B.C. residents vote down tax to fund transportation

VANCOUVER— Metro Vancouver mayors are calling on the province to find a way to fund transit upgrades now that residents have voted against paying an extra half-per cent sales tax to raise $7.5 billion.

There is “no Plan B” to come up with money for more buses, roads, a subway extension, a new bridge and other projects, said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who heads the mayors’ council representing 21 municipalities and a First Nation.

Sixty-two per cent of Metro Vancouverites rejected the mayors’ taxhike proposal.

“The mayors have been unanimous in stating that property tax is not an option to fund the mayors’ plan going forward. We need an alternate solution from the B.C. government,” Robertson said after Elections BC released the results of a plebiscite Thursday.

“It’s very difficult to work out how we might get different projects advanced, how we would access the funding from the provincial and federal governments and get those projects on track,” Robertson told a news conference.

Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner said she has been speaking to private partners about raising money for rapid transit to accommodate one million more people expected in the region over the next 30 years.

“We cannot expect to have those million people arrive here . . . without improvements to the south of the Fraser (River) connection and I am committed to that rail project even given the disappointing results today,” she said.

Jordan Bateman, who was a prominent force against the tax hike, said cash-strapped residents wanted accountability and better management from TransLink, the region’s transit authority.

The No side prevailed with a campaign budget of $40,000 while the Yes side spent more than $5.8 million promoting its stance, noted Bateman, who heads the western chapter of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Residents in Vancouver voted 51 per cent against the proposal.

Metro Vancouver’s transit plebiscite is the first of its kind in Canada. Some American cities, including Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., have used direct votes to garner support for new transportation infrastructure.