The new traffic configuration for Coquitlam-bound drivers using the Port Mann Bridge has caused some consternation for people who have been using the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane during rush hour and received a discount.
Separated lanes for Coquitlam traffic went into effect on the weekend and some HOV-users say the change means more time spent in traffic because they have to drive out of their way to the Brunette Avenue exit at the Coquitlam/Burnaby/New Westminster border if they want to use the special lanes dedicated to carpooling.
Tiffany Shanks said she was surprised that the new west-bound dedicated route for Coquitlam traffic doesn't offer an HOV lane option and she has to drive out of her way to the Brunette exit if she wants to get the discount.
"I was really surprised when I saw they were moving us," said Shanks who lives in Port Coquitlam and uses the tolled bridge to get to Kwantlen College in Langley. She typically carpools during rush hour when the HOV lane option is in effect, benefitting from a 25% or 75 cent discount on the $3 toll.
Max Logan, a spokesperson for Transportation Investment Corporation, acknowledged that Coquitlam-bound HOV users are affected, but he said the new lanes are safer, and the number of people affected is low, just 1% of 110,000 drivers who use the bridge every day.
"We certainly recognize that. In this case, what it comes to is the matter of safety for all bridge users," Logan said, noting that the new lanes prevent risky weaving and lane changing and east-bound HOV users aren't affected by the change.
Shanks said she now has to drive 20 minutes out of her way, doubling back along the Lougheed Highway to get home, and is now considering taking the untolled Pattullo Bridge instead.
"They should have put in a car pooling option," she said.