It is nothing short of miraculous that the region's mayors, with one exception, managed in a matter of weeks to agree on detailed priorities for a 30-year transit plan for the region. They really had no choice.
Backed against the wall by a provincial government floundering over its ill-advised referendum on new sources of transit funding, the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation was asked to “define a regional transportation vision with priorities and costs.” And they did it.
TransLink and selected municipal staff members, led by Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore and North Vancouver District Mayor Richard Walton, produced a report of a quality that blew away stakeholders at a briefing preceding the vote.
They've mapped out a transit future that few could argue with, though some certainly will. For $7.5 billion in new capital spending, 70% of Metro Vancouver residents will be within walking distance of frequent transit. That's 1.5 million more people “with transit service so frequent throughout the day a schedule is not needed,” says the report. “This makes giving up one car a more realistic option for many, with savings of $10,000/year.”
The region will have 200 fewer deaths, 4,000 fewer injuries per year, and “reduce[d] traffic congestion [will allow] drivers and transit users to save 20-30 minutes per day on many of the region's most congested corridors.”
Goods will move faster.
Where the mayors didn't succeed was in getting provincial buy-in for their suggested source of funds: revenue that doesn't exist, from the revenue-neutral carbon tax. Exactly like squeezing blood from a Stone.
One of the mayors said privately they never would have made that proposal if they hadn't been told explicitly by the provincial government that every funding option was on the table. No doubt they knew they were stretching their chances by asking for it. Still, taking new spending from existing provincial revenue did reveal the referendum frustration that transit has to go to a separate public vote to find new sources for some of its funding, while other transportation improvements come out of general revenue.
Regardless, the mayors' aborted Plan A has softened the way for Plan B: a regional carbon tax boost, with proceeds going to transportation. Carbon tax revenue of any kind is an interim solution at best.
Like the current fuel tax, it will shrink over time, and it doesn't allow the price of travel to vary by location, time of day or congestion status. That's the real goal: some form of mobility pricing in the next five to eight years to achieve new revenue and more efficient use of the transportation infrastructure we already have.
The fairness, comprehensiveness and clarity of the mayors' report won over business, labour, student and environmentalist support.
From here, there is bound to be picking and sniping, but no one will be able to say the region hasn't been able to get its act together.
Now the province has to take this referendum seriously. Transportation Minister Todd Stone had asked the mayors to work with the province to consider funding sources and finalize a referendum question, and to publicly advocate for the success of the referendum.
Actually, it's the province's turn to do just that.
Last week's column incorrectly said a BC Chamber of Commerce resolution proposed a lower property transfer tax for first-time homebuyers. In fact, the resolution recommended lowering the tax for B.C. residents (and raising it for non-residents).
