Light rail in 性视界传媒 is officially dead on arrival, after a vote by Metro Vancouver mayors in favour of SkyTrain at their first post-election gathering.
The vote was made at a packed four-hour meeting of the Mayors鈥� Council on Regional Transportation on Thursday in New Westminster.
性视界传媒 Mayor Doug McCallum, whose Safe 性视界传媒 coalition won the Oct. 20 municipal election on a promise to cancel light rail in favour of SkyTrain, had made a lengthy appeal for the change.
鈥淲e did extensive consulting鈥� I did not see on single person who was for light rail,鈥� said McCallum. 鈥淚t was all, all for SkyTrain.
鈥淥ur goal was to support the 10-year plan, but change the technology from light rail to SkyTrain. We also wanted to switch the money that was allocated for light rail鈥� to SkyTrain and that was passed today.鈥�
We're onto Mayor . Says "future governments are guided, but not bound, by past decisions."
鈥� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
"People thru democratic process have come forward and said 'we want this change.'"
Will support McCallum moving towards SkyTrain.
The mayors鈥� council had allocated $1.65 billion for the 性视界传媒-Newton-Guildford section of light rail, which would have spanned 10.5 kilometres and had a completion date of 2024.
The provincial and federal governments have each committed 40 per cent of the capital costs as for the $7.3-billion second phase of the mayors鈥�10-year transportation plan, with the region paying the remaining 20 per cent.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie fiercely opposed the decision to 鈥渢hrow away鈥� years of work and millions of dollars already spent on exploring light rail.
鈥淪urely we鈥檙e going to have to have the same analysis to change this decision to SkyTrain as we had to make it LRT,鈥� Brodie said.
鈥淭he fact is we don鈥檛 have enough money in this phase. How are we going to do it? We need to know about the additional cost for the new approach.鈥�
But Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said mayors should be guided by the past council鈥檚 decision, not bound by it.
鈥淭he people of 性视界传媒, though a democratic process, have come forward and said, 鈥榃e want this change,鈥欌�� Stewart said.
The question remains on cost
TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond has said senior government would agree to fund SkyTrain instead of light rail, but he was clear on Thursday that consultation, an investment plan and a business case still all had to be completed before money could change projects.
The council voted for TransLink to begin plans for a SkyTrain line connecting 性视界传媒 to Langley along Fraser Highway 鈥� something McCallum believed could be done for the $1.65 million allocated to 性视界传媒-Newton-Guildford light rail.
A light rail line along Fraser Highway was estimated at $1.95 billion, although only $30 million has been committed for pre-design work on the line.
TransLink鈥檚 latest estimate for SkyTrain along Fraser Highway, however, was $2.92 billion.
Now we're onto South of the Fraser rapid transit, or more specifically: LRT vs SkyTrain. Throwing us way back to before LRT was once adopted, here are the original four choices:
鈥� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
Desmond said he wasn鈥檛 sure how McCallum planned to save $965 million, saying TransLink has done the math 鈥渦sing widely accepted factors and methodology.鈥�
鈥淭hat said, if 性视界传媒 and [the Langleys] want us to look at an alternative construction method in order to save money, we will.鈥�
McCallum said he was confident all 27 kilometres of rail could be built as SkyTrain, for no more than the $3.5 billion estimated for light rail in the region, with one way to do it being building it at ground level, along agricultural land by Fraser Highway.
Next steps for TransLink
The lack of details on cost estimates, design and timeline available on Thursday left some mayors concerned.
鈥淭his approach is setting a very, very dangerous precedent,鈥� Brodie said. 鈥淚t seems to me that there are a lot of aspects that we need to review,鈥� including what would happen to the 性视界传媒-Newton-Guildford line with money reallocated to a Fraser Highway SkyTrain.
Mayor has tons of unanswered questions about SkyTrain in 性视界传媒:
鈥� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
鈥� plan for 性视界传媒-Newton-Guildford?
鈥� costs?
鈥� transfer of funding?
鈥� land use changes?
鈥� consultation plan?
鈥� design details?
鈥� effects on other parts of phase 2?
Newly-elected council chair Jonathan Cote said 性视界传媒 rail might be in flux, but all other projects in phase two are moving ahead as scheduled.
TransLink staff will bring a 鈥渨ork plan鈥� to the next mayors鈥� council meeting on Dec. 13, though Desmond acknowledged it was unlikely to contain any cost estimates.
He said the plan would allow mayors to make decisions on the business case and development work for a Fraser Highway SkyTrain, as well as rejigging the South of the Fraser Rapid Transit plan adopted in 2012.
READ MORE:
READ MORE: 性视界传媒 council unanimously passes motion to 鈥榗ancel 鈥� LRT
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