South Fraser Mayors Reject Transit Plan
Chantal Eustace, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, December 06, 2007
So far as I am aware this is unprecedented. All five mayors have rejected the plan – because it was inadequate.
There have been plans before that did not do very well – including one memorable occasion in White Rock when the population revolted and the whole plan had to be scrapped within days of its introduction – and that planner still works at Translink in a senior position. But this is the first time that I can recall that all the mayors have acted in unison and said, very firmly “This is just not good enough!”
The plan focused too much on trips to destinations outside of the south-of-Fraser region, despite the fact that 80 per cent of trips don’t cross the river, Watts said. More transit connecting the region internally is needed, she said.
“The draft plan doesn’t really focus on what our needs are,” said Watts.
“It’s very frustrating.”
Surrey Mayor Diane Watts – who will be Translink’s Chairman next year – or rather Chair of the “new, improved” SoCoBiTCA – who will have to ride shotgun on the new “professional” board to try and get some more out of the service planners. Despite sitting on a pile of cash at present, the staff at Translink are worried that the long term commitments they have entered into will start having to be paid for soon, so do not expect that all of a sudden the financing taps can be turned on.
By the way, have I missed something? Who is going to be on this new Board? Shouldn’t we know by now? Well, only in theory. Actually they are still taking about it in camera. I came across this over lunch in a discarded tab.
And did you also notice that “80% of the trips” bit – doesn’t that rather weaken the claim that the Golden Ears Bridge and the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge are high priorities?
Hmm, interesting! Good for them, standing up for their needs. I’m happy to know that if anything good comes out of this TransLink rehaul it’ll be Mayor Watts heading it up.
While 20% of trips seems minimal, with such a large population that’s a ton of people, however my complaint isn’t in getting in and out of Surrey, it’s getting to/from the SkyTrain to get me out of Surrey that’s the problem. Or for that matter, going to Langley. So definitely, inter-Surrey routes are top priority and I hope they succeed in getting some real action out here!
Erika
December 6, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Here’s my beef with the burbs and their planners…
Last week, I attended Surrey Provincial Court. It’s on 57th Avenue.
There are a few other buildings nearby, largely of the municipal government type.
If you were to look these buildings up on Google Maps, I defy you not to laugh.
They’re so far away from any centralized location that the only conceivable ideology behind them is one of utter hate and contempt for the citizens of Surrey. The idea that these buildings, so central to the “community”, might be readily accessible by any other means than ones personal vehicle seems to have been lost on these people. And I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly would compel someone to live in a community like that. To live in a place where those who reign enforce a way of life so belittling and insulting to actual, functioning neighbourhoods. And then have the nerve to suggest that their way *must* be the right way simply because their abuse of their space reflects back in pure dollar terms (re: “cheap housing”)
And as I sat on the bus meandering its way through block after block of single family dwellings and watched a few people here and there get on the bus I wondered how much it was costing for this bus carrying a half dozen people to wherever they were going.
And I got pissed off. Really pissed off.
Because it occurred to me that its those of us who’ve made choices to live close to where we work who end up paying more and more and more in transit fares to subsidize the stupidity of men and women who kowtow to developers in Surrrey and Coquitlam and Langley and Delta and Richmond.
We – the citizens of Vancouver – pay more in transit so that fat slugs like Doug McCallum could play friendly with developers. And those minicipal politicians keep doing it.
And it’s bullshit.
I’d like the people of Langley and Delta and Surrey and Coquitlam to run their own transit services. Let them get a good whiff of the actual costs for their single family homes and then let them vote accordingly. If they want to live 20 km away from where they work, let them suck up the real costs of it. They can all buy gigantic, gas sucking, completely freaking empty Ford 2500 trucks and drive them into the ground. They can sit in traffic all day for all I care . Because I’m sick of their crying and whining about shitty transit when its their own lifestyle choices, and voting patterns that have led to it.
If they want to live in their own little pods and drive their stupid massive vehicles 2 miles to a damned corner store for drink mixers then, please God, let the bastards pay for the privilege.
quikShift
December 6, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I think the reason behind the location of the Surrey Municipal Complex must be a geo-political one – more central geographically, even if it is in the middle of nowhere. It really should be moved to Whalley.
Delta’s Municipal Hall is geographically centred among the citizens of North Delta, Ladner & Tswwassen – but absolutely in the middle of nowhere on Hwy 17.
Even Vancouver’s City Hall was located outside of downtown for the dual pupose of appeasing the then newly amalgamated South Vancouver (south of 16th Ave.) and placing City Hall in a location well away from downtown labour riots.
++++++++
WRT the 80% of trips note, there’s probably two ways of looking at it.
The view that you’ve mentioned – 20% isn’t much, so why is a new bridge needed?
Alternatively, you could say that it’s embarassing that the bridge capacity is so small that it’s overloaded by such a small percentage (probably less than 20% if trips outside of the also route through Annacis) of the region’s trips.
It’s probably not that extraordinary, though, as I doubt that any single bridge in Vancouver would represent 20% or even 10% of ALL City of Vancouver trips.
Ron C.
December 10, 2007 at 1:32 am