if Christy Clark wasn't using taxpayer dollars to fund her campaign maybe there would be the money for projects like this (she issued an apology :lawl:)

Sheesh, I was driving along Broadway today, I forgot how much of a bottle neck it is.

And who the heck designed the parking on 9th just before Cambie? The street where the burger place is, behind London drugs.

have they even installed those turnstiles or compass card systems yet?

This is what I'm thinking; I graduated from UBC 8 years ago, and I went back recently and was SHOCKED at the amount of development in that time...

This is what I don't understand: How can you continue to approve development of housing and businesses in an area, and not consider how people get there???

The same goes for Coquitlam and Surrey; you can't just continue to approve building permits without considering the volume on the roads to get there!!!

Just like our new toll bridge and highway that is 20 years too late! Why the hell do they wait so long??

Installation began months ago. Most stations have them installed but not completely, i.e. some are missing the glass partitions. It does seem to be on track, though.

Cities or Translink can't run deficits. Cities approve permits so businesses and residents can move in and pay taxes to fund the infrastructure.

The bridge and highway, on the other hand, were definitely 20 years too late, but most politicians can't make decisions with the long-term in mind because the people who bother to vote are ill-informed and can't think of the long-term either. And if you don't believe me, well, the voters in this province voted to remove the HST after it was implemented.

A great article about the importance of a Broadway Subway, and further highlights that LRT is NOT AN OPTION.

SPECIAL FEATURE: UBC-Broadway subway needs to be top regional priority | Vancity Buzz | Vancouver Blog

I agree....except for W.A.C. Bennett. My grandmother was friends with the family so I read a book on them. If you take a look, the Bennett family has done tons for BC and their expansion projects were thinking of the future. Now their name is on countless projects in tribute. I don't know what it was like back then with respect to public opposition but he was able to get a shit ton of things done.

^ You know.. I'm likely going to be failed for this, but the same can be said about Gordon Campbell. The guy's name has certainly been dragged through the mud over the last few years, and it's mostly deserved, but I do think history will look back at some of the projects brought in and decisions made under his government and show he was a progressive Premier.

I'm not a fanboi of his either, one of the first moves he did in power was downsize the number of civil servants working for the BC Gov't, and this directly screwed my father out of a provincial pension (he'd left private industry where he could make a far higher salary, for a lower current wage but fat pension... any way, I digress). But, it can't be argued how much future liability this saved the Province with all the massive pensions that were set to kick in.. right about now as the baby boomer demographic is moving in to retirement mode.

He lowered both corporate and personal income taxes, which I believe changed BC to a destination Province to live in (remember all the news in the 90s about net OUTFLOWS of provincial migration from BC to Alberta?), brought in the HST which although was shitty how he rammed it down our throats is a superior tax model to PST. In terms of mega projects.. Sea-to-Sky highway upgrade, Port Mann bridge / Gateway upgrades, Golden Ears bridge (still empty LOL but will be great 10 years from now!)..

Love or hate the guy, it's my opinion he did a hell of a lot more for the Province than all the Premier's I've seen since moving to BC in the 80s.

The current political environment is not conducive to long-term thinking.

Real incomes have flatlined which has made it harder for the middle class to swallow tax increases for long-term projects. Second, the internet has given everyone a voice - including the ill-informed. Back in the day, the media controlled the debate and favoured a more nuanced and thorough analysis of issues. Now, all you need are a couple of loudmouths, such as the Zalm, to get people to make backward decisions. Third, interests groups have gained a powerful role in the policy process.
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