From The Province – April 26, 2011

by Frank Luba

Protesters blocking construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road continued their camp-out Tuesday below River Road in Delta.

They
have food and shelter and some of them are determined to stay on the
site until the $1 billion project is shelved or they are removed.

The
camp, which was established Friday, was busy Tuesday. But except for
one truck that showed up early in the morning there has been no sign of
anyone attempting construction — or confrontation.

There were more than a dozen people camped on the site after 11 p.m. when Eric Doherty showed up Monday night.

Doherty is with StopThePave.org, one of the organizers of the occupation along with the Council of Canadians.

The
SFPR project, which connects Deltaport to the TransCanada Highway with a
four-lane highway, is more than 25 per cent of the way to its 2013
completion date.

But Doherty said Tuesday he doesn’t think it’s too late to stop it.

“Lots
of freeways have been stopped after they started pouring concrete,”
said Doherty, who pointed to a prominent Vancouver landmark as an
example.

The Georgia Viaduct is a remnant of the freeway that was
proposed for the city and which would have bulldozed through Chinatown
had citizens not fought against the plan for more paving.

Now, the
Vancouver civic government is musing about whether the viaducts should
be taken down at some point to return what was roadway to residents.

But
the situation in Delta is a little different because the SFPR has been
on the drawing board for a long time and is now a vital part of the
provincial Gateway strategy.

Signs at the occupation camp dub it
‘Falcon’s Folly’ because it was introduced by former Transportation
Minister Kevin Falcon, now the finance minister, after his failed bid to
become leader of the provincial Liberal party and the Premier.

Protesters are at the SFPR site for varying periods but they plan to keep a constant presence there.

Carmen Mills, an organizer with StopThePave.org, was helping in the camp’s makeshift kitchen Tuesday morning.

She
said people have been coming by with donations of food, including one
woman who brought a freshly-cooked turkey on Easter Monday.

That type of support gave Mills hope.

“I’m definitely planning on being here as much as I can,” said the East Vancouver resident.

“We’re
here until we feel we’ve made significant progress in waking people up
to what’s going on here, and stopping the highway, or they carry us
out,” she said.

Delta police are monitoring the protest, which they said they expect will extend into next week.