Harper commits $350 million for B.C. transit line
 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has conditionally green-lighted federal funding for the long-awaited $1.4 billion Evergreen rapid transit line for B.C.'s Tri-Cities area during his visit to Vancouver Thursday morning.

Speaking from TransLink's maintenance centre in Burnaby, Harper says the federal government will contribute up to $350 million once project details are finalized. "This project will create thousands of well paying construction jobs, ease congestion and free up roads in the Lower Mainland," Harper said.

"By looking forward today and investing in key infrastructure this will help us get through these tough economic times and make our country even stronger in the future."

The federal government has already contributed $67 million towards the project. The B.C. government has put forward $410 million, along with another $400 million from TransLink.

Premier Gordon Campbell says the B.C. government will match every federal partnership dollar in upcoming infrastructure project in British Columbia.

"This will help us shape our region as we watch the northeast sector grow and become an even more important part of our region," he said.

"It will help us shape cities and communities and cities that are of critical importance as we move ahead."

Despite today's federal funding announcement, the project still falls short of its projected costs. TransLink will still need to come up with an additional $173 million to cover the transit expansion. It has not been announced how the company will fund the extra costs.

The Evergreen line will run an 11-kilometre Northwest route linking Burnaby and Coquitlam and is slated for completion by 2014.

Campbell says the line will have the capacity to carry up to 10,000 passengers an hour, and will take 60,000 cars off the roads by 2020.

The Evergreen Line was cited as part of the provincial government's wish list given to federal Transport Minister John Baird back in December.

The Evergreen line is part of a $14 billion plan for transit developments in the next 12 years, including extending the SkyTrain to the University of British Columbia and the Expo Line to Surrey, as well as more funding for the Canada Line on the Cambie Street Corridor.

TransLink approved the project in 2004.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...shColumbiaHome

I'm actually very glad to hear this.

Glad that transit is improving in Vancouver. This is one step closer to HK. And any step closer to HK is a good step.

Great move...this is going to grow Coquitlam and Port Moody into real players.

Nice, should be great for future UBC students.

Crime train is going into the west side!

... need turnstile

^agreed


but eh what can you do

everyone needs to get around

what are you talking about? They were already one step closer to HK when they were building the new transit to richmond

:lol

Nice.

Awesome! Now we are going to spread more bums to the only non-tainted parts of the GVA =D

good to hear, skytrain should be everywhere!

you simply cant call your city 'Metro Vancouver' without at least 3 different rapid transport routes. Glad the 3rd one's opening soon and we're locked in for a fourth

Well the thing is there is no park and ride in Richmond anywhere near the skytrain stations..unless they plan on increasing buses I don't think its gonna work out too well..

yes there is capstan and garden city

Actually there a new 1000 spot parkade next to the Bridgeport Skytrain station at River Rock casino for park and ride

LOL more bums and ppl is going to ride the skytrain for free now.

They should build more security features to prevent ppl from riding for free.

I'm so sick and tired of this useless argument.

How can something like moving bums from one area to another overshadow the hundreds of thousands of commuters taking transit over driving their cars? Seriously, you can alleviating traffic from the roads and making the environment better. Instead of causing a huge traffic jam, you can make it smoother. Not to mention lower the probability of accidents on the road due to less drivers. I know this argument will not be realistic in regards to skill and experience but it is in regards to just shear numbers.

And to those who say that homeless people needs homes and whatever, you do not even remotely understand the world. Society works because there are homeless people and there will ALWAYS be homeless people. There will ALWAYS be those who do not work and who want something for nothing.

Let me ask you a question, if we gave every homeless person right now in the lower mainland a home to stay in, do you think this will help with the homelessness? No, it wouldn't help one bit. If anything, it will hurt the situation a lot more. Do you know why? You're probably thinking "Oh if I give all the homeless people homes, then they are all off the streets! This is such an awesome and simple solution!" but you are WRONG. With all the homeless off the streets in the lower mainland, do you think news is going to travel? Fuck yes it will. It will be in the news and everywhere! And when this happens, where do you think all those other homeless people will go looking for the same treatment? Thats right! IN VANCOUVER! So instead of having the ones we have, we'll have 10 folds more waiting in line for the same treatment!

This doesn't even mention the fact that we are giving homeless people homes to live in that average working income people cannot even afford. Tell me that makes sense in the fucked up world that you live in.

Skytrain has never been a problem, its the busses in the tri-cities and limited routes that were the problem

maybe another park and ride facility in the tri-cities to get people to drive to the line and get on?

That's never a bad idea.

The system has armed police officers, contract security people, and transit staff at every station. I ride the train to work every day and in all my years of using the system, I've never had a problem with homeless people. Sure, you'll see the odd street person use the system, but they're largely harmless with their bags of empty cans and bottles.

The people who complain about bums obviously don't get out enough. Most are harmless; if they ask for change, just smile and politely say no. I work downtown and I run into several a day and this is what I always do. Is that so hard?

i can't believe it will take 12 years, construction takes too long here.

It's a 12 year plan for not only the Evergreen line but also expansions. The reason it's taking 12 years is because it'd be waaaaay to expensive to do it all at once, so staggering the expansions is the way to go.

shit well, Abbotsford transit still sucks ass!!!

yeah, i can't wait to walk along fraser/main and the brown people speaking to you in chinese =D

now that would be cool.