Petty Politics Trump TransLink Expansion

SkyTrain expansion | BCBusiness
Provincial politics are getting in the way of practical solutions to the region’s transportation problems.

Stop the political gamesmanship over money, and find the funds for a TransLink suggestion to get more people in the suburbs on rapid transit.

TransLink has thrown down the gauntlet over increased transit in the suburbs in the hopes it can generate some cash to fund ambitious projects.
 
The transit company says it needs some $30 million from property tax increases in Metro Vancouver to help fund a “base plan” that will realign transit in the region and create the new Evergreen rapid transit line, which, it seems, has been talked about since Simon Fraser first paddled down the river that bears his name.  
 
Metro mayors approved the two-year increases last year. Then they rescinded that approval earlier this year because it was a “stop-gap” measure.
 
What they really meant was the provincial government wouldn’t let them access their favoured revenue sources – carbon taxes and a vehicle levy – so they were going to stall any changes to transit in their municipalities.
 
So everybody’s upped their game here – the mayors, the government and TransLink. It’s confrontational politics, which seem to be the only kind of politics we have here.
 
Meanwhile, the city is changing and needs something to happen with transit soon. There are far too many cars on the road in the urban Vancouver area, leading to near gridlock often times. What public transit exists is jammed in some areas (like the SkyTrain’s Canada Line), and is neglected on many bus routes in the suburbs. Commutes are getting longer and longer.
 
It’s like Nero fiddling while Rome burned.
 
Okay, that might be a bit strong, but you get the idea: Petty politics over innovation and practicality.
 
Let’s get real here. The property tax increase is $23 per homeowner per year, but the mayors are scared to death of it. No politician wants to raise taxes even if it’s reasonable. But, sheesh, 23 bucks?
 
The province is afraid it will open a Pandora’s box by allowing municipal governments to share in the carbon tax, which is substantial, but is supposedly revenue neutral. But since the tax was supposed to fund the lowering of carbon emissions, paying to get people out of their cars and into transit would certainly fit.
 
Meanwhile, merchants and other businesses worry about more practical things, like how they’re going to do business when customers can’t get to them.
 
So you can see it. Petty political infighting over even a small problem can magnify in significance if we allow it to continue. Stop arguing and start attacking the problem.