Frank Luba, The Province
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A Langley businessman has put his money where his convictions lie and is spending $50,000 for advertisements opposing the provincial government's expensive and ambitious Gateway Program.
Jim Leuba of CNC Repair, which repairs electrical equipment for businesses like machine and automotive shops, disagrees with the $3-billion Gateway plan that includes twinning the Port Mann Bridge and widening Highway No. 1 from Langley to Vancouver.
"It's certainly a mistake," Leuba, who lives in Fort Langley, said yesterday.
"It's important that the people running the show make good decisions on long-term issues.
"They made a really good choice when they turned down freeways in Vancouver. Now, when the rest of the world is turning away from freeways, here they are talking about freeways.
"It's crazy."
Radio spots began Monday on CKWX 1130 while print advertisements begin tomorrow in Lower Mainland commuter papers and Friday in community papers in Langley, Surrey and the Tri-Cities of Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.
An ad will also run in a Burnaby community paper, but that was paid for by residents who contributed to a campaign against Gateway being run by the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation.
Building more roads and bridges for cars and trucks doesn't make any business sense to Leuba.
"It just exposes the entire economy to the price shocks of petroleum," he said.
Leuba would like to see more people moved in fewer vehicles, preferably powered by electricity where the price is controlled by the provincial government.
If you have questions about the Port Mann twinning and the widening of the Trans-Canada Highway, the place to get answers will be the Coast Hotel and Convention Centre in Langley tonight from 5 to 9.
The province's Environmental Assessment Office is reviewing that part of the Gateway Program and a series of open houses and question-and-answer sessions is part of the process.
The meeting in Langley is the first of five such sessions, which will continue Saturday in Surrey, Sept. 25 in Vancouver, Sept. 27 in Burnaby and Sept. 29 in Coquitlam.
