Editor:
Re: SFU gondola advances to public consultation, NOW, July 26
That the actual route TransLink proposes happens to pass over primarily not-for-profit housing communities is just bad luck. The fact that none of the affected Burnaby Mountain residents will be able to make use of the gondola because there are no stops between the start and finish points is just funny.
Council should look carefully at TransLink’s’ business case for the gondola because the last time they pitched this dumb idea to a public hearing, they were challenged on their arithmetic and they then admitted that they had not found their error in time to present a revised case to the public. So, they went with the BS presentation because they thought WTF? It’s only a game anyway.
SFU is a business with a problem location that deters some of their employees and customers from choosing to commute there. Question: Why don’t they build more affordable housing for students on site to reduce transit needs? Answer: Because their student/customers cannot afford their inflated rent demands. Answer two: Let’s pass this expense onto the people who cannot afford to attend SFU. Motion seconded and approved.
Brian Ferguson, Burnaby
Editor’s note: There are, in fact, three proposed routes – not one as this letter alleges - for the gondola project, passing by different parts of the mountain community. SFU is also set to tear down one of its student housing buildings very soon to build a larger affordable housing apartment for students.
