Rail for the Valley "the single most popular idea"

UPDATE: More coverage, see this editorial in the Surrey Leader: Keep the momentum

An article by Jeff Nagel, appearing in Black Press newspapers throughout the Valley

The Lower Mainland needs new rail transit lines and amenities ranging from better bike routes to theatres and teen centres.

And don’t forget about housing.

Those are among the suggestions Black Press readers have advanced as part of the newspaper group’s The Path Ahead project.

Launched earlier this month, the initiative aimed to bring local citizens together online to suggest ways to improve the economy and local communities A?ai??i??ai??? specifically through government-funded infrastructure projects A?ai??i??ai??? during the current downturn.

Dozens of responses have been posted on Black Press newspaper websites in advance of this weekA?ai??i??ai???s federal budget, which is expected to unleash billions of dollars in deficit spending to stimulate the economy.

The single most popular idea: establishment of a passenger light rail line to the Fraser Valley. Many readers argued it could be done efficiently and inexpensively using existing rail lines…. (click here for the rest of the article)

It seems the public continues to be way ahead of politicians on this. With $4 billion of federal infrastructure money being available for projects that are “shovel ready,” upgrading the Interurban track in the Fraser Valley for high-speed light rail is an absolute no-brainer that is not only a shovel-ready but a shovel-worthy project – in fact the most popular idea in the Fraser Valley.

We will see very soon if our municipal, and especially provincial politicians are listening, or if they have in fact completely forgotten about the public that they have been elected to serve.