The Future through Zwei’s (not so) Crystal ball

Posted by on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 · 1 Comment 

The big transit news for 2014 is the BC Liberal transit referendum.
What will be the outcome?
What will be the question asked for the public to vote on?
Presently, I do not think even the Premier herself can answer these questions, as Premier Clark, like several Premiers before her, is a “rubber on asphalt” type a person and rapid transit is for electoral purposes only. There is no need for a rapid transit project in the region as the Evergreen Line will provide all the photo-ops needed for the 2017 provincial election.

There is not much detail given as about the proposed referendum or even if a “no” vote will be allowed and it may be condemned prisoners Hobson’s choice of death by firing squad, electrocution, or hanging. In other words we may get choice of road pricing, higher property taxes or an auto levy or a combination of all three.

Zwei believes the referendum is merely a funding formula for the $3+ billion Broadway SkyTrain subway as there are no more schools, hospitals and such left to be closed as what happened coincidentally with the past SkyTrain lines built. The cupboard is bare for transit.

What I do think will happen is that the Millennium Line will be extended to Arbutus then an enhanced B-Line will continue to UBC. A shorter subway would suit the likes of Bombardier and SNC Lavalin for now. If this option is chosen, it spells a transit disaster for the region; a very expensive and user unfriendly transit service to TransLink’s top transit destination.

Nothing is going to happen in Surrey unless the present mayor. Dianne Watts, flexes her political muscle and gives TransLink and the province an ultimatum, either fund our LRT or we will split. Dianne Watts is seen as a future Liberal Premier and as the love affair with our current Premier, Christi Clark is waning thin, there well may be a another Liberal coup d’etat with Watts dumping Clark over transit, in the not too far future. With the City of Surrey overtaking Vancouver in population by the end of the decade, there just may well be enough political muscle to build light rail.

The official opposition, the NDP, are lost in a self induced stupor of ennui and hubris and really don’t have a clue about transit. Former NDP MLA Guy Gentner told Zwei that Mike Farnsworth (an NDP MLA oligarch) was the real points-man for transit and he 100% sold on SkyTrain and urged Dix to promise the City of Vancouver to build the Broadway SkyTrain subway.
Gentner was given the heave ho out of the NDP because he was seen as a maverick, sadly he was a light rail/rail for the Valley supporter.
If there is a NO option on the referendum, I believe the majority of voters will vote no which will make TransLink curtail bus services to such an extent that I do think Translink will be split North/South of the Fraser by sheer public demand.

Out of this mess we may get some sound transit planning because the south of the Fraser can only afford LRT (seeing that SkyTrain as a Vancouver/TransLink debacle) and with LRT will come real P-3’s as well as other funding options building affordable light rail and hopefully a realized Vancouver to Chilliwack TramTrain.

Category: Opinion, Politics, Rail for the Valley, zweisystem · Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

One Response to “The Future through Zwei’s (not so) Crystal ball”
  1. Vancouverite says:
    January 8, 2014 at 2:06 am

    What a sad state of affairs for 2014, do you think there will be improvement?

    I find the buses irksome to use as I must transfer several times to get to work and taking the car is so much easier. Is there a political party that really cares about providing good transit for us? All I get from Vancouver councilors is that a subway will cure our transit problems – NOT.