NORTH VANCOUVER – New Democrat MLA Bowinn Ma is making transportation issues in the North Shore one of her top priorities as the provincial representative for North Vancouver-Lonsdale.

Ma has gathered support for an Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project, which brings together the region’s three municipalities, federal government representatives, the Provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and TransLink to develop a collective transportation plan for the North Shore.

“Traffic congestion impacts everything out here on the North Shore: our economy, our businesses, our services, and our quality of life,” said Ma.  “It’s a huge step in the right direction to have all levels of government on the North Shore come together on this critical issue and work to identify how we can move forward as a region.”

“Congestion on the North Shore requires urgent, creative and heightened collaboration between all levels of government,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Member of Parliament for North Vancouver.  “I, along with my North Shore colleagues Pam Goldsmith-Jones and Terry Beech, will be active partners in this effort – working to ensure federal resources are leveraged and maximized to identify and implement sustainable remedies.”

District of West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith expressed his support for the initiative, “West Vancouver is very pleased to take part in this important initiative. Our residents are looking for solutions to traffic congestion and expect all levels of Government to work together to develop a workable plan.”

The final piece of the puzzle fell into place Monday evening when City of North Vancouver Council passed a motion to join the project.  “We have been waiting for a partner at the provincial level to help bring the North Shore together on the issue of transportation for a long time,” said City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto.  “After years of frustration, it’s a relief to know we finally have a way to move forward as a region with the help of our newest MLA Bowinn Ma.”

“This is a great opportunity to tap into the knowledge of all our partners to address the transportation challenges on the North Shore. We look forward to forming consensus about what it will take, in terms of actions and investments both short and longer-term, to really move the dial on these issues,” said TransLink’s Vice President of Transportation Planning & Policy, Geoff Cross.  The project will create a steering committee and staff working group with representatives from all partners. The first step is to work towards having a report ready for June 2018, so that it can be integrated into TransLink’s 30-year Regional Transportation Strategy update.

“There is a lot of work to do and traffic congestion won’t be resolved with any one solution,” said Ma. “My hope is that this will be the first step towards a long-term transportation plan that makes sense for the North Shore.”

To learn more about the specific details of the plan, please click here.