METRO VANCOUVER — The city of Vancouver, Park Board and provincial government moved Friday to reassure commuters that there are no plans to close down the Lions Gate Bridge to private cars and trucks by 2030.

The statements followed media reports that the Park Board would decommission the bridge in 15 years, if a third crossing was built across the Burrard Inlet, as per an agreement signed in 2000 with the city, province, TransLink and ICBC.

But Park Board general manager Malcolm Bromley said while the proposal had been included in a “term sheet” signed by the five organizations, it didn’t make it into the final contract.

The pitch was considered a trade-off to cut down 47 trees and widen the Stanley Park Causeway as part of a $15-million list of safety improvements.

“It didn’t make it into any legal agreement,” Bromley said. “There are no plans, there is no deal. Both the mayor and the Park Board have no appetite to do that.”

The issue arose after West Vancouver engineering Ray Fung sought clarification from the provincial government on what was happening with the Lion’s Gate Bridge, based on the agreement in the term sheet, in the future. Fung said residents are concerned with increasingly heavy traffic on the bridge and the Upper Levels Highway, which is having a “negative impact on land development options.”

“I’m open to a number of options,” Fung said. “Given that there could be possible Lions Gate Bridge changes by 2030 we should sit down and talk about it.”

Fung’s letter to the province was tipped to Jordan Bateman, the leader of no campaign against the transportation plebiscite in Metro Vancouver, who wrote an opinion piece. Bateman questioned the park board’s assertion that the proposal wasn’t part of the deal, noting it was cited in past media reports as well as the city’s transportation plan. “If it’s not real, then why’s it referenced in the city’s 2040 plan?” he said.

However, the city report notes the agreement is predicated on the development on a third crossing and “since there is currently no such plan for a third crossing, the city will work with partners to determine whether this agreement should be rescinded, and if there are any other appropriate actions for this regional issue.”

Former Park Board Commissioner Allan De Genova said he made the initial pitch to close the Lions Gate Bridge and replace it with a bored tunnel under Main Street to Marine Drive. “It never got to that actual ink deal” that a third crossing would be built by 2030, he added, but there was a lot of talk -- and memos -- back then that the issue would have to be revisited in the next 30 years.

“As a park commissioner I wanted the cars out of the park,” he said. “What is the plan coming up in the next 15 to 20 years? Is it going to be a third crossing? It’s got to be revisited.”

B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone noted there was consideration under the then-NDP government for a third crossing of the Burrard Inlet to divert traffic from the Stanley Park causeway but “while it has been determined a third crossing over Burrard Inlet has many technical challenges and potential impacts to surrounding communities, this has not led to any plans to close Lions Gate to traffic.”

North Vancouver District Mayor Richard Walton said he wasn’t aware of any plans to close the Lions Gate Bridge by 2030, saying it would have “a massive impact on the feeder roads into both communities.”

ksinoski@vancouversun.com

With a file from Rob Shaw

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