Mayors across the Lower Mainland met last week to discuss an upcoming referendum to fund transit development throughout nearly two-dozen municipalities.
Metro Vancouver’s Mayor’s Council on Regional Transportation is seeking funding from the provincial and federal governments for its $7.5-billion transportation plan, which proposes various projects that are expected to ease congestion, cut commute times and increase transit capacity throughout 21 municipalities.
Burnaby’s projects include increased bus service along Boundary Road, upgrades and expansion to fleets and stations on the Expo and Millennium lines, and B-Lines from SFU Burnaby to Downtown Vancouver along Hastings Street and from Metrotown to Capilano University via Willingdon Avenue.
As proposed, all projects will be partially funded by existing and future transit revenue – as well as other sources – and will require an additional $285 million per year to afford the region’s share as Metro Vancouver prepares for a million new residents by 2040.
The council is also considering increases to the Provincial Sales Tax or the carbon tax (to be charged on fossil fuel purchases within the region) to help fund the plan. An annual vehicle registration fee is also on the table.
However, as outlined in a press release, the council and province have agreed that any new funding sources must be stable, transit-related, fair to all taxpayers, affordable for families and economically efficient.
When the council voted on the plan in June, Mayor Derek Corrigan was the only member to oppose the plan, calling Vancouver’s proposed Broadway corridor subway and Surrey’s three Light Rail Transit routes unfeasible “mega” projects.
The council is set to meet again on Thursday, Dec. 11 at a public meeting from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster, 777 Columbia St.
