Evergreen at risk
The Tri City News reports that Vancouver is once again flexing its muscles and pushing for transit improvements at the cost of serving surrounding communities. This time, it's a push for a rapid transit line along Broadway, which puts the Evergreen line at risk:TransLink will study options to build a new rapid transit line to run along the congested Broadway corridor toward UBC.
It can’t happen fast enough for Vancouver directors but their steady push for Broadway is making northeast sector reps twitchy.
Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini fears the long-promised Evergreen Line through his city to Coquitlam could get bypassed yet again in favour of a Broadway line.
“I am concerned that if the Evergreen Line stalls, that other areas in the Lower Mainland will try to take the spotlight and grab the priority,” Trasolini said Wednesday outside TransLink’s board meeting.
The proposed $1-billion light rail line running northeast from the existing SkyTrain remains about $330 million short of what’s needed to proceed. The project is undergoing a provincial government review to see how it could fit Victoria’s preferred model of using public-private partnerships.
“Unless we see action on the Evergreen Line, then competing interests will take over,” Trasolini said.
Get Moving BC believes that Evergreen should go next, that it should be light rail, and that it should be funded by the province.
4 Comments:
We will know by next year whether or not the Evergreen Line will go through and unless the province steps up the pay their portion, there is no way Translink will be able to fund the whole project. What I find intriguing is the fact that the Broadway and T-Line projects have quite obviously been put on the backburner solely because of the Canada Line, the one rapid transit line that was supposed to go in last. This has created this tension between the Broadway and Coquitlam camps, both vying to get their rapid transit lines done first. Broadway is one of the busiest corridors in the region, while Coquitlam has excellent potential to shape growth. Unless the province commits funds to build both lines at the same time, I find it hard to imagine how the mayors will become any less "parochial", as Falcon puts it. And that's not even mentioning the transit crisis we have South of the Fraser.
I see no reason why both projects can't be funded at the same time. This can be done if we drop the gateway project in favor of more worthwhile projects.
I am glad that many people are beginning to recognize the importance of light rail in the suburbs.
I think it is important to remember that the Evergreen Line has been delayed because Kevin Falcon has postponed the funding for the project (Vancouver Sun, Friday, May 26, 2006). We need to put more pressure on the province, especially Falcon, to come forward with the funding.
As Andrew pointed out it would make sense to take the money that will be wasted on the Gateway Project (which won't solve our congestion problems) and use it on the rail projects.
Stop Falcon from continuing with the Gateway Project, and force the issue of improving Transit by reallocating the Billions of Dollars from this ill-conceived program.
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