A number of items and articles, connected with a common theme.
The Daily Scot linked to this video, with a preset to Bateman’s position and involvement on the Port Mann Bridge when he was a Langley councillor:
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“Just a drop in the bucket” “Not enough: we need a number of bridges like this.”
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Ohrn writes:
Mr. Bateman’s role as “NO” side leader on the transit referendum was preceded by his role as leader of an ad-hoc group “Get Moving BC” pushing for a massive increase in bridge capacity over the Fraser River. Partly as a result, we now have the Port Mann bridge, whose traffic and financial situation is discussed HERE.
Likewise, Mr. Bateman pointed to the Golden Ears bridge as “a great start”. It too, is not living up to traffic or financial projections. But he insisted that even more capacity was needed to save the Greater Vancouver area from “total gridlock”. He quickly moves on to advocate for replacement of both the Patullo and Massey Tunnel.
He never mentions alternatives, except to quickly say that they need bridges too.
We have seen the huge success of the Canada Line, which quickly exceeded ridership projections in a very large way — a pointed comment on Mr. Bateman’s advocacy and its accuracy.
Aside from the shallowness and inaccuracy of his work, I am struck by the uncritical way his advocacy is treated in this video clip, an assembly of news broadcasts. Clearly, the message “cars, freeways and bridges” resonates with our news media in a way that “transit alternatives” do not. I’m also struck by the success of his group’s message, as evidenced by the now-completed Port Mann bridge, the Patullo and the Massey Tunnel replacements now being proposed.
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Colin Brander also adds a quote from this Tyee article:
He was in favour of Translink’s governance model, until it worked better for him to be opposed to it:
He even gave a cautious thumbs-up to the new governance model imposed on TransLink in 2007 by then transportation minister Kevin Falcon, which removed control of TransLink from the regional mayors and handed it to a group of unelected directors.
The idea was that TransLink would be run on a business model similar to that of the Vancouver airport or the newly privatized BC Ferries. Falcon argued that the new governance structure would stop local politicians from interfering with good transportation policy and put professionals in control.
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And then there’s this item researched by Kirk Williams on the CBC: Transit referendum: It could be about something much bigger than a tax increase.
“The ‘No’ side is the Taxpayers Federation. Period,” says Donald Gutstein, author of “Harperism”, which documents Canada’s shift to the political right.
The CTF website indicates it has a pretty healthy share of ‘elites’ itself. Its board members have ties to the energy industry, the legal profession and conservative organizations such as the Canadian Constitution Foundation (court challenges aimed at “reducing state power”) and the Canadian LabourWatch Association (“dedicated to helping employees make informed choices about unionization”). …
Gordon Price is worried about the future of any large publicly-funded program designed for the public good. If the CTF is able to convince Vancouver–including existing transit users–that politicians and institutions can’t be trusted, then it paves the way for more private sector involvement in other areas such as health care and the economy as a whole.
“Certainly the Canadian Taxpayers Federation isn’t stopping with this”, Price says. “You may think it’s about making transit more efficient, making TransLink more accountable. No. It’s about diminishing (government’s) role in the economy and as a factor in your life.”.
Unless of course it’s a bigger road or bridge. No vote on that.
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It’s all a bit much, even for some Liberals. The Daily Scot picked this up from the Tricity News:
Two government MLAs are accusing No forces in the transit referendum of misleading the public by exaggerating the issue of waste at TransLink.
Surrey MLA Marvin Hunt, a former Surrey councillor and Metro Vancouver board chair, and Education Minister Peter Fassbender, formerly mayor of Langley City and vice-chair of the mayors’ council, made the comments Friday in Cloverdale, where Transportation Minister Todd Stone urged local business leaders to support the Yes campaign.
Hunt said TransLink has got “a bad rap” from No campaign leader Jordan Bateman, who he said has made “very unfair” comparisons of executive salaries to those paid in smaller transit organizations that do not have the geographic sweep or extent of responsibilities as the Metro Vancouver agency.
“An awful lot of erroneous information has gone out,” Hunt said. “Unfortunately, there’s nobody out there saying ‘Jordan, get serious. Tell the truth on these things.'”
Certainly, where is the media in this. Why aren’t they calling him on his bs, making him back up his statements. They just parrot his lines as though they are truth.
I mean here you have the Liberals calling him a liar and he still gets air time! It’s crazy.
Here’s a followup that looks at how traffic on the Oak Street bridge changed after the addition of the Canada Line. Spoiler alert: bridge traffic dropped.
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/will-new-transit-in-metro-vancouver-cut-gridlock-1.2226782
In December 2014, Bateman wrote on his blog that PST exemptions for things like food should be eliminated. “Charge it on everything, but knock the overall rates down,” he wrote.
In February 2012, he criticized Translink for resisting fare gates. Those same gates are now under heavy fire from proponents of a No vote. Here’s Bateman then: “Thank goodness then-transportation minister Kevin Falcon didn’t listen to the TransLink ‘experts’ and went through with fare gates.”
After the NO, not NOW vote settles, one of the first reforms that TranSlinky can self-surgery is the dissolution of it’s speculative realty players. They and the city are using our money to feed a gambling addiction, grossly overpaying for non-transit related properties (some, on Broadway bought at 45% over assessed value), and further jacking up prices with the goal to achieve commercial unaffordability (now that they’ve locked in #2 housing unaffordability in the world).
And today, this. The idiocy just doesn’t end with that organization:
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TransLink spends $14 M to buy back building
Business in Vancouver – March 11, 2015
TransLink has regained ownership of the 120,000 sqft Burnaby building that BC Transit sold for a $9 million loss in 2004. On Dec 18, 2014, TransLink paid $13.9 million for 6700 Southridge after spending $63,667 a month on rent since August, 2012. The building, across the street from the B.C. Rapid Transit Co. operations and maintenance yard, was purchased in anticipation of refurbishing and expanding the SkyTrain fleet.
BC Transit bought the facility for $17.2 million in 2004, then sold for $8.2 million in Nov 2004 to Eric Karls (of Mac and Jac Clothing), who flipped it for $13 million in Apr 2005 to Dayhu Investments.
I don’t think anyone would dispute that more infrastructure would to reduce congestion, but I don’t believe that is the thrust behind the No campaign the CTF is leading. Rather, the No side is essentially against giving a new, neverending source of taxpayer money to Translink, who clearly lack the ability to manage money wisely.
If you read this blog you should have read enough articles here to know Translink is actually a pretty efficient Transit organization.
We need indeed far more public transit ( especially rapid rail based transit ) and more road infrastructure in a growing region that is also Canada’s major Pacific port !
We also need more staff in the medical and education field and the ONLY way to do that effectively -without raising taxes even higher – is to allow more funding and money into the system ie far more private healthcare and private education.
I can’t even legally get my knee , ear, lung or eye operated on in Canada without a major wait but have to go to the U.S., Mexico or elsewhere instead ? Really ? That is the result of the current law, about to be challenged. Private healthcare is far too restricted in Canada, and will likely change within the year when the Dr Brian Day health clinic trial is decided by the Supreme Court.
Highly educated surgeons in Canada are unemployed and the reason is not a lack of demand but an outdated law, or shall I say interpretation of the health act.
Bridges, tunnels or major highways could also be more privately owned. Every time you use them, you pay. What is wrong with that ?
The public purse is limited and as such, private options must be used as well.
The era of free education, free roads, free transit and free healthcare , for everybody at any time for any amount is coming to an end !
It should have never been called a “Tax” in the first place. I would have chosen “Mobility Fund”, or “Mobility Charge”. Mobility Fund