Cpen Road p22 Honda Insight first hybrid gascline-electric car Pions Gait Prote ¢ Uttar Single-fane closures on the bridge aad caweway will take plice & a.m to 16 pom, Saturday, June 3: 10 aan, to 10 pon, Sunday June 4, d JUNE 2, 2000 Bright Lights Classifieds Crossword Lautens Mercer Bus riders blast hiked fare rate Katharine Hamer News Reporter kbamer@nsnews.com NORTH Vancouver transit riders are. skeptical about the need for fare increases introduced yesterday. Bus, SeaBus, and SkyTrain fares went up by 25 cents for one and nwo-zone travel and 50 cents for three zones. None of the passengers polled at Phibbs Exchange on a rainy Wednes afternoon felt the increase marked value for money. Key among their complaints was the infrequency of service, as well as over: crowding on existing, buses. Six passengers had just: missed the Park Royal bus because it was too full. “Tlelt Lynn Valley an hour early, and I'm still going to be an hour late,” said a man who identified himself by his nick- name, Krammerhead. “I've got a two o'clock appointment and it looks like I'm going to miss it.” Annora MecInory said she phoned to complain about a shortage of carly morning weekend buses: “They said they don’t have enough people (at that time), See Space paged Lane ¢l Katharine Hamer News Reporter khamer@nsnews.com A new raft of causeway detours and sin gle-lane closures on the Lions Gate Brid has been scheduled for this weekend. Detours through Stanley Park: @ 10 p.m. Friday, June 2, to 8 a.m. Saturday, June 3; B 10 p.m. Saturday, June 3, to 10 a.m. Sunday, June 4. Single-lane closures on the bridge and causeway (no detours) will cake place: Bi 8 a.m to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 3; B 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, June 4. The detours and lane closures will enable workers to replace and repair concrete slabs on the causeway. The work was originally scheduled to take place during the (behind Capilano 985-3000 visit us at www-homebuilders.ca z Paul St. Pierre wins we y B.C. Gas Lifetime Ps ” Achievement award | This Week p15 FREE NEWS photo Terry Peters Water worid KATHY Ma and Michael Lung gaze into water samples they are testing for pH levels. The Grade 5 students from Vancouver visited the Seymour Hatchery last week, as part of an ongoing program offering free field trips to Lower Mainland schoots. Lions Gate Bridge, Staniey Park Causeway work set for weekend summer closures already set aside for deck replacement. But doubts over the original engineering plans have forced project managers to delay their implementation. The Lions Gate Project office announced May 19 that it was cancelling all but one of its scheduled summer weekend clo- sures. The first summer closure to begin the deck replacement process was supposed to take place last weekend. However, engineers determined that the continuity link — the system meant to hold old and new bridge deck sections together to prevent sway as workers move across the bridge — was not up to scratch. YOUR © - 3 ROLL DEK © Self priming synthetic robber SELECTED © Woterproof & permonently flexible § DUCAN © Unoffeciad by weather extremes DECKING _— 2g. $33.99 PRODUCTS SALE Seo '. ||) NEED HELP? HOMEPRO HANDYMAN AND They were worried that the slow speed at which the link con- nected and disconnected would impact the ability to reopen the bridge to traffic by 6 a.m. during weeknight closures. Because the bridge will be open to traffic during the day, each of the 16.2 metre (53 ft.) wide deck panels must be pre- cisely placed during night time closures. “We don’t want to get started and then decide to redesign,” said project director Geoff Freer. “(Removing and replacing the deck) is a big chore to complete in 10 hours. This is a very com- plicated project. We have to make sure we've got it right.” “reer said engineers were now making improvements to the current design, looking at che number and positioning of bales in the tink and the way that the link connected. He said that once a final design was approved, manufacture of the continuity link would take a week or 10 days — meaning See Project page ® LESS! VINYL OVER-KOTE ° uy Sesitant * Non. flowing . © for renewing Way! sheet decking reg $46.99 .