The TransLink Dilemma: A turning point for the region

Andrea Woo did a good job in capturing the TransLink dilemma for The Globe and Mail, particularly as it impacts Surrey: A better Surrey hinges on halted transit plans

My take:

Gordon Price, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, believes it is “probably one of the worst moments in human history” to compromise transit expansion, insisting it would lock the south of the Fraser region into car dependency.

“Whether you’re looking at it through the lens of greenhouse gases and climate change, or the volatility in the price of oil, or the cost of land and affordability of housing, everything would suggest that you have a win-win-win if you design your region around transit,” he said. “This is not an anti-car thing; my argument is about car dependence.” …

“TransLink is caught in the crossfire in political anti-tax strategizing – a legacy of refusal by both Liberal and NDP governments to follow through on commitments made,” Mr. Price said.

He pointed to the Port Mann Bridge as an example: When the project was first announced, a major selling point was that it would support a rapid bus line and eventually light rail. At present, it will open with no transit.

“Our history has shown that building sustainable communities around transit is an effective strategy … yet provincial governments are failing to support a sufficient and sustainable funding source, putting the region’s vision in jeopardy,” he said. “This will have tragic consequences for the fastest growing part of our region [the south of the Fraser] – the reverse scenario of when Vancouver rejected freeways and built itself around transportation choice.”