Vancouver-area mayors push transit
SURREY — Vancouver-area mayors have launched a campaign aimed at putting transit at the centre of the May 9 provincial election.
Members of the Mayors’ Council on transit held a news conference outside a Surrey SkyTrain station on Wednesday, calling on the next B.C. government to invest more in transportation around Metro Vancouver.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said the group appreciates recent federal and provincial investments of $4.4 billion, but wants funding for its entire 10-year plan for transit improvements.
Those projects would range from HandyDART and other busservice improvements to upgrades for aging SkyTrain stations and a commitment to the replacement of the Pattullo Bridge between Surrey and New Westminster.
New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote pegged the bridge replacement at more than $1 billion, with tolls covering half the cost, but he said the project would still be short by at least half a billion dollars.
The Mayors’ Council is launching a website to raise the profile of transportation issues across Metro Vancouver and the campaign intends to identify the transit priorities of B.C.’s major political parties.
Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner said she believes the initiative could form a blueprint after the election. “Today is all about talking around where can the next provincial government help us in achieving our goals in the entirety of the [10-year] plan,” she says.
Peter Fassbender, the minister responsible for TransLink, noted his government already stepped up to match the 40 per cent funding of the federal government, but said there’s always more it could do. He said the government will continue to work with the mayors, adding that he’s still waiting to hear how the council plans to pay the remaining 20 per cent of its share for transit improvements.
While the $4.4 billion from the federal and provincial governments has been committed over 10 years, Fassbender said funding for the entire decade-long transit plan is difficult.
“The reality is we do have election cycles, so does the federal government. If a new government was to come in with a different philosophy, they are in a position — unless there are signed contracts — to make changes.”