Vision Vancouver launches 'Better Transit Now' campaign
Are you tired of crowded buses and pass-ups on the 99 B-Line? Do you want an underground extension of the SkyTrain Millennium Line to UBC and more rail transit in Surrey?
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Mayor Gregor Robertson and his party, Vision Vancouver, have launched a new campaign in an effort to convince the provincial government to provide the Metro Vancouver region with the public transit funding it requires to accommodate current demand and growth.
The campaign at www.bettertransitnow.ca comes ahead of the BC Liberal government’s expected regional referendum over TransLink transit funding.
According to Vancouver City Councillor Geoff Meggs, ‘Better Transit Now’ is intended to give transit commuters a chance to voice their vision, especially with the Broadway Corridor.
The Broadway district is a hub for the entire region and is also the region’s second largest employment centre outside of the downtown Vancouver peninsula. More than 50 per cent of the total trips to the Broadway Corridor are from those living in the suburban municipalities.
This demand from the Broadway Corridor does not include the demand and forecasted growth from the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey campus.
The 99 B-Line rapid bus service that serves the corridor is at capacity, with buses arriving as frequently as every minute during rush hour and bunching up along the congested street route.
It is time for a major investment, and SkyTrain comes as the best long-term option for the corridor’s high capacity needs and will fulfill the original vision of the Millennium Line by extending it underground to UBC.
A minority have argued for street level light rail, however, it will be at capacity on opening day; a sound investment for the Broadway corridor is one that is also a long-term solution. Broadway Corridor ridership will double if SkyTrain were to be built to UBC.
Vision’s main focus is the Broadway Corridor as Vancouver is where they were elected, but they understand that there is a need across the region in Surrey as well. For them, it’s not an either or scenario with another million people are expected to be living in Metro Vancouver in 20 years.
Currently, 1.2 million trips are made on TransLink’s public transit system every day and without these transit passengers on the region’s buses, trains and ferries, Metro Vancouver’s roads and highways would be much more congested.
To fill out the survey and sign the ‘Better Transit Now’ petition, click here.
Image: TransLink
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