As Predicted – Evergreen Line faces another yearA?ai??i??ai???s delay and uncertain future

Another prediction from Zwei has come to pass, The Evergreen or locally called Nevergreen SkyTrain line is in serious trouble.

The truth of the matter is that for $1.4 billion dollars, the Evergreen line would attract very few new transit customers and virtually no motorists to the transit system. Every time problems with the Evergreen Line is in the press, Zwei would like like to remind all that American transit expert, Gerald Fox, shredded the Evergreen Line’s business case.

http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2008/12/26/can-translinks-business-cases-be-trusted/

The SkyTrain lobby will wail a great song of discontent, but the reality is and is especially true of the Evergreen Line, the costs of the plannedAi??light metro far outweigh any real benefits the metro would bring to the Tri-City region.

The real solution is of course light rail, but it is not going to happen as far too many politicians, bureaucrats, academics, and media typesAi??have ridden the SkyTrain mini-metro’s coattails for far too long and the embarrassment of admitting that their favourite transit mode and the transportation philosophy that comes with it, had a Ai??foundationAi??of clay. The regionalAi??taxpayer isAi??taxed to the max and unless any increases in transit taxations has a direct inprovementAi??on the local taxpayer and not for gold-plated metros for someone else, I think TransLink will have to make do with what it has.

Real change will only happen, when real democracy happens at TransLink and the people have a real say in how transit is funded and built and until then, the Evergreen line will remain a political promise only.

AdiA?s, the Nevergreen line? As of now it is on life-support.

Evergreen Line faces another yearai??i??s delay and uncertain future

It could be canceled outright because of a funding dispute between the province and Metro Vancouver mayors

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Evergreen+Line+faces+another+year+delay+uncertain+future/4870990/story.html#ixzz1O1xpExZU

By KELLY SINOSKI AND JONATHAN FOWLIE, Vancouver SunJune 1, 2011

METRO VANCOUVER – The long-awaited Evergreen Line will be delayed another year and could be scrubbed altogether unless Metro Vancouver mayors come up with a plan to pay for it, B.C. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom has warned.

Lekstrom said this week that the 11-kilometre SkyTrain line linking Burnaby and Coquitlam could not be up and running before late 2015 ai??i?? at the earliest ai??i?? because the mayors have not yet proposed alternative funding sources to cover TransLinkai??i??s $400-million share of the $1.4-billion project.

Former premier Gordon Campbell promised before the 2009 election campaign that the line would be operational by 2014.

ai???The reality is the federal money is there, the provincial money is there, so we are waiting for the mayorsai??i?? council to determine how they are going to raise their $400 million,ai??? Lekstrom said Tuesday.

ai???Without that I think the project would be in jeopardy,ai??? he added. ai???Thatai??i??s the reality.ai???

The announcement prompted everything from resignation to disappointment and anger among the regionai??i??s mayors, who have waited years for the rapid transit line, and signed an agreement with the province last November to look at alternative sources of funding ai??i?? such as road pricing, congestion charges and vehicle levies ai??i?? to pay for it.

A rift also appears to be developing among regional mayors, many of whom are divided on potential options to fund the transit projects ai??i?? with some opposed to road pricing or bridge tolls depending on where they live. Others say not everyone is willing to work with the province to get the Evergreen Line built.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said the mayors have an obligation to pay for a third of the costs of the line, yet some of those in transit-rich cities are ai???somewhat less supportiveai??? of the project.

But Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan argued mayors have just had enough. He said the provincial government scrapped the mayorsai??i?? plans for the initial line, which was planned as a light rail project, to build a more costly SkyTrain. Even with the province, feds and TransLink paying a third of the costs, he said, there will be a shortfall of $200 million that will still have to be covered.

ai???The project has been one where the province has interfered and is then pointing fingers and blaming municipalities for the failure,ai??? he said. ai???I donai??i??t feel any obligation to get on board this train and I donai??i??t think anyone in the region does … at some point the municipal governments have to stand their ground, at this point the rubber hit the ground with the Evergreen Line.

ai???Weai??i??re not going to taxpayers again to pay for a project well over budget and essentially a pet project for the provincial and federal government. We got burned on the Canada Line and weai??i??re not going to do it again.ai???

But North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, chairman of the mayorsai??i?? council on regional transportation who will meet with Lekstrom on Friday, said he doesnai??i??t see the latest announcement as ai???a breach of faith.ai???

He noted the negotiations with the province have been slow to progress because of ai???political distractions in Victoria,ai??? including a new premier and transportation minister ai??i?? Lekstrom replaced former minister Shirley Bond ai??i?? but heai??i??s optimistic a deal can be reached in the next few months.

Stewart also said he will head to Victoria himself to lobby for the project, noting Coquitlam has built density and a transit-oriented communities along the proposed line.

ai???Iai??i??m very disappointed if it gets delayed again … we should get this one underway so we can start talking about Broadway and about Surrey and Langley. Transit options have to be improved.ai???

Both Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs agreed the Evergreen Line is integral to a regional transit plan. Meggs said he was surprised at Lekstromai??i??s comments, noting it was the province that stuck municipalities with the high cost of the SkyTrain line.

Lekstrom said Tuesday he is optimistic the mayors will be able to find a solution to the funding issue, but insisted the delay has nothing to do with the senior levels of government.

ai???That [project] is not delayed by the federal government; it is not delayed by the provincial government. It is delayed as the mayorsai??i?? council works through their options.ai???

Premier Christy Clark also said Tuesday she wants the Evergreen Line to be built. Last month, she also said she would be willing to look at using the carbon tax revenue to fund transit projects.

Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender said the mayors were heartened by Clarkai??i??s comments, and he expects a decision will likely include a combination of options such as road pricing and tolls.