Thursday, October 4
City Conversations – Out of Service: The Future of Translink?
Time: 12:30-1:30 pm
Place: Room 1900, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings St.
Cost: Free
Except for funding the Evergreen Line and some bus service when the new Port Mann Bridge opens, Translink has no money to meet growing transit demand. Now that we’ve widened our freeway and built the world’s widest bridge– copying the Los Angeles strategy of the past 60 years– where’s the money for transit? The provincial government says not here, the Mayors Council says not from property taxes if the province doesn’t chip in, gas taxes are down, and on and on. Thus, no 300,000 hours of expanded bus service, no frequent bus service on Highway 1 except at rush hour, no expanded Seabus service, no B-Line service to White Rock on the King George Highway, no bicycle programs or work on the Major Road Network. Even Los Angeles has stopped building freeways; its residents voted to tax themselves to build rapid rail lines, subways and fast bus routes.
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Now comes the Lower Mainland reaction. Transit coalitions are forming. Cities are mobilizing. Business groups that called for more roads now call for more public transit. To explore the possibilities, City Conversations has invited Nancy Olewiler, chair of the Translink Board; Tanya Paz, representing new advocacy groups Get On Board and the Sustainable Transportation Coalition, and Anne McMullin, President and CEO of the Urban Development Institute, Pacific Region. Then it’s your turn to identify the needs and help define the strategies. Get on board!
So, we are back to griping about getting around Metro again.
I’m not surprised!
I’ll bet no one at the Harbour Centre do will dare to bring this up.
Wow all the armchair expertise. The same problem, the same solution, the same voices!
As for movement relief, we are looking in the wrong direction.
As a starter, look at the entrenched bureaucracy Translink has become. Look at the entrenched bureaucracy Highways has become. Look at their work hour parking lots: how many autos tell you managers of the system do not use the system.
Will those who have caused the problem solve the problem?
“The operating subsidy would even be less if it were not for the wacky Canada Line payments that are reported as operating costs but are really a combination of operating and debt servicing costs.” Good point Richard @ # 3 on Bula blog today . . .
When the conversation gets around to operating costs and leaves out debt servicing we know we are being hood winked!
The Canada Line is touted as a success. But that ignores traffic along Cambie etc. the bridges and YVR parking lots. Essentially nothing has changed.
Moving around Vancouver, despite all the ongoing self serving puff pieces . . .
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/what-does-it-mean-to-have-the-worlds-best-reputation-vancouver-will-soon-find-out/article4572459/
. . . is hell on wheels.
The ultimate and eventual solution will be to start planning for a sustainable relationship between point of origin and point of destination.
When I was a kid in wartime England there was a reminder posted everywhere . . . Is your journey really necessary!