You say that if you were given a vote on the Evergreen Line funding, you would have probably held your nose and voted "yes" (re: Will Corrigan say 'I told you so' in two years? Our View, Burnaby NOW, Oct. 12.)
Here are some thoughts that might have made your theoretical, yet somewhat unpalatable choice, less odorous.
It is true that the province is spending large sums on the Highway 1/Port Mann project, but some of the large costs will be borne by users of the new bridge through tolls, a source of irritation to those who choose to live south and east of the Fraser River and commute to the Burrard Peninsula.
Likewise, the Golden Ears Bridge is an expensive project, mostly borne by the region, which has also seen fit to implement tolls to target actual users.
It is also true that the province has expended billions on the Expo Line, the Surrey extension, the Millennium Line and the Canada Line with little capital contribution from the benefiting communities.
These expenditures in mass transit have been the catalyst for many billions of dollars of direct investment in residential, commercial and office construction along the routes.
Burnaby, in particular, has been a major beneficiary of rapid transit development, traversed by not one but two rapid transit lines and stands to benefit greatly as well from the Evergreen line.
And believe me, as a former regional director, I can tell you that Burnaby's neighbours are acutely aware of how much Burnaby has benefited from rapid transit investments and how unimpressed they were when the current mayor and his allies bitterly opposed the Canada Line.
I am sure they are equally unimpressed by his position on the Evergreen Line given that it, too, benefits the businesses and residents of Burnaby.
All the property tax revenue from the investment in rapid transit to date has flown directly into municipal coffers for cities to spend as they please.
Not a penny shared with the province.
While it is true that the province benefits indirectly from sales tax, property transfer tax, business and personal tax associated with its rapid transit investments, the lion's share of additional tax revenue has gone to municipalities, both from new rapid-transit related development and increased property values as a result of rapid transit and the associated stations.
So, I think a $400-million contribution from benefiting local government for the Evergreen Line, in partnership with similar investments from the federal and provincial governments, might be seen as reasonable and a darn good deal in the con-text of the billions spent by the province on rapid transit in the region over the past three decades.
True leadership means making difficult decisions and making the best of choices offered.
I applaud the leadership of the local mayors who made the difficult choice to move forward with rapid transit for the region. If you think about it this way, you really don't have to hold your nose and vote.
Lee Rankin is a former city councillor and a current candidate with TEAM Burnaby for the upcoming municipal election.
