Over the years, there have been a number of calls for new modes of transportation, but little has changed. Advocates have said a third crossing does not necessarily need to be a vehicle bridge — it could be a tunnel, a SkyTrain, or even a ferry service.
