Thursday March 4th, 2010 - Showcase Bombardier Streetcars and Evergreen Line Left Out of Provincial Budget

None of the $33 million granted the province of British Columbia from both the federal and provincial governments will go toward the construction of the Evergreen Line transit project which currently is $400 million in the red. Also left out is the popular Olympic Line, an experiment that proved popular with locals and visitors during Vancouver’s Olympic run.

Rather than fund these two worthwhile projects, the money is earmarked for items such as a rapid bus route from King George Highway to Highway 91 via Highway 97, the 28th Avenue overpass in Delta that runs across Highway 17, and making seismic improvements to the Knight Street Bridge.  Another $2 million is expected from Trans-Link to help with the latter upgrade.

During the Olympic Games, an average of 1.6 million riders used public transit, making Vancouver third in public transit usage after New York and Mexico City. It is disappointing that the budget did not include the $6 million needed to buy the two streetcars, built by Bombardier, that were used to service the route between the Olympic Village Station and Granville Island.

Federal Minister James Moore said that the Evergreen Line will be built, but that Trans-Link, among others will have to come up with financial support to contribute to the project. It’s just going to take Vancouver a little longer to get a lot greener.

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