Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Prince Rupert brings Gateway and transportation hopes to UBCM


Prince Rupert’s municipal battle group has headed to the front at the UBCM convention in Vancouver, the Mayor, his council and city staff members taking to the conference halls to sell the Prince Rupert way (and wishes) to the assembled brethren.

The one week convention allows municipal, provincial and the occasional federal politician to rub shoulders and share thoughts on how best to make use of those sneaky tax dollars that have a way of slipping away from time to time.

This year it appears will be a be a year of reinforcement for the Rupert troops, Mayor Herb Pond advised the Daily News that they mainly wish to follow up on some if the issues that they talked about at last years festival of policy and priorities. Among some of the Mayors talking points this week will be telecommunications, expanding the airport, housing and the always on the short list Tsimshian Access Project.

That once grand scheme for a towering suspension bridge across the inking Prince Rupert to the Digby Island airport has been scaled back a bit for now from its earlier design. Now the plan is for first a 70 million dollar road and ferry service between Digby Island and Port Simpson and Metlakatla, which the Mayor believes would solve a number of issues locally such as port issues and a potential housing crunch. Any plans for a bridge would require another 72 million and it would appear would be a debate for another day or perhaps for another election year.

The details on the transportation plan to be discussed at UBCM and other hopes and wishes were found in a front page story in Monday’s Daily News.

GATEWAY COORDINATOR MAY BE ANNOUNCED SOON: POND
Mayor, city staff and councilors have busy schedules at UBCM gathering
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, September 24, 2007
Pages one and three

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond said the city is hopeful that the province will soon appoint a northern gateway strategy coordinator to help communities in the Northwest develop the Asia Pacific Gateway.

City councilors and senior staff are heading off to meet with provincial and federal ministers at the annual Union of British Columbia Municipalities Convention (UBCM,) and Pond said he would like to hear the announcement of an appointment to the new position in the near future.

“Largely, we will be following up some of the issues we had been talking about last year where we have made some progress,” said Pond.

“The province is just in the final throws of appointing a northern gateway strategy coordinator to be located in Prince Rupert. That flowed from our conversation last year.”

At the 2006 UBCM convention, the city gave a presentation about the many challenges it faces in developing the infrastructure necessary to fully support the expansion of the Fairview Container Terminal.

These include issues such as telecommunications, expanding the airport and housing.

“All of those are things we want to do to make sure we support the port,” said Pond.

The Tsimshian Access Project is also high on the list of city priorities,” said Pond.

The proposed project is a $70 million plan to put a road and improved ferry service between Digby Island, Port Simpson and Metlakatla.

“If we have a good road and ferry access with Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla and the airport, it solves some of our port issues, it solves some of housing issues, it solves some of our labour issues all in one project,” said Pond.

In 2004, the three communities produced a study about the project.

The provincial highway standard road being proposed would have to be couple with some kind of crossing at Vern Passage and the total project cost is expected to be around $72 million. This is excluding the plan for a $60 million suspension bridge between Prince Rupert and Digby Island.

According to the study, all three communities run ferry services from Rupert to their respective destinations for an annual subsidy of $1.7 million.

However, the study shows that even with the economic benefits of the project – just based on the program savings, land transfers and the social benefits- the project is economically feasible because it will save the agencies involved $75 million in the long term. This is slightly more than the $72 million price tag expected for the Tsimshian Access Project proposal.

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