Metro Vancouver mayors offered two transit options, and a choice of how to pay
This piece by Don Cayo appeared on the Vancouver Sun’s web site about an hour ago. It looks like the Translink Board is getting the most out of the little room to manoeuvre the province has left it. Both the Evergreen Line and the North Fraser Perimeter Road funds will be lost if the Mayors do not agree to raise new revenues. They don’t like the idea of raising property tax, and there really isn’t time to design a vehicle levy properly – but there is enough cash on hand to allow for a year’s breathing space. The Mayors could approve a plan to build both projects – and expand bus service significantly – and pay for that from current reserves. That gives them a year to talk to the province and come up with something better than the options they have now. If the worst comes to the worst and no agreement is possible, property tax would have to go up in 2011. The plan is set out in a letter and a backgrounder.
I am not going to predict what they Mayors will do, but I think people here can comment – and vote. I have to got to the NWEP meeting tonight – and blog that tomorrow. But after that maybe there will be more to say.
Stephen Rees's blog 
Interesting.
In retrospect, giving the mayor’s council more power would be a plan for disaster. I do not see a cohesive voice from them other than ‘don’t raise my taxes for my constituents’.
Surprisingly, TL has been able to wheel-and-deal its way to a better position. Expanding its bus service in south of fraser in ~ 2007 was risky but they put it in, people liked the service and made it politically entrenched, and funding was chased to maintain it. They can’t do that again but this time it seems they are trying to finesse this deal. it’s nice to see that TL is doing it’s best with what they have available.
mezzanine
November 10, 2010 at 12:12 am
Akismet seems to have decided the original was spam – here is a comment from Translink
Stephen Rees
November 15, 2010 at 7:03 pm
While I have voted for “only the transit component” , I have elaborated a bit more my opinion here:
http://voony.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/translink-supplemental-funding/
Voony
November 18, 2010 at 12:56 am