Maybe it’s too early, but has anyone heard whether the number of vehicles using the Port Mann Bridge is meeting predictions?
I’ve guessed that there won’t be a lot of traffic leakage to other routes, given the convenience of the new bridge and seamlessness of the tolling system. There’s still a lot of construction happening on Highway 1, so it may be too soon to know at what level the patronage will stabilize .
But, as soon as possible, we should get an indication as to whether the numbers are on target to pay for the widest bridge in the world. Or whether we have a Clem7 in the making.
If we don’t get some numbers before the election, that will be a very bad sign.
It is about time we started to get some data on this, before the election as Gordon suggests. My prediction is that there will be quite a bit of off-peak truck diversion to the Pattullo, particularly late evening, nighttime and early morning. But there is no good public data on where trucks are going to and from in the region (and when), so it is hard to make really informed predictions.
There will probably be more diversion soon. The deadline for signing up for the $1.50 introductory toll has passed. Anyone new will be paying $3 or more I think.
Hwy 1 is still a construction zoen – so I doubt you would have truly useful data – other than for the naysayers to latch onto.
It’s about as useful as people asking why a condo tower with all of its cladding (but not yet finished on the inside (and unoccupied)), doesn’t have any lights on and then making the leap that they haven’t sold or are sitting empty held by offshore buyers…
Or, on the transportation side, why the Millennium Line (still missing its Coquitlam phase and its West Broadway phase) hasn’t met projections either.
There was another rearender accident on the Pattullo this eve; I do think the leakage to Pattullo exists, but the risk of an accident on Pattullo specifically casts a shadow over any toll saved.