BURNABY MOUNTAIN GONDOLA DOES NOT HAVE FULL SUPPORT OF LOCAL RESIDENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 2, 2011

BURNABY MOUNTAIN GONDOLA DOES NOT HAVE FULL SUPPORT OF LOCAL RESIDENTS

MP Kennedy Stewart wants better plan from Translink

BURNABY, BC – A telephone survey completed by over 1000 local residents conducted by Burnaby-Douglas MP Kennedy Stewart shows only 47% support Translink’s plan to construct a gondola from the Production Way Skytrain Station to SFU’s Burnaby Mountain Campus. 39% oppose the plan while 14% are undecided.

Stewart says, “During the May 2011 election campaign I committed to consult with the public about the gondola project. These survey results indicate that while the gondola has considerable support, Translink will have to present a better plan if they hope to gain widespread backing for the project. While the plan has merits, many people I spoke to while door-knocking within the affected neighbourhoods are very concerned about the costs of the project, and how it might impact the environment and their quality of life.”

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Conducted for Stewart by Direct Leap Technologies Incorporated, 5,831 households were contacted by phone in the area bounded by Duthie Road, North Road, Lougheed Highway, and Burrard Inlet.

Stewart was elected to the riding of Burnaby-Douglas for the New Democratic Party in May 2011. He is the Official Opposition Critic for Western Economic Diversification, Associate Natural Resources Critic for Western Canada and member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. Kennedy holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and is a tenured associate professor on leave from Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy.

For more information, please contact:

Jaclyn Moneypenny, Office of Kennedy Stewart, 613-996-5597 or kennedy.stewart.a2@parl.gc.ca

More information on the gondola:

Translink: http://www.translink.ca/en/Be-Part-of-the-Plan/Studies/Burnaby-Mountain-Gondola.aspx

No Gondola: http://www.nogondola.org