Double Blind

Derek Corrigan, mayor of Burnaby, can’t get over the fact that Richmond was chosen over Burnaby in placing the speedskating rink. Richmond put in a superior bid in all respects. Corrigan claims that politics was behind the decision, but it’s clear that anybody looking at the merits of the proposal would choose Richmond – both cheaper and better.

Politically, however, Corrigan is on very shaky ground – he’s lost a lot of credibility over the past few months concerning his action against the RAV line and now he’s claiming that the 2010 Olympics are going to be a disaster just because they didn’t locate the speed skating facility in Simon Fraser University campus. He’s at odds with Doug McAllum (Mayor of Surrey), which means that he’s at odds with the current provincial government. In other words, it’s doubtful that Burnaby is going to get any provincial support in the next 5 years, assuming that the BC Liberals get elected again in May of 2005. 2005 is also when the next municipal election takes place.

Overall, this is a huge net positive for Richmond. My only concern as a resident is that traffic is going to be horrible in the area that they’re proposing the build the facility. It currently borders River Road, which is a two lane roadway. There is no road access from the Vancouver side of Richmond to River Road to get to the facility – they’re going to have to build a proper interchange on the south side of the No.2 road bridge and probably expand River Road. This will be interesting, as there is currently not a lot of room to do this since the dyke is in the way.

The other factor is funding – the city of Richmond is funding a significant portion of the facility construction costs. This revenue is apparently derived from the new casino that was built, River Rock Casino. I remember the decision was made by Richmond council to build the casino despite significant public opposition. On one hand, it’s good to see revenues derived from River Rock going towards a significant piece of infrastructure, but on the other hand, couldn’t the city reduce property taxes instead of blowing it all on a skating rink?