Transportation platforms all over map
Sustainability expert says Liberals, NDP lack vision and remain fuzzy on revenue details
B.C.’s two main political parties have promised billions for transit projects, bridges and roads and have committed to cutting tolls, but they have no overall regional vision for transportation, says an expert in urban sustainability.
“It does strike me as odd, given the public interest, that their transportation strategies, at best, are unformulated,” said Gordon Price, a fellow at Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue and director of the school’s City Program.
“There really is no overall vision that fits into either the ideology of the party or the importance of transportation in the public mind.”
Transportation is one of the major talking points this election, in part because there are some big transit projects in the works under the TransLink Mayors’ Council’s 10-year plan for transit in Metro Vancouver.
The first phase of the plan, which involves a number of service upgrades, is already underway. The second phase has not yet been approved. It includes new rail lines, more rail cars and station upgrades on the existing SkyTrain system, expanded bus and HandyDART service, and improvements to the walking, cycling and road network.
In March, the federal budget contained $2.2 billion in capital funding for the plan over 11 years that will mostly go toward projects such as a light-rail line in Surrey and the Broadway subway in Vancouver.
The Liberals have promised to match that $2.2 billion, but that was months after the NDP said it would pay for 40 per cent of capital costs associated with the whole mayors’ plan. The Liberals had previously committed to 33 per cent of capital projects, and the former minister responsible for TransLink said he had to wait for the federal money before the province could decide whether to kick in more.
The Green party pledged to match all federal funding, which includes the $2.2 billion, plus any other money the feds commit going forward.
“It’s almost begrudging,” Price said of the Liberal promise.
The Liberals have also said they will negotiate with the feds and TransLink on project specifics, which is something they have been saying for months. The Surrey light-rail and Broadway subway lines are specific priorities for the Liberals.
NDP Leader John Horgan said replacing the Pattullo Bridge, which is a TransLink responsibility and part of the 10-year plan, is a priority for him.
He pledged to immediately fund 40 per cent of a new bridge, instead of waiting for the second phase of the mayors’ plan to be approved. The Liberals had previously committed to one-third of the bridge cost.
The NDP has also indicated that it will work with municipalities to develop “a new TransLink governance model,” which includes getting rid of the requirement to have a referendum when TransLink needs a new funding source, which may be needed to pay the regional portion of the 10-year plan’s costs.
Neither the Liberals or the NDP have been specific about regional funding sources for transportation, but Green party leader Andrew Weaver said he would use carbon tax revenues and mobility pricing to pay for transit improvements and reduce congestion. Mobility pricing refers to charges associated with using transportation services and includes road usage charges, transit fares and parking fees.
Price said it is helpful to have one party discussing revenue generating options, particularly mobility pricing. He said the details of implementation, however, would be critical and contentious.
He said the most significant policy shift is using carbon tax revenues for funding.
On the transportation infrastructure front, the Liberals want to cap bridge tolls at $500 per year, and build a bridge to replace the George Massey Tunnel between Delta and Richmond. The NDP’s plan doesn’t include a Massey Bridge (instead, Horgan has talked about widening the tunnel), but the party does call for eliminating bridge tolls.
Both tolling plans, Price said, are at odds with the parties’ commitments to transit, particularly because tolling is supposed to pay for half of the new Pattullo Bridge and removing tolls will not encourage people to abandon their cars. He said the move could put the region behind for unnecessary reasons.
“You can tell this is blatant vote buying. And having been a politician, I have no problem with that. I get you have to do that,” Price said. “It’s vote buying because you have these ridings on either side of the bridge and you make a single issue, a single appeal without context, without understanding what the implications of this are.”
Contrary to the other parties, the Greens have not promised to get rid of tolls, instead saying they will implement a “rational” tolling system to amortize the Port Mann and Golden Ears and finance the region’s share of the mayors’ plan.
The party would also suspend work on the planned bridge replacement for the George Massey Tunnel and review alternatives.
“The B.C. Greens are not running to give you sound bites and take-home one-liners. We’re running on the platform of good public policy,” said Weaver.
The Mayors’ Council, which put out its own platform aimed at curing congestion in the region, has found all parties’ platforms lacking in details. The council has also expressed concern about the possible elimination of tolls and how it could affect planning. The council intends to seek clarification from all of the parties on their commitments to transit.