Metro Vancouver mayors are calling for immediate governance changes at TransLink after the public shot down a tax increase intended to fund $7.5-billion in transportation upgrades.
Elections BC released results of the B.C. government's transit plebiscite Thursday morning, with 61 per cent of voters rejecting the proposed 0.5 per cent sales tax hike, compared to 38 per cent in favour.
The funding would have been used to pay for projects in 21 municipalities over the next 10 years, including more roads and buses, a Broadway subway line, light rail in Surrey and a new Pattullo Bridge.
The Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, which spent $5.8-million campaigning in the province's plebiscite, called the results “disappointing.”
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said the proposed transportation improvements are still crucial, given that an estimated one million people are expected to move into the region in the next 25 years.
But Robertson said how they’ll be paid for, and how the public’s concerns about TransLink’s governance are addressed, will be up to the B.C. government.
“TransLink is their creation, and the questions around accountability need to be addressed by the province,” Robertson said.
The mayors are unanimously opposed to raising property taxes to fund transportation, Robertson added, and the other feasible funding solutions – such as a carbon tax hike or road tolling – would have to come from the province.
“Mayors have been frustrated for many years at the needs for investment not being met,” he said. “The money has to come from somewhere and the province controls the tools.”
Fare increases wouldn’t provide the kind of money needed to complete the massive projects, according to the mayors’ council.
Robertson said mayors have done everything they can to support transit growth, but the group feels frustrated that it doesn’t have more say in TransLink’s decisions.
“We hope there is a different role in the mayors’ council going forward with the tools to actually do the job,” Robertson told reporters.
'We've sent a strong message'
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Jordan Bateman, who spearheaded the No campaign, said the plebiscite proves the public’s unhappy with how TransLink is being run, but he doesn’t believe more funding is the answer.
“We’ve sent a strong message: don’t tax us more for this thing, fix TransLink,” Bateman told CTV News. “There is money in the system to be had, it’s just a matter of mayors prioritizing.”
TransLink’s interim CEO Doug Allen disagreed with that assessment, insisting that surveys have shown riders appreciate how transit operates in the region.
“Some of you will say this [vote] is really about TransLink. It is not. TransLink was not on the ballot,” Allen said at a press conference shortly after the results were released.
“It’s my view that the public across the Lower Mainland said no to a tax increase… customers like our service.”
Without a funding solution, the transit provider will have an uphill battle accommodating all the new residents expected in the region in the coming decades, Allen added.
“We’re well aware that we’re going to have pressure on the system,” he said. “It will be up to us to deliver the system as smartly and wisely as we can given the restraints we’re going to be under.”
Robertson said Vancouver will continue to explore options to get the Broadway subway line build, and Surrey Mayor Linda Helper said her city will keep pushing for its planned light rail project.
There are several third-parties that are interested in funding the operation, she added.
“I need that light rail project to go forward,” she said.
Elections BC said 48.4 per cent of registered voters sent in a ballot in the plebiscite. About 38,393 ballots returned didn’t meet the requirements of the plebiscite regulation.
A total of 210,249 ballots were returned by Vancouver voters, with a nearly 50/50 split for Yes and No.
The results were different in Surrey, where 66 per cent of the 123,370 voters said No.
Have your say: Are you concerned TransLink will now have to cut service?
|
Municipality |
Yes votes |
Yes % |
No votes |
No % |
Total valid votes |
|
Bowen Island Municipality |
847 |
61.92% |
521 |
38.08% |
1,368 |
|
City of Burnaby |
24,355 |
35.06% |
45,113 |
64.94% |
69,468 |
|
City of Coquitlam |
14,200 |
32.78% |
29,120 |
67.22% |
43,320 |
|
City of Langley |
2,226 |
27.71% |
5,807 |
72.29% |
8,033 |
|
City of Maple Ridge |
6,404 |
22.97% |
21,470 |
77.03% |
27,874 |
|
City of New Westminster |
10,623 |
45.45% |
12,748 |
54.55% |
23,371 |
|
City of North Vancouver |
7,931 |
44.92% |
9,725 |
55.08% |
17,656 |
|
City of Pitt Meadows |
1,762 |
27.84% |
4,568 |
72.16% |
6,330 |
|
City of Port Coquitlam |
6,346 |
32.15% |
13,394 |
67.85% |
19,740 |
|
City of Port Moody |
4,852 |
42.61% |
6,534 |
57.39% |
11,386 |
|
City of Richmond |
16,257 |
27.61% |
42,615 |
72.39% |
58,872 |
|
City of Surrey |
42,519 |
34.46% |
80,851 |
65.54% |
123,370 |
|
City of Vancouver |
103,431 |
49.19% |
106,818 |
50.81% |
210,249 |
|
City of White Rock |
3,139 |
40.74% |
4,566 |
59.26% |
7,705 |
|
Corporation of Delta |
11,589 |
32.16% |
24,448 |
67.84% |
36,037 |
|
District of North Vancouver |
14,569 |
44.61% |
18,093 |
55.39% |
32,662 |
|
District of West Vancouver |
6,876 |
44.11% |
8,711 |
55.89% |
15,587 |
|
Metro Vancouver Electoral Area “A” |
1,586 |
58.57% |
1,122 |
41.43% |
2,708 |
|
Township of Langley |
9,890 |
25.03% |
29,619 |
74.97% |
39,509 |
|
Tsawwassen First Nation |
86 |
33.99% |
167 |
66.01% |
253 |
|
Village of Anmore |
303 |
37.88% |
497 |
62.13% |
800 |
|
Village of Belcarra |
158 |
52.15% |
145 |
47.85% |
303 |
|
Village of Lions Bay |
202 |
34.71% |
380 |
65.29% |
582 |
|
Totals |
290,151 |
38.32% |
467,032 |
61.68% |
757,183 |
|
Rejected ballots |
2,513 |
||||
|
Total ballots considered |
759,696 |
