unimaginative2
Senior Member
The Evergreen Skytrain line in Vancouver looks like it's about to start construction. It will be an extension of the existing Millennium Skytrain line to Coquitlam and Port Moody.
Mayors want province, Ottawa to ante up for Evergreen transit line
Concern mounting that project will begin without full funding in place
Vancouver — From Friday's Globe and Mail
Published on Friday, Mar. 12, 2010 12:00AM EST
Last updated on Friday, Mar. 12, 2010 11:19AM EST
.Metro Vancouver's mayors are calling on the B.C. and federal governments to agree - before construction starts next year - to help TransLink pay its share of the cost of building and operating the Evergreen light-rail transit line.
The group - the mayors' council that oversees the transit authority - gathered in a closed meeting yesterday morning. A late addition to the agenda was Premier Gordon Campbell's announcement on Monday that construction of the Evergreen line will begin next year, even with a $400-million funding gap unresolved.
According to the mayors' council, the province announced that construction of the new rapid transit line through the northeastern part of the Lower Mainland will begin despite TransLink's failure to raise its $400-million share of the construction costs. Mayors are concerned about starting the $1.4-billion transit line before sustainable funding mechanisms are established.
"The minute you stick a shovel in the ground and start to build it, you better have the capital dollars you need to build it," said Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender, who chairs the TransLink mayors' council. "Coupled with that, you also need the operating dollars to run the system after it's built."
The federal and provincial governments and TransLink agreed to share the cost of the 11-kilometre transit line. TransLink, however, has been unable to come up with its $400-million share because its budget is already overstretched. Mr. Fassbender said TransLink is still determining how to cover the funding gap for construction, as well as long-term operating costs.
"Carbon pricing policies and road pricing policies are options that we need to be looking at in the future," Mr. Fassbender said. "The mayors' council has not ruled anything out, but we just don't have a solution yet."
Transportation Minister Shirley Bond said TransLink's inability to provide its share will not stop the province from moving on the project.
"The mayors have certainly had their chance to move the Evergreen line forward and they have not been able to meet the commitment they made to bring dollars to the table," said Ms. Bond, speaking to reporters in Victoria yesterday. "We think the Evergreen line is important and so do the people who have been waiting for decades. We're going to get it done."
However, it remains unclear where the province would get the money.
Ms. Bond said she will meet Mr. Fassbender next week to discuss the project.
"Our goal is to get the Evergreen line moving," Ms. Bond said.
The mayors said they hope this will be a time to rally for increased government support to make up TransLink's share.
"We hope to find a long-term solution for the operating costs that would look at all of the sources, whether they are municipal, federal or provincial," Mr. Fassbender said.
"It has to be all of us looking at what we can do to find the sustainable solutions."
Mayors want province, Ottawa to ante up for Evergreen transit line
Concern mounting that project will begin without full funding in place
Vancouver — From Friday's Globe and Mail
Published on Friday, Mar. 12, 2010 12:00AM EST
Last updated on Friday, Mar. 12, 2010 11:19AM EST
.Metro Vancouver's mayors are calling on the B.C. and federal governments to agree - before construction starts next year - to help TransLink pay its share of the cost of building and operating the Evergreen light-rail transit line.
The group - the mayors' council that oversees the transit authority - gathered in a closed meeting yesterday morning. A late addition to the agenda was Premier Gordon Campbell's announcement on Monday that construction of the Evergreen line will begin next year, even with a $400-million funding gap unresolved.
According to the mayors' council, the province announced that construction of the new rapid transit line through the northeastern part of the Lower Mainland will begin despite TransLink's failure to raise its $400-million share of the construction costs. Mayors are concerned about starting the $1.4-billion transit line before sustainable funding mechanisms are established.
"The minute you stick a shovel in the ground and start to build it, you better have the capital dollars you need to build it," said Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender, who chairs the TransLink mayors' council. "Coupled with that, you also need the operating dollars to run the system after it's built."
The federal and provincial governments and TransLink agreed to share the cost of the 11-kilometre transit line. TransLink, however, has been unable to come up with its $400-million share because its budget is already overstretched. Mr. Fassbender said TransLink is still determining how to cover the funding gap for construction, as well as long-term operating costs.
"Carbon pricing policies and road pricing policies are options that we need to be looking at in the future," Mr. Fassbender said. "The mayors' council has not ruled anything out, but we just don't have a solution yet."
Transportation Minister Shirley Bond said TransLink's inability to provide its share will not stop the province from moving on the project.
"The mayors have certainly had their chance to move the Evergreen line forward and they have not been able to meet the commitment they made to bring dollars to the table," said Ms. Bond, speaking to reporters in Victoria yesterday. "We think the Evergreen line is important and so do the people who have been waiting for decades. We're going to get it done."
However, it remains unclear where the province would get the money.
Ms. Bond said she will meet Mr. Fassbender next week to discuss the project.
"Our goal is to get the Evergreen line moving," Ms. Bond said.
The mayors said they hope this will be a time to rally for increased government support to make up TransLink's share.
"We hope to find a long-term solution for the operating costs that would look at all of the sources, whether they are municipal, federal or provincial," Mr. Fassbender said.
"It has to be all of us looking at what we can do to find the sustainable solutions."