Reaction to bringing an $950-million electric light-rail transit system to the region, while swift, has been mixed.
Colwood Mayor Dave Saunders, for one, said with the region looking down the barrel of a $790-million sewage treatment plant, taking on another multimillion dollar project is asking too much of taxpayers.
B次元官网网址淭he price tag is absolutely staggering,B次元官网网址� Saunders said Wednesday. B次元官网网址淪ewage treatment is just under a billion, this is close to a billion. ItB次元官网网址檚 ridiculous to think we can lump all this on citizens without a revolt.B次元官网网址�
Saunders criticized BC TransitB次元官网网址檚 public process of setting out a transit corridor and evaluating technologies without a clear notion of price.
B次元官网网址淭ransit is getting false information,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 guarantee if $950 million was set out at the start, politicians and the public would be looking in a different direction.B次元官网网址�
Transit is currently paid for by fares, the province, property and fuel taxes and some advertising.
For light rail, Greater Victoria residential property owners would have to pay an additional $130 to $265 in transit taxes per year, depending on how much senior governments chip in for the service.
Business owners, who will pay $386 a year in transit taxes starting in two weeks, would see that climb to between $1,300 and $2,650.
View Royal Mayor Graham Hill suggested that as a first step in alternate transportation, the region should establish intercity rail on the E&N line between Langford and Victoria, and eventually over the Malahat, for a much cheaper price.
B次元官网网址淎 $1 billion is a massive investment, that is a ton of money,B次元官网网址� Hill said. B次元官网网址淎sking for $15 million to fix the E&N rail bed would be a significant first step in alternate transportation.
B次元官网网址淏C Transit is responding to (traffic) we are seeing on the street. If we have an alternate mode of transportation, arguably the picture will change.B次元官网网址�
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins agrees with the sentiment of using the E&N corridor. The selected route from downtown Victoria to Saanich, View Royal, Colwood and Langford leaves Esquimalt out of the light-rail loop.
With 6,000 CFB Esquimalt employees, most of whom live on the West Shore, it makes more sense to prioritize rail along the E&N line, Desjardins said. B次元官网网址淭he alignment they have chosen is not going to serve the region best,B次元官网网址� she said.
Light rail is being touted as the most effective remedy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve transit ridership, reduce roadway congestion, increase property values, generate jobs and provide more cost-savings over the long run.
Also driving the project is a forecasted boom in the West ShoreB次元官网网址檚 population, which is expected to climb to 122,000 by 2038.
B次元官网网址淓ventually, to make this successful, people are going to have to get their head around, B次元官网网址榟ow do we move people?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� said Langford Mayor Stew Young. B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 pick the best way and sometimes the infrastructure has to be put in ahead of time.B次元官网网址�
Victoria Coun. John Luton a strong light-rail advocate, said the price is a lot for taxpayers to swallow, which is why provincial and federal funding sources must be secured.
B次元官网网址淚 think a lot of people can see itB次元官网网址檚 worth for the long-term investment, but when you put a nearly billion-dollar price tag in front of them, people are going to be concerned,B次元官网网址� Luton said.
The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce is reserving judgement.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a complex solution. ItB次元官网网址檚 a lot of money,B次元官网网址� said chamber CEO Bruce Carter, adding that costs of a regional sewage system must also be considered. B次元官网网址淭hat strain on taxpayers is a significant concern.B次元官网网址�
A partial build-out of the line may help, said Saanich Coun. Dean Murdock, who favours going out to the 6 Mile/Colwood interchange for $770 million.
B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 clear here is there is no option to do nothing. There is no cheap way out of this.B次元官网网址�
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
-- with files from Edward Hill
