The Grand Broadway Subway Photo-Op Begins

It has all been said before the many issues that plague the Broadway subway but never keep a politician from a grand photo-op to show the public how politicians squander money.

Liberal and NDP cabinet members, with the federal Liberals election ready, will attend, eager for the public too see how they squander taxpayer’s money and they are well taught in the issues of shoveling money off the back of a truck.

The following politicians may attend, most virtually.

Hey say what you want but make sure they spell my name right:

* The Honourable Catherine McKenna, federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

* Rob Fleming, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure

* George Heyman, B.C.’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

* Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s Minister of State for Infrastructure

And of course, from TransLink the mastermind of this scam.

* Gigi Chen-Kuo, interim CEO of TransLink

Regional mayors may also be there, desperate for a chance of a photo-op, plus assorted bureaucrats and other spin doctors that always follow the politcal train.

The media will attend as this sod turning is to be a pure photo-op with with only “puff” questions asked. Of course, the provincial government, the City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, the Mayor’s Council on Transit made sure the subway would be a reality by eliminating any hint of public involvement in the planning process.

You are getting a subway, whether you damn well want it on or not!

The city empowered goons to shout down people at what few meeting there were and scaring the elderly into submission. This how things are done in Metro Vancouver and British Columbia today. The bicycle lobby, latter day Quislings, sung hosannas about the subway, waiting for their promised bike lanes.

Prime Minster Trudeau’s new Spanish friend, Acciona,  finding jobs for his former SNC-Lavalin friends, is the engineering firm of choice. Acconia has a lot of experience with costly BC mega projects including Site C (with a $9.4 billion cost overrun),  the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant ($500 million+ cost overrun), the Pattullo Bridge (construction yet to begin, but cost overruns expected) and now for the Broadway Subway (estimated cost, $2.83 billion, for 5.8 km of line. Actual cost expected to increase past $3 billion).

A cost overrun here, a cost overrun there, politicians don’t care, just make sure it is a good photo-op.

Here are the questions the mainstream media have not or will not ask.

1. How many “new to transit” customers are estimated will use the subway?
2. The 99 B-Line bus has a maximum capacity of 2,000 pphpd, yet in North America, subways are only built when ridership exceeds 15,000 pphpd on a transit route, why an almost $3 billion subway?
3. As it turns out that Broadway isn’t the busiest transit route in Canada and TransLink only claims it is “our most congested bus route“, isn’t the congestion on Broadway a management issue and not an almost $3 billion engineering issue?
4. Transit customers using the Expo line, must now transfer twice, if they are going past Arbutus (Expo Line transfer to Millennium Line and Millennium Line transfer to the B-Line), most times savings claimed by the new subway, in fact will not exist because of the new transfer. How many transit customers will stop using transit because of this new transfer?
5. What bus routes will be changed, forcing customers onto the subway? Like the Canada Line’s P-3 concessionaires  (SNC  Lavalin & the Caisse De Depot) inked a secret agreement with TransLink not allowing direct bus service from South of the Fraser (Richmond, South Delta & Surrey) to continue to downtown Vancouver and forcing Vancouver bound customers to transfer to the Canada line at Bridgeport Station.
6. As the new density added, including high rent towers and high rise condo’s along Broadway, demolishing much present affordable housing, will this only add to the renoviction housing crisis in metro Vancouver?
7. It is estimated that the subway will add about $40 million more annually to TransLink’s operating costs and on a route mainly used by UBC students, faculty and workers using their dollar a day U-Pass, ride at will transit pass, will not this added annual operating cost be funded in the form of new taxes, fares and reduced services elsewhere?

Photo-ops and puff questions will be the order of the day, business as usual in British Columbia.

Not many photo-ops around Site-C lately, pity.