Environment

Patrick Condon, UBC Prof Blocks Freeway Construction

by WestCoast TreeHugger | December 8, 2009 at 12:31 pm

282 views | 10 Recommendations | 6 comments

Gateway Work Shut Down for Four Hours

On Monday December 7th UBC Professor Patrick Condon joined a group of climate activists who occupied a freeway construction site in Vancouver. Work was stopped at the site for four hours. The protest coincided with the first day of climate change talks in Copenhagen, where Canada received yet another Fossil of the Day Award. The notorious award goes to the country doing the most to obstruct progress at UN climate negotiations.

This action was directed at the controversial Gateway Program, a massive freeway-expansion project that would increase greenhouse gases (GHGs) in a sector that is already the largest source of emissions in our region. The province's own assessment estimates the increase at over 160,000 tonnes per year. If the billions being spent on Gateway were re-directed to an emissions reduction program including cost-effective public transit, emissions could be reduced by millions of tonnes per year.

The Gateway Program is linked to a larger Pacific Gateway strategy that includes pipelines to the Alberta Tar Sands, Canada's largest point source of greenhouse gas emissions. Cars and trucks in BC already burn fuel made from tar sands bitumen, and the proportion of this dirty tar sands fuel in our gas tanks is increasing.

“As a citizen it enrages me to see Canada drag its feet on climate change through support of the world’s dirtiest fuel: tar sands,” said Patrick Condon. “As a resident it breaks my heart to see the Vancouver region abandon livability and sustainability through the construction of more freeways. And as a parent, I can’t look my kids and grandkids in the face if I don't do whatever I can to stop this madness.”

Approximately fifty people were involved in the protest. At one point construction workers moved a piece of equipment on to the site. Police physically removed protesters blocking the equipment but there were no arrests. One protester was thrown to the ground and another was hit in the throat by police.After parking the equipment workers left and did not resume work until after the protesters were gone from the site.

Patrick Condon is a senior researcher at the UBC Design Centre for Sustainability and has held the position of the James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Liveable Environments.
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For more info on this event and the Gateway Project see http://www.gatewaysucks.org
Follow all the breaking news via http://twitter.com/gatewaysucks

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eastvanray

at 17:27 on December 8th, 2009

You really should get your facts straight. Making travel through that corridor more efficient reduces emissions. Currently trucks, busses and cars sit idling while they wait in gridlock. By eliminating that idling the Gateway expansion will be a benefit for our environment.

WestCoast TreeHugger

at 17:49 on December 8th, 2009

"... reduces emissions..."

There is absolutely no evidence to support this statement.

As mentioned in the article the province's own assessment admits that the project will increase emissions.

There has never been a highway expansion project that has reduced emissions.

There is no evidence that it will reduce idling or congestion over the long term. Gordon Price has challenged anyone to show even one example of where this type of highway expansion has reduced congestion. So far no one has taken him up on the offer. If you really believe that then maybe you should take him up on the offer.

eastvanray

at 21:13 on December 8th, 2009

Please explain how moving people from A to B (in the exact same vehicles) burning less fuel will not reduce emissions. If you have tried to drive in that area you have to admit that traffic is often not moving efficiently. from that you also have to agree that if those vehicles were able to move unobstructed by gridlock that they would burn less fuel. Where is my logic failing?

rob_ (not verified)

at 22:12 on December 8th, 2009

"...traffic is often not moving efficiently..."Traffic is not the most efficient way to move people. Transit is more efficient."...those vehicles were able to move unobstructed by gridlock..."Again, the evidence is that highway expansion does not solve congestion.Adding more lanes adds more traffic which adds more pollution. You are never going to reduce emissions by creating more opportunities for people to use vehicles which create emissions. The only way to reduce pollution is to give people options that are emissions free. Locally we have options that can operate ghg emission free (skytrain, LRT and trolley buses). We should be investing in these.Your ideas on what is "logical" are interesting but in the real world we have to look at the evidence. If you have any evidence that highway expansion has decreased emissions please present it.

WestCoast TreeHugger

at 16:22 on December 9th, 2009

There are a few problems with the "logic"

- Highway expansion does not mean traffic moves more efficiently. Due to something called triple convergence (see: http://www.walkablestreets.com/triple.htm and http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3734/is_200104/ai_n8946106) congestion quickly returns to highways that are expanded.

- Even if traffic did move faster it would not necessarily mean lower emissions. Vehicles work less efficiently at higher speeds (due to wind drag) and thus burn more fuel and create more emissions. This is especially true as more people move to hybrid cars which have much lower emissions when they are stopped or moving slowly.

- More lanes means more traffic which means more pollution.
We are giving people more options to use vehicles which create pollution.

Your ideas about what is "logical" are interesting but in the real world it is the evidence that counts. Again, the evidence is that highway expansion always increases emissions. These are the facts.

If we want to reduce emissions we should be taking the money that we are spending on highway expansion and investing it in transportation options that can operate emission free and that are more efficient. And we have those options available - skytrain, LRT and trolley buses, cycling, walking, etc.