Article

Premier's Transit Plan on Collision Course with Highway Expansion

Publication Date: January 14, 2008
Author: Dave Fields
Source: SPEC

SPEC's calls for "Double the Transit" were answered by the Premier this week with the announcement of his Provincial Transit Plan.

The transit plan is a significant shift in transportation policy by the current provincial government but goes only half way. Unfortunately, car-centred policy like Gateway and the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge are still given priority. In order to make the new transit plan a success we must take a transit-first approach to transportation to correct the balance toward green solutions for a livable region.

Will the new transit plan be enough to entice enough people out of their cars and onto transit and other modes of travel? Experience from other cities with successful transit systems would indicate that no, it won't. In cities like Zurich, Switzerland where three quarters of the population carries some form of prepaid transit pass, transit was given priority through reallocating existing road space from cars to transit and by cutting fares in half. In Metro Vancouver, multi-billion dollar car and truck projects will be built before the new transit has hit the road and even then it will still be more expensive to take transit for many people.

SPEC and the Livable Region Coalition are committed to making the Premier's new interest in transit work for the citizens of Metro Vancouver and beyond but we need your help to make Vancouver a transit metropolis. Support our campaign by making a donation or get involved at Transit Lab and through the Livable Blog

-Listen to the Transit First radio ads

Traffic Jams
Next Stop- Langley

-Sign the Petition for Better Transit, Not Freeways

Please note that the web petition is hosted on an American server. Do not be alarmed- they provide the service only. There are no other online petition services that offer the same level of service, functionality and hold similar values. Thank you for signing the petition.

Download the SPEC Reports on Gateway:

Transportation Solutions for the Liveable Region

Cooking the Books, Cooking the Planet

Taken For A Ride