Approval of Translink's Moving Forward plan is crucial to reducing gridlock, growing Metro Vancouver’s economy, and achieving long-term environmental goals for the Metro Vancouver region.
The plan, which will secure over $400 million in federal government funding and approximately $600 million in provincial government funding, will benefit every municipality in the region and will include the following:
• $20 million annually for Major Road Network improvement projects
• Evergreen Line Program - 11 km of new SkyTrain line connecting Coquitlam and Vancouver via Port Moody and Burnaby
• $6 million annually for cycling network infrastructure expansion
• Significantly expanded bus service hours totaling 425,000 hours region-wide
• Hwy 1 Rapid Bus Service from Langley to the Lougheed SkyTrain station
• Capacity-enhancing SkyTrain station upgrades in Vancouver and Burnaby and Seabus improvements
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender, Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart, District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, and West Vancouver Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones are voicing their support for the transportation funding plan as a much-needed step to reduce congestion and increase transit choices on the region’s busy roads, and to ensure the livability and economic stability of the region. In total, these seven Mayors represent more than 70 percent of the region’s population.
Public consultation on this proposal began in October 2010. After public consultation sessions across the region, meetings with key business and community stakeholders and a robust online engagement, it is clear there is broad support for the Moving Forward plan and the funding measures required. This region cannot, must not, become choked with congestion the likes of Los Angeles or Seattle. Our prosperity as a region will depend on a well-developed transportation system that allows for the effective movement of both people and goods.
The Moving Forward Plan will move the region toward the development of a comprehensive, integrated, financially sustainable transportation network that will benefit virtually every single person living in Metro Vancouver, regardless of where they live and what mode of transportation they use. This is a long-term achievement of great structural significance: a transit program funded through a well thought out model, ensuring a more stable macroeconomic environment for continued high growth and prosperity.
Fast Facts
• Metro Vancouver’s population has grown from 1.9 million in 2001 to over 2.5 million in 2011
The population of the Metro Vancouver area is expected to grow by more than 1 million in the next two decades
There are twenty-two elected officials on the Mayors Council on Regional Transportation
On October 7th the Mayor’s Council will vote on the Moving Forward Supplemental Plan for Metro Vancouver’s Transportation System. The Moving Forward Plan will require a sustainable revenue stream of $70 million to fund new projects that are included in the Plan
The proposal includes a 2-cent per litre gas tax that requires provincial approval. This will fund an estimated $32-45 million annually towards the plan. The remainder of the $30 million required annually would be made up by a new long term funding source approved by the Province of BC and the Mayor’s Council. However, in order to move the plan forward a time-limited (2013/14) property tax increase, amounting to an estimated $23 per average household annually, has been included to make up the required $30 million on an intern basis. This property tax increase may not be necessary subject to an alternative long-term funding source being approved
Public consultation on this proposal began in October, 2010
The 2012 Supplemental Plan will secure over $400 million in federal government funding and approximately $600 million in provincial government funding, and provide a range of other service and cost-sharing benefits to all municipalities across the region
Every municipality in the region will receive benefits from this plan including:
• $20 million annually for Major Road Network improvement projects
• Evergreen Line Program - 11 km of new SkyTrain line connecting Coquitlam and Vancouver via Port Moody and Burnaby
• $6 million annually for cycling network infrastructure expansion
• Significantly expanded bus service hours totaling 425,000 hours region-wide
• Hwy 1 Rapid Bus Service from Langley to the Lougheed SkyTrain station
• Capacity enhancing SkyTrain station upgrades in Vancouver and Burnaby and Seabus improvements
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