Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts is defending the $0.02 per litre gas tax hike that Metro Vancouver mayors agreed is necessary for the Evergreen Line to be built.
“The $40 million generated annually will be used to fund a comprehensive, integrated, financially sustainable transportation network that will benefit virtually every single person living in Metro Vancouver, regardless of where they live and what mode of transportation they use,” Watts wrote in an open letter released yesterday. “The Evergreen Line is just one component of the plan.”
She noted that other funding in the mayors’ plan could come from:
- advertising;
- naming rights at SkyTrain stations; and
- road tolls.
She did not mention the possible vehicle levy and a possible regional carbon tax that West Vancouver Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones has told BIV might also be in the cards. (See: “Mayors urge two-cent hike in gas taxes” – BIV Business Today; July 7.)
The mayors are confident that the provincial government will pass legislation to boost TransLink’s take of the gas tax to $0.17 from $0.15 per litre.
Glen Korstrom
Twitter: GlenKorstrom