Kevin Falcon’s legacy:
Port Mann Bridge, almost finished.
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What an icon! Whatever else will be said about it, the Port Mann Bridge is magnificent. Falcon will get, and deserves, credit – perhaps enough to launch another political career.
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UPDATE: Another perspective from Stephen Rees. And on the real-estate impacts from the many transportation megaprojects of Kevin Falcon – from Charlie Smith.
UPDATE: Jeff Nagel assembles other comments on Falcon’s legacy here.
Yes, and I heard him on the radio touting how fantastic it is and how it’s worth paying for through tolls because we’ll all save so much time and our time is worth money and it’s all just so fantastic.
What a fools game.
If only his legacy would have been better transit south of the Fraser.
January 14, 2008 – “Province commits to more buses, SkyTrain to Guildford” http://www.canada.com/surreynow/news/story.html?id=3bbbc1b3-cc1c-417c-bada-7961f589c9c7&k=84732
A promise made over 4 years ago and then promptly forgotten by Kevin Falcon.
Probably not going to be an opening day walk… unlike 1986 or 2009 http://www.flickr.com/photos/69965333@N00/3643322100/sizes/l/in/photostream/
http://www.straight.com/article-766381/vancouver/rees-not-impressed-falcons-legacy
And now instead of a gateway arch to the Fraser Valley (or to Vancouver in the other direction), we have a web, a trap. It’s less magnificent than the old Port Mann.
I believe it is in error to so easily fall victim to the grandure and iconicism of large infrastructure projects such as this bridge. All too often, the mundane and low-key infrastructure vital to the mobility needs of so many, like cycling, and that could do wonders for the health and sustainability of our populations and societies, are glazed over in favour for the mega projects to which a name and legacy can be attached. Politicians are particularly guilty of such short-sighted mis-prioritisations and mis-allocation of resources. We should not recognise these excessive displays as a measure of a ‘good’ or ‘accomplished’ politician, or reward these megalomanic gestures with our democratic support–these projects are rarely launched in the interest of the people.
Here is an example: http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2012/08/the-importance-of-mundane.html
I’m more sympathetic to the hwy 1 improvements, and falcon’s legacy. One important point that seems to be glossed over is the move to re-introduce tolling to metro vancouver, with the GEB and the PMB. it would be anathema to metro vancouver if we didn’t build the GEB/new PMB, but now we have tolling, tweaks and all. Disappointed that the sea-to sky wasn’t tolled, and that we did not have wider-spread road pricing. also still waiting for the final announcements for the evergreen line, but we’ll see what the future holds.
and no mention of the canada line as part of the legacy? when so many things could have sunk it (the route debate, transit technology debate, cut/cover versus bored tunnel and the resulting class action, certain metro mayors looking to stop its construction and the resulting TL re-org)…
WRT canada line (remember when it was called the RAV line?), this was what was being debated in 2004:
“There is no rational reason why we should risk the entire public-transit system–80 percent of which is buses–on an expenditure where there is dubious assurance that the ridership will arrive,” Cadman told the Straight .
TransLink bears 100 percent of the cost of ridership shortfalls. MacLean (then mayor of pitt meadows) told the Straight that he questions RAVCo’s claim that the number of transit passengers in the Vancouver-Richmond corridor will have increased from 40,000 to 100,000 per day by the time the RAV line opens in 2009.
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“If people were going to move in those numbers, you would have seen them on the 98-B [bus] line,” MacLean said. “It didn’t happen.”
http://www.straight.com/article/translink-directors-flexible-on-rav-costs