NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. – Metro Vancouver has approved a plan for $2 billion in transit and road improvements to be implemented as Phase One of the 10-Year Vision for Metro Vancouver Transit and Transportation, marking the beginning of a multi-year investment in transit and transportation across the region.
The funds include pre-construction and consultation on a Broadway subway project and Surrey-Langley light rail.
"Confirming Phase One funding is a major milestone in delivering on the Mayors’ Council’s 10-Year Vision that will keep people moving across Metro Vancouver," said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. "Phase One of the 10-Year Vision delivers the region’s biggest transit expansion in nearly a decade, kick-starting immediate and urgently needed improvements in our transit system while laying the groundwork for the Broadway Subway and Surrey-Langley LRT projects."
The Phase One Plan aims to improve travel throughout Metro Vancouver by reducing overcrowding on transit and on HandyDart, providing new services to areas that haven’t had transit before, helping to address bottlenecks on the region’s major road networks and creating pedestrian walkways and bike paths. The plan reflects input gathered through public consultation that demonstrated support from Metro Vancouver residents and businesses for new transportation investments, explains a release.
Phase One will be funded by a $370 million contribution from the federal government and $246 million from the provincial government, with the remaining $1.3 billion of capital and operating costs coming from TransLink’s existing funding sources as well as new regional revenues including property tax and transit fare increases.
With Phase One approved and set to roll-out starting in January, the Mayors’ Council and TransLink will begin development of the plan for Phase Two, which will be put forward for public consultation in 2017.
"For too long, transportation investments have not kept pace with population growth, but with this plan we can begin to address transit overcrowding and road congestion. We’re responding to what residents have been asking for: better transit service across the region and moving forward on important infrastructure like Surrey-Langley LRT," said Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner, vice-chair of the Mayors’ Council.
Transit and transportation improvements to be delivered during Phase One include:
Pre-construction and consultation on Broadway subway and Surrey-Langley light rail;
new funding for improvements to the Major Road Network; and
expansion and improvements to cycling and walking networks.
Metro Vancouver residents will start to see progress in January 2017, the release reads, including initial expansion of service on SeaBus, Expo Line, Millennium Line and Canada Line. Bus service improvements will start to roll out in April 2017.
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