What's in it for us?

That was the most asked question Tuesday night at a public meeting to discuss the United Boulevard Extension (UBE).

About 200 residents attended the TransLink-hosted meeting in the Justice Institute of B.C. theatre to listen to how the major transportation project could affect the city and its neighbourhoods.

Public response to TransLink's plans for the UBE, which would connect United Boulevard in Coquitlam with Brunette Avenue in New Westminster, was combative.

"I'm leaving here tonight wondering what the benefit is to New Westminster. There's clearly a benefit to Coquitlam. But an existing neighbourhood is being impacted for the benefit of the region," said one woman.

Residents listened to TransLink explain how the UBE would channel regional traffic along Brunette, Columbia and Front streets and decrease traffic using other routes through the city.

Traffic studies provided at the meeting showed thousands of cars and trucks using Braid Street as an arterial route. The UBE would keep most of that traffic on Brunette and United Boulevard, said Sany Zein, TransLink's director of roads.

Residents are also concerned the UBE project isn't part of a comprehensive plan for the entire North Fraser Perimeter Road, a planned arterial route connecting the Golden Ears Bridge in Maple Ridge with Queensborough Bridge in New Westminster.

TransLink's plan is to have the four-lane UBE completed by 2014 but it will not be improving intersections on Brunette and Columbia until 2018. Further improvements along the Front Street corridor would be part of the Pattullo Bridge replacement project. No date is set for the start of the bridge replacement.

"If you build it they will come," said one resident. "We're going to spend $150 million to $170 million to move traffic further down the road to another choke point. I don't see any sort of comprehensive plan."

TransLink plans are governed by available funding, said Zein. The transportation authority, which is responsible for the New Westminster section of the NFPR, doesn't even have enough funding to pay for the UBE, which could cost as much as $176 million.

Currently TransLink has $65 million from the federal government and has committed $60 million to the project. TransLink believes it can find ways to scale down the project and hopes to find "partners" (possibly the provincial government) to pay for the shortfall.

"The rest of the NFPR must be done long before United Boulevard Extension," said one man.

One woman drew the largest applause of the evening from residents when she commented: "Our property taxes are going to go up to pay for this while our property values are going to go down so we can build a regional route we don't want."

New Westminster councillors attending the meeting also came away opposed to the UBE.

Coun. Betty McIntosh said she initially supported the UBE because it would ease traffic congestion in the Braid industrial area. But she said she now couldn't support it because she believes it would increase overall traffic in the city.

"If not for our industry, why are we doing it? Why would I vote for it?"

Coun. Jaimie McEvoy said noise and neighbourhood traffic studies should be done first before the final UBE design is chosen.

"What I want to know is, is this going to create a dull roar in the (lower Sapperton) neighbourhood, or is no one ever going to be able to hold a backyard barbeque ever again."

TransLink's next step is to enter into a UBE funding agreement with the federal government. It is planning more public meetings in January.

New Westminster council has not yet slated a meeting for formally discuss its position on the project. It's next meeting is Monday, Dec. 13.