April 18,2005

Mayors planning transit trip to Portland

By Leneen Robb

Coquitlam Mayor Jon Kingsbury and Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini want to lead a delegation of up to a dozen council members and TransLink staff to Portland, Ore., to meet with people involved in that city's MAX LRT system.

The councillors are slated to come from the three municipalities a TransLink-approved LRT line would travel through - Coquitlam, Port Moody and Burnaby.

The trip is estimated to cost between $7,000 and $10,000, depending on the final number in the delegation, with the cost expected to be paid through previously approved LRT funds.

The trip - which is expected to take place in May or June - will allow local politicians and TransLink staff to get a closer look at what a TransLink report calls "one of the best LRT systems in North America."

Locally, the $800-million LRT line from Lougheed Mall to Coquitlam Town Centre is expected to be completed by late 2009.

TransLink board members will decide Friday whether to OK the Portland trip.

posted on 04/18/2005