TransLink may end funds to cities for roads, bike and walking paths

TransLink could discontinue funding to municipal governments for building and improving roads, bike lanes, and pedestrian paths

A TransLink-funded bike lane. (TransLink)

A relatively new ongoing program by TransLink that provides municipal governments across Metro Vancouver with project-based capital funding on an annual basis — specifically for new and improved roads, active transportation, and bus infrastructure — could soon end.

This is due to TransLink’s forthcoming fiscal issues beginning later in 2025, when the provincial government’s most recent operating subsidy funds deplete. In March 2023, the provincial government provided TransLink with $479 million in additional operating subsidies to maintain service levels through 2025.

As well, the public transit authority is facing growing costs and falling revenues, including falling gas tax revenues driven by the growing population of battery-electric vehicles and fuel economy, and lower fare revenue from passengers buying cheaper single-trip fare products for the fewer trips they take on public transit.

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If new funding and/or revenue is not found, there could be major cuts to public transit service levels starting in 2025. TransLink is forecasting a cumulative shortfall of $4.7 billion between 2026 and 2033, starting with about $600 million for the 2026 fiscal year.

As well, TransLink’s multi-modal “Local Government Funding Programs” would be eliminated beginning in 2026, with 2025 being the final program year. The program was launched in 2017 to help fund a portion of the cost incurred by municipal governments to build new and improved pedestrian sidewalks, bike lanes, bus speed and reliability infrastructure, road safety and reliability improvements, seismic upgrades, and pavement repairs.

According to TransLink, between 2017 and 2024, this program has provided municipal governments across the region with a combined total of $887 million towards 733 projects.

For 2024, TransLink is providing a total of $144 million in program funding, including $38.8 million for 60 walking, cycling, and/or multi-use path projects, $40.6 million for 40 road, structure, and/or bus speed upgrade projects, and $64.5 million for operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the Major Road Network of arterial and collector roads that are key for regional traffic movement.

The 2024 program funding includes about $107 million that was provided based on a formula that accounted for a municipality’s population, employment, and share of the Major Road Network, while the remaining $34 million was awarded based on a competitive application basis for projects spearheaded by the municipal government.

Examples of specific project-based funding include $1.5 million to install permanent bus stop sidewalk extensions on Davie and Robson streets, $517,000 for the Davie Street sidewalk widening project, $2 million for the Cambie Street Bridge expansion joint repairs, and $2.3 million for the new bike lanes on Beatty Street — all funding to the City of Vancouver.

“Communities depend on the Local Government Funding Program to improve existing infrastructure and the lives of our residents,” said Brad West, TransLink’s Mayors’ Council Chair and Mayor of Port Coquitlam, in a statement.

“Losing a program like this would be devastating for the region, because of what it means to keeping our major roadways and multi-use paths accessible and safe.”

TransLink is unique in Canada for being both a public transit authority and an entity that oversees major regional arterial roads, including financially supporting municipalities in maintaining the Major Road Network, and owning and directly maintaining the Golden Ears Bridge, Knight Street Bridge, and existing Pattullo Bridge. In more recent years, it has significantly expanded its organizational mandate and scope to include active transportation infrastructure supporting walking and cycling.

In 2018, the provincial government assumed control of the project to build a new replacement Pattullo Bridge, which will be delivered, owned, and operated solely by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. At the time, this move was due to TransLink’s financial pressures and to better enable the public transit authority to focus on public transit expansion projects.

Ever since the provincial government’s 2017 direction that ended the tolling of all crossings, TransLink has received an annual provincial subsidy to cover the operating costs of the Golden Ears Bridge. In 2024, it is expected to receive about $68 million for this particular subsidy.

TransLink’s 2024 operating budget is $2.37 billion — up from the budgeted $2.19 billion in 2023, and $2 billion in 2022.

To date, TransLink’s total operating subsidies from senior governments since the onset of the pandemic has reached $1.3 billion, including $644 million in initial joint provincial and federal subsidies in September 2020 for the initial drastic revenue shortfalls in 2020 and 2021, and $176 million in joint funding from senior governments in January 2022 for revenue shortfalls in 2022 and 2023.

In addition to the forthcoming operating funding challenges, TransLink has yet to find the funding it needs to support its 10-year, $21-billion plan to improve and expand public transit infrastructure, which includes UBC SkyTrain, SFU Gondola, Bus Rapid Transit, and general bus service expansion projects. It also has ambitious plans to transition towards a battery-electric bus fleet.

TransLink and the Mayors’ Council have been requesting the provincial and federal governments for both additional funding tools and a new ongoing source of revenue, which would lessen the current dependency on demand-driven gas tax and fare revenues.

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