Just in case there’s even the slightest bit of ambiguity left, here are my current thoughts on the transit referendum, as recorded by Doug Ward in Novae Res Urbis (an indispensible newsletter on urban development in Vancouver, but only available by subscription.)
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The decision by the B.C. Liberal government to put transit expansion to a referendum is a threat to Metro Vancouver’s long-standing goal of a more sustainable and livable region, says a leading commentator on urban issues.
“This referendum is a turning point for this region and it is likely to fail,” former Vancouver city councillor Gordon Price told a forum on transportation infrastructure held last week at Simon Fraser University.
“We are at a turning point in the region that is as potentially significant as anything in my lifetime,” said Price, arguing that the referendum result could shape the region’s future, just as resistance to freeways in Vancouver did in the ‘60s.
“The stakes have never been higher,” added Price, who is now director of the City Program at SFU, saying that the government appears ready to “doubledown” on creating a more car-dependent region. “This is really about your future in as stark a way as I can think.”
A no vote on the referendum, which must be held no later than the municipal elections in November, 2014, would be a massive setback for those who want a more compact, less automobile-centric region, said Price, at the panel discussion organized by the Science Policy Congress.
“Think about what it means if there is a ‘no’ vote as far as the province is concerned. What do they conclude? No transit for you.
“And you don’t get to go back into the room and negotiate a deal.” …
The transit expansion referendum is doomed, said Price, because there is no consensus over various project proposals, including the rapid transit line down the Broadway corridor. Nor is there any broad agreement on how expansion could be financed, he added.
“This thing is designed to divide us.”
Another pro-transit panelist, Patrick Condon, proved Price’s point by musing that the referendum should fail if it includes the proposed $3-billion addition to the Millennium Line that would run underground from Commercial Drive to the University of B.C. …
Condon did agree with Price that “it’s absurd to have a referendum on transit and not one on freeways.”
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“This thing is designed to divide us.”
Then Condon, in the very next paragraph, proves the divide-and-conquer technique will work. Alas.