There were more than enough chairs for the small crowd attending a transit-plebiscite information forum hosted by the ‘yes’ side at White Rock Community Centre Thursday evening.
“We did advertise it, but it hasn’t been picked up that well yet,” noted Mayor Wayne Baldwin as he introduced guest speakers who each encouraged a “yes” vote in the spring plebiscite asking Metro Vancouver residents whether they support a 0.5 per cent sales tax planned to raise $7.5 billion for transit improvements over the next decade.
Included in the nearly 50 attendees were speakers Mike Buda, interim executive director of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation; Gavin McGarrigle, representing the Better Transit and Transportation Coalition (BTTC); Surrey Coun. Judy Villeneuve; and other councillors and staff from the City of White Rock and mayors’ council.
All speakers addressed what they consider a critical need in the growing region to support the plan.
Baldwin said that as tasked by the provincial government, the only alternative available to the mayors’ council is an increase in property tax, which he noted would hit local residents harder than the increase in sales tax.
Buda spoke of the improvements planned for the region – including more buses, new routes, faster commutes and improved driving conditions – noting the money raised via the tax will be dedicated to funding transit and will be fully accountable through yearly audits.
“This plan is unique – absolutely unique – and in a good way,” Buda said. “We don’t see this anywhere else in Canada, and I’m not sure it’s even anywhere else in North America.”
Buda spoke of transit users no longer looking at bus schedules, as rides would be available every 7½ minutes. In White Rock, under the mayors’ plan, three times as many residents would be within walking distance of frequent transit, he explained.
McGarrigle, a South Surrey resident and vice-president of the BC Federation of Labour, spoke of the diverse backers of a ‘yes’ vote, including unions, employers, students, the David Suzuki Foundation and both the BC Liberals and NDP.
Calling the BTTC “a coalition of strange bedfellows,” he urged voters “to get past the cynicism, to get past the negativity.”
Villeneuve told the small crowd that a ‘yes vote is “crucial” for communities south of the Fraser River.
“There’s been a lot said about the referendum and a lot of rhetoric from both sides,” she said.
Villeneuve noted all Metro Vancouver mayors support the plan, but when questioned from the audience on this, Baldwin noted all mayors support the proposal, but three are voting ‘no’ because of “governance” issues.
Comments from the audience included a concern over TransLink‘s reliance on taxis to augment HandyDart (Buda noted a planned 30 per cent increase in HandyDart service) and longtime bus driver Gordon Fletcher urging support for the plan, reiterating earlier comments that drivers of full buses loathe having to bypass would-be passengers.
