The Evergreen Line that extends from Burnaby's Lougheed SkyTrain station into Coquitlam was the right decision but one that was made without all the facts, according to a recent report from auditor general John Doyle.
The purpose of the recent audit was to determine whether or not the province was provided with enough information to make a well-informed decision on the new SkyTrain extension.
The audit found the $1.43-billion project, with major construction already underway, was the best option approved by the province, but that it made the choice without all the information needed to better understand costs, benefits and risks when comparing SkyTrain, light rail and bus rapid transit options, according to Doyle.
"While my audit ultimately concluded that the SkyTrain extension was the best option, it did this using information not present in the treasury board submissions," he stated in a media release.
The province was given the 2008 and 2010 business cases developed by the Ministry of Transportation, TransLink and Partnerships British Columbia before having them reviewed by the Ministry of Finance.
Doyle's report released March 28 - Audit of the Evergreen Line Rapid Transit Project - reveals that these cases did not explain that the SkyTrain ridership forecasts were based on assumptions that placed them at the upper end of the estimated range, nor did they describe the risks from changes in other transit services.
"Omitting this information meant government did not have the opportunity to understand these risks and endorse actions for protecting and enhancing the benefits of the Evergreen Line over its useful life," Doyle said in a media release. "Applying the same approach for future capital projects puts government at risk of making decisions that would have been modified had government understood the full costs."
Another aspect the province did not have the chance to consider was a framework for measuring performances, Doyle states, and none of the agencies showed evidence that they had reviewed the material submitted to the treasury board.
The audit also included seven recommendations to strengthen future planning processes for major projects.
Transportation and Infrastucture Minister Mary Polak was more positive about the report.
"The Evergreen Line has been studied and reviewed extensively for years by multiple levels of government and transit experts," she stated in a media release. "We are confident that the Evergreen Line can achieve ridership projections as we have seen with the popularity of the Millennium Line and Canada Line where ridership has met or exceeded projections."
The new line is expected to open in the summer of 2016, linking Port Moody and Coquitlam to the Millennium SkyTrain line.
When it is complete, the SkyTrain will be the longest rapid transit network in the country.
For more information on the Evergreen Line, visit www.evergreenline.gov. bc.ca.
