Transit riders in the Lower Mainland should see new SkyTrain cars, a new SeaBus, and a suite of station upgrades soon, now that all three levels of government have agreed on the first phase of a region-wide transit plan.
But the big ticket items like a Broadway subway and a Surrey Light Rapid Transit line are still up in the air as the province, cities and federal government duel over who will pay for the rest of the transit improvements.
“This is just phase one,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said as he, B.C. Premier Christy Clark, and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson hopped off a SkyTrain car into the SkyTrain operations and maintenance centre in Burnaby for a press conference Thurdsay.
“We are now meeting with provinces and municipalities to develop the second phase of public transit investments to fund major new transit projects that Canadian communities need,” he said.
Trudeau told reporters that improving transit will help British Columbians get home to their families faster.
"It will also help to grow the middle class by improving business flows in municipalities," he said.
It’s a major step forward and the first major deal signed in the federal government’s infrastructure plan.
Ottawa had promised $370 million for transit improvements months ago – half of the estimated $740 phase one plan. The province promised its one-third share, some $246 million, in May.
That left about 17 per cent for the cities to come up with – an amount they said was too much. In the end, the cities agreed to sell about $125 million in TransLink property and come up with their share.
That broke the logjam, allowing the money to flow with today’s announcement.
There will be 28 new rail cars for the Expo and Millennium Lines, and 22 new Canada Line cars which will increase capacity by 12 and 55 per cent respectively. Five new West Coast Express cars will be added. A new SeaBus will increase service to every 10 minutes.
But while the deal contains some $157 million for LRT in Surrey and Broadway subway, that’s just for planning and pre-construction – the funding for those showpiece projects won’t come through until another funding announcement.
Robertson said that money should still keep the yet-unfunded projects on track for procurement and groundbreaking within a year-and-a-half.
Robertson said all the improvements will benefit hundreds of thousands of people in the region, and praised the federal government to committing half the funding for local initiatives.
"It makes sense when we contribute about 50 per cent of our tax dollars to the federal government," he told reporters.
The funding is the first phase of the government's $120-billion "Investing in Canada" plan to support infrastructure projects from coast-to-coast over the next decade.
