'Sparkle ponies and pixie dust'? Kennedy Stewart's Vancouver Loop promise critiqued by opponents
Kennedy Stewart says if re-elected as mayor, he would accelerate plans for the "Vancouver Loop" – a new SkyTrain line that would connect Metrotown to UBC.
Stewart and his team announced he would make the business case for the project and ask that the line be prioritized. It's already part of TransLink's 2050 vision.
"With having 44,000 people a day moving along this corridor, it is really, really busy," Stewart told reporters.
He added that with densification and population growth, the region will only get busier. The project is part of his Forward Together party's attempt to alleviate pressure on busy transit corridors and address climate change.
The proposed Vancouver Loop would connect with the Broadway SkyTrain extension and link UBC to Metrotown along 41st and 49th Avenues.
Werner Antweiler, a professor of Economics in UBC's Sauder School of Business, said the project is something that would be needed in the long-term.
"There is, of course, a significant demand from UBC students," he explained in an interview with CTV News. "But there's also going to be more development all along that line, especially in the Jericho Lands that will be developed by a group of Indigenous communities in in Vancouver – so we need to look at the future."
Vancouver can't go it alone. Although there's no pricetag and no timeline, what we do know is the multi-billion dollar project will need help from the province and the federal government to be completed.
Stewart acknowledged that challenge.
"What I have to do, what I've done before is to go off and get funding and continuing to convince folks this is a worthwhile investment," Stewart added.
Lisa Dominato, who is running for re-election as a city councillor with the ABC Party, said part of the issue is there's currently no funding for a line to UBC. She told CTV News Stewart just re-announced priorities already set.
"Perhaps the mayor is trying to deflect from the fact that he's supported roe pricing and transport pricing in the city," Dominato said. "Perhaps that's a deflection on his part."
ABC and Forward Together have exchanged harsh words around the issue of road pricing with Stewart accusing his opponents of misrepresenting his views.
Opposition parties say the biggest concern they hear is affordability. Colleen Hardwick, a city councillor who is now running for mayor with the TEAM slate, said she didn't think the project was needed now, and maybe not even in the future.
"I think that we can achieve much more in terms of distributed surface rail than spending all of this money on SkyTrain, but I just don't think it's in the cards … as we are staring down a potential recession," she told CTV News.
One challenge for Stewart is that other mayors have also made promises to deliver on projects from TransLink's long-term plan.
"I wish the mayor luck in getting this project prioritized," said Antweiler. "But the overall the TransLink plan actually is very sensible, because it also looks at rapid bus transit in many places where we wouldn't be looking at a subway system."
In 2018, Surrey's Doug McCallum won the hotly contested mayoral race after promising to scrap light rail and instead replace it with SkyTrain.
"It’s silly season, isn't it? And this is the kind of big announcement that's quite common when you get into election season. But to me, it's sparkle ponies and pixie dust," said Hardwick.
Municipal elections take place across the province Oct. 15.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.