The TransLink Mayors Council’s October 7 vote to raise regional gasoline and property taxes to help pay for a $700 million capital plan brings rapid transit in the Broadway corridor one step closer to reality.
The funding boost for TransLink means construction can start on the long-awaited $1.4 billion Evergreen Line.
The mayoral candidates for Vancouver’s two major municipal parties told Business in Vancouver this summer that, once the Evergreen Line is complete, the region’s next transit priority should be to extend the Millennium SkyTrain line through the Broadway corridor as far as Arbutus Street.
That route will inevitably cause friction, given that many Broadway business owners fear any type of tunnel construction along their corridor will kill their enterprise.
“It’s crucial that we have the SkyTrain technology through the Broadway corridor,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said.
“The growth and population and the traffic challenges in the Broadway corridor are unsustainable, so we’ve got to see the Broadway corridor served with the big pipe.”
Other municipal representatives, including Surrey councillor Marvin Hunt, have criticized the idea that another Vancouver SkyTrain project should be in the works when his city has not had a major transit upgrade in decades.
Under the plan that the mayors passed October 7, regional gas taxes will jump to $0.17 per litre from the current $0.15 per litre. It is expected to be in place by April. Property taxes are also slated to rise for two years, starting 2013.
The plan would be for TransLink to get an average $23 more per year per property owner. Current rates are about $250 per property owner per year for transportation initiatives.
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom