The following letter was delivered to the Premier of British Columbia and the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council on May 18, 2016 on behalf of 30 stakeholders from around Metro Vancouver:
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The Hon. Christy Clark
Premier of British Columbia
Office of the Premier
Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council
Cc: Hon. Todd Stone; Hon. Peter Fassbender
Re: A call for leadership to invest in transit and transportation in Metro Vancouver
Dear Premier Clark and Members of the Mayors’ Council,
We the undersigned are a diverse group of organizations from business, labour, health, environment and student associations working together to advocate for investment in Metro Vancouver’s transportation system.
We are writing to urge you to act quickly and take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the recent federal budget to improve transit and transportation in our region. As you know, in its budget, the federal government made a commitment to a $370 million “down payment” toward the 10-year Metro Vancouver Transit and Transportation Plan. The federal government has also shown tremendous leadership by agreeing to pay 50 per cent of all capital transit costs provided agreements can be struck with the province and local mayors.
These commitments have changed the landscape for transit funding in our region, but with this opportunity comes a challenge: we need to be ready with regional and provincial funding, or else these federal dollars, collected from local taxpayers, will go to other cities and provinces that are ready. For the good of our economy and the health and livelihood of citizens, this cannot happen. We are calling on the province and the Mayors’ Council to work together to ensure that we are ready to get Metro Vancouver moving again.
Expansion of transit services — especially when they’re electrified — is crucial for Metro Vancouver to improve air quality and health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote economic development and job growth.
A growing number of studies confirm that congestion costs our region more than $1 billion each year due to lost productivity, increased operating costs and lost business revenue and regional GDP. It has been estimated that investment in transit could save the health care system at least $115 million annually, and likely considerably more if the benefits of increased physical activity were also included as part of the cost-savings analysis.
We ask you show leadership by putting history and political differences aside to work together and ensure we are ready to take full advantage of federal support and start improving transit and transportation. Adding new federal dollars is an essential prerequisite for moving ahead with stalled transit improvements so badly needed for the Metro Vancouver region, and for B.C. as a whole.
Lastly, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of using newly available federal funds to implement the full set of regional transportation improvements outlined in the Mayors’ Council Transportation and Transit Plan rather than a few projects here and there. A regional approach to transportation investments will ensure that Metro Vancouver residents and businesses throughout the region will benefit. Local and provincial governments have the power to help us make history in B.C. and Metro Vancouver through implementation of a world-class provincial and regional transportation plan.
Should you require more information, we would be happy to meet with you or your staff.
Thank you for considering this request.
AMS Student Society of UBC Vancouver
BC Federation of Labour
BC Healthy Living Alliance
BC Teachers’ Federation
Better Environmentally Sound Transportation
British Columbia Golf
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Clean Energy BC
Clean Energy Canada
Connecting Environmental Professionals — Vancouver Chapter
The David Suzuki Foundation
Dialog Design
Disability Alliance BC
Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association
Downtown Vancouver Association
Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association
Dr. Lisa J. Jing Mu, Medical Health Officer, Fraser Region
ForestEthics
Gordon Price, Director of the SFU City Program
Graduate Student Society at SFU
Greenpeace Canada
HandyDART Riders Alliance
HASTe BC
Heart and Stroke Foundation
HUB Cycling
Novex Delivery Solutions
Office of the Chief Medical Health Officer, Fraser Health Authority
Offsetters
Perkins+Will Architects
Public Health Association of BC
Renewal Funds Company
Society Promoting Environmental Conservation
Transport Action — British Columbia
Vanterre Projects Corp
The Wilderness Committee
Well at least they are beginning to emphasize the value of electrification. A good step.
A good letter. I hope it has an impact.
I can’t help but compare today’s political environment to what happened in the 70s. Today we have posturing, blockades, insincerity, bickering, mistrust and more. In the 70’s Vancouver worked cooperatively with the Feds and a bit later with the Province. We communicated constructively with citizens and they with us. We had a shared vision of where we wanted the region to go and what had to be done (and not done) to get there. We worked together cooperatively to get there. And we did.
Today with worsening unaffordability, congestion, dysfunctional schools, rampant, indefensible, out of control spot rezonings, and a distraught citizenry we seem to be going backwards. This is not the Vancouver that I love and admire. Some of the fundamentals must change fundamentally.
I’d like to hear what BCAA and The New Car Dealer’s Association of BC’s thoughts are re: transit funding.
It seems to me, every time I visit London the tube is down.
I have limited experienced on other systems: Skytrain, Toronto, Montreal, Paris, New York, Mexico City, and Buenos Aries. As for London, my experience on the Kings Cross and Victoria line was regular when I was a teen.
Mexico City, I lived there almost two years, Linea Observatorio-Pantitlan, the busiest on the system, was often down!
Way back when, I was staying with friends in Manchester. Regularly, work days, early every week day mornings, I would be awakened by the clatter, clatter of the clog train: workers leaving their front door walking off to work. 1947!
Walking to work, walking to amenities has its merits and I would suggest not too difficult to accomplish: i.e. instead of concentrating all the population in towers articulate spatially amenity, population and work in . . . http://www.theyorkshirelad.ca/1yorkshirelad/vancouver.re-boot/Vancouver.re-boot.html
. . . walkable villages.
When Gord started his blog, it must have been five years ago he was a fervent advocate of cycling: a very healthy discussion, if I may say so!
BUT, and this is a big but, PT now persistently segues to the myth of high-tech gadgetry! He is not alone: mayor Robertson too is mesmerized by the prospect of shiny high-tech: the Broadway line!
WHY?
Essentially high-tech gadgetry spells unpayable D-E-B-T a word too many countries, cities, municipalities, companies and individuals are irrevocably entwined. It is the blight of the century that one day, a very black day, all must face!
Unfortunately our political system is rigged for debt. What aspiring new politician, prime minister, even long-in-the-tooth mayors, want to be lumbered with responsible fiscal management, cutting the debt: i.e. the clipping of wings!
Nice people don’t do debt they cannot afford!
Mere public transit ? Or RAPID transit .. Faster than a car or bus stuck in traffic ?
Not the wobbly bus based plan that failed the referendum ?
We need more than that to get folks out of their cars !
Where are road tolls and vastly increased parking fees in this plan to penalize car use ?
Where are the subways or LRTs in W-Van, N-Van, South Richmond, N-Burnaby, to UBC , under 41st Ave, in E-Van, in the west end ?
Yes to more RAPID transit but not the failed referendum Mickey Mouse plan please !
Which developer has ever advertised ” close to a bus” in their ads ?
Will the cities do their part to charge a transit levy on new developments and to increase residential parking fees so they can co-fund it ?
And gosh, just think of all the JOBS that new infrastructure will create!
Yes, and massive debt too.
Sunny ways, all the way. Why be fiscally responsible ? Many new diesel buses too ! This is green ?