Three items from local media last month that explain a lot about how decisions are made with respect to transportation projects, certainly at the provincial level (but not exclusive to one party or level of government).
B.C. Liberals Cash In
Have Donations To B.C. Liberals And NDP Crossed The Line?
HuffPost Canada, 04/11/2016
Ten of the construction companies who do the heavy lifting for the P3 number crunchers donated $674,000, including Ledcor ($257,850), Kiewit ($105,975) [design-builder for the upgraded Sea-to-Sky Highway], PCL ($141,879) and Emil Anderson Construction ($52,910).
Coincidentally, Emil Anderson was awarded a $36-million contract by the B.C. government last month “for the second phase of six-laning on Highway 97 through Kelowna.” …
Since 2005, the B.C. Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association has donated $147,639 to the B.C. Liberals and $2,500 to the NDP
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Evergreen Line report shows work still ahead for Ministry of Finance
The Sun, 10 Feb 2017
… an audit released in 2013 by then-auditor general John Doyle, who looked at scoping and procurement decisions and the quality of information provided to government decision-makers during the Evergreen Line planning and approval process.
The Evergreen Line, an 11-kilometre-long SkyTrain extension that runs between Burnaby and Coquitlam, opened in December.
In his audit, Doyle said that the business cases developed by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, TransLink and Partnerships B.C. and reviewed by the Ministry of Finance omitted information needed to understand the costs, benefits and risks when comparing SkyTrain, light rail and bus rapid transit options; did not explain rider ship forecasts were based on assumptions that placed them at the upper end of the estimated range; and did not describe the risks from changes in complementary and competing transit services.
The business cases also omitted a framework for measuring performance, and none of the agencies could show documentary evidence that they had reviewed the material submitted to the Treasury Board.
“Given the magnitude of the project, we expected to find more evidence than we did of due diligence from government agencies,” said Bellringer. “We also expected decision makers to have received more information than they did from which to make their decisions.”
The Evergreen Line, an 11-kilometre-long SkyTrain extension that runs between Burnaby and Coquitlam, opened in December.
In his audit, Doyle said that the business cases developed by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, TransLink and Partnerships B.C. and reviewed by the Ministry of Finance omitted information needed to understand the costs, benefits and risks when comparing SkyTrain, light rail and bus rapid transit options; did not explain rider ship forecasts were based on assumptions that placed them at the upper end of the estimated range; and did not describe the risks from changes in complementary and competing transit services.
The business cases also omitted a framework for measuring performance, and none of the agencies could show documentary evidence that they had reviewed the material submitted to the Treasury Board.
“Given the magnitude of the project, we expected to find more evidence than we did of due diligence from government agencies,” said Bellringer. “We also expected decision makers to have received more information than they did from which to make their decisions.”
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Historically governments in B.C. have fed the Motordom machine, especially since the 1950s, with sizeable road-and-bridge projects “in the name of a strong economy.” Donations from the beneficiaries aren’t so much to encourage that already-established commitment but to gain access to discuss the details.
The same is true to a lesser extent with respect to large-scale transit projects – but the tendency there is to choose the flashier if more expensive SkyTrain-type project, regardless of alternatives, as the auditor-general explained, that requires greater construction and engineering inputs at significantly greater costs.
The decisions are to a great extent pre-determined by these biases or interests, and then facts are assembled, if at all, to justify them after the fact.
That’s why we get 10-lane Massey Bridges approved, almost out of the air prior to any credible business case or previous plan, and why SkyTrain will likely be the technology used for the Fraser Highway portion of the Surrey-Langley rapid-transit commitment.
Another investigation on this issue by the Globe:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/investigations/wild-west-bc-lobbyists-breaking-one-of-provinces-few-political-donationrules/article34207677/
Ok. Downvote a good investigative piece to dampen the message. But know that even the lobbyists are getting fed up with the increasing demands for money by party aparatchiks.
Money and politics need to be separated.
Regarding driverless automated trains vs. light rail, the operating performance, notably frequency and speed, is superior with automated, which comes with then more expensive grade separation. Toronto’s subway system, the London Underground and Paris Metro are all considering or have already converted to automated operations on some lines to achieve higher capacity through much tighter frequency on already crowded lines.
In Vancouver it doesn’t make sense to make the core automated system less efficient by imposing a different technology and transfer penalty on a linked line such as Evergreen. I don’t believe the auditor’s report looked beyond one-time capital costs to lifespan operational costs.
This is not to say there isn’t a role for LRT here, but to propose to break an otherwise seamless, frequent regional network with incompatible tech on high-growth routes seems to become an almost religious mission by some. There is no reason secondary tram lines cannot coexist between main SkyTrain lines and extended throughout the suburbs, in my opinion, as long as it supports the core automated regional rail network much as the Periphique trams support (i.e. do not replace) the core Paris Metro and RER lines.
I don’t want a miracle, I just want the West coast Express to run all day long. Is that too much to ask? No? OK I’ll just keep driving then I guess
You won’t have to if the Mayor’s Plan is realized, which probably won’t happen if our wise premier decides to impose another rage fest and call it a plebiscite.
It really depends on whether the Mayors want a new tax to pay for it.
It’s a bit like school children voting for new bicycles, when it’s their parents that have to pay for them.
Fortunately, the Liberals promised to not raise new taxes without public consent and they have decided to keep their word. Politicians keeping their promises is a good thing.
The only difference between a new tax for transit and the new bridge is that the cost of the latter will be hidden in the form of debt. Tolls? The transit farebox is a toll too.