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Transportation Minister Todd Stone won't say whether the public will get a veto over possible tolls on a new bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel.
The province hasn't decided the scope or cost of the Highway 99 corridor project but Stone was asked by Black Press how he intends to get public approval for tolls if they're to finance the promised new bridge.
"If we end up going down the road of tolls on the George Massey Bridge, we would want to make sure that was well informed by the public in terms of some public input," Stone responded Wednesday.
Asked if the province would impose tolls anyway or abandon the idea if the public opposes paying to cross a new Massey Bridge, Stone was non-committal.
"It's absolutely premature," he said. "We don't know if the desired funding model would be a tolled option."
Stone confirmed the province will soon launch a review of the [tolling] policy, which allows tolls only on new infrastructure and only when there's a reasonable untolled alternate route.
"It's a matter of fairness and equity for folks who live South of the Fraser," he said, noting possible tolls on replaced Massey and Pattullo crossings would leave the Alex Fraser as Metro Vancouver's only free bridge over the Fraser River and invalidate much of the provincial tolling policy.
He said finishing touches are being put on the planned review as part of a new 10-year provincial transportation plan.
As for the Massey Bridge/Highway 99 project, Stone said the province must decide how much highway improvement is needed on each side of the Deas Island crossing.
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