Re: Frustrated Burnaby Mountain residents take to policing Trans Mountain traffic, NOW news
Trans Mountain shares our neighbours’ concerns about construction-related truck traffic to and from our Burnaby terminal. We apologize to those who have been impacted. We remain focused on creating a safe environment for our neighbours as we continue to manage the increase in truck traffic for the expansion project.
In addition to working directly with neighbours to address their interests, Trans Mountain is working with the City of Burnaby to address the issue.
We outlined our plan to create alternative access points for our Burnaby terminal during construction in our Traffic Access and Control Management Plan, which was approved by the Canada Energy Regulator in December 2017. In October 2019, we submitted permit applications to the City for two alternative accesses to the Terminal. In early March 2020, the City confirmed it will issue a permit for one of these alternative access points, from Greystone Drive.
We are working to implement this alternate access as soon as practicable.
Although we will continue to use our Underhill Avenue access, creating this second temporary construction access point will help to manage the flow of truck traffic travelling to and from the terminal via Lougheed Highway. We understand there is more work to do to resolve this issue. Through March we have been working with the city to find a solution for trucks awaiting entrance to our terminal. Although we have not yet come to an agreement, we will continue to work with the city.
Other mitigation measures underway to ensure road safety and reduce the impact of truck traffic on our neighbours include: plans to install a sound wall along Underhill Avenue to reduce the noise from trucks; wheel wash rinses to reduce the mud and dirt as trucks leave the Terminal; and street sweepers to remove debris on the road surface onsite and outside the Terminal gate.
If neighbours would like more information about these measures, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected] or 1-866-514-6700 or visit our website at www.transmountain.com/burnaby.
Trans Mountain and our contractors are making efforts to minimize the impact of increased truck traffic near residential neighbourhoods and continue to work with local law enforcement to improve public safety in the area.
We thank our neighbours for their patience as we work to reduce the impact of our construction activities on the surrounding neighbourhood.
Ian Anderson is president and CEO of the Trans Mountain Corporation.
