Proposed Valley bus stalls at Abbotsford council

FRASER VALLEY (NEWS1130) – It looks like a much hoped-for bus service that would link Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Langley won’t be leaving the station anytime soon.

The proposal was voted down by Abbotsford council yesterday. Three councillors were missing, which meant it only took three “no” votes to sink the motion.

The result was a 3-3 tie, with a tie, which meant the motion was defeated.

Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman thinks council could have approved it, since the proposal included a future opportunity to vote once the plans and costs were finalized.

“That’s why I’m kind of scratching my head,” he admits.

“We had an escape clause. Let’s see the better numbers then let’s decide and have that discussion once we have all the really good data. But, you know, council made the decision that council made.”

Banman plans to use his mayor’s executive privilege to bring the Valley bus motion back on a day when more councillors are present.

Councillor Henry Braun cast one of the dissenting votes. While he’s not against the BC Transit service, he does have a couple of reservations.

“One is we don’t know the full cost… council hasn’t received it. And secondly, I think Langley should be part of this because it’s going to Langley. So, for those reasons, I just want to look after the interests of the taxpayers in Abbotsford, which is my duty.”

Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley Regional District had previously approved it.

FVRD Chief Administration Officer Paul Gipps will take these results back to the district board and go from there.