Transit funding model may have unintended consequences: planner

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – While the paralysis on municipal funding for Lower Mainland big transit projects has subsided, an urban planner is cautiously optimistic about the ways the Metro Vancouver mayors and TransLink plan to collect the money.

On Friday, the Mayor’s Council announced its blueprint to cover its $2.5-billion share of the $7-billion worth of upgrades for phase two of the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision for Metro Vancouver Transportation Plan.

The plan includes charging developers up to $600 more per home they build, a model which may hurt a city when it negotiates for public amenities in exchange for building permits, according to city planner Brent Toderian.

“The cities are going to have less negotiation position because of this new charge because essentially the province is saying some of that now has to go to pay for transit and so it won’t be available for things like daycare facilities, heritage preservation, parks and community and cultural facilities,” Toderian said. “In a way it’s another form of provincial download.”

Phase two of the plan includes a new light rail line in Surrey, extending SkyTrain service along Broadway and boosting overall bus service eight per cent.

Transit fares will also climb two per cent starting in 2020, something Toderian says may run counter intuitive to encouraging more people to take transit.

Toderian does applaud the shift in the amount of funding municipalities were expected to contribute from 30 per cent to 20 per cent.

“The trap transit had been put in was it was dependent on local municipalities finding a third of the funds for public transit while just collect eight cents out of ever tax dollar. It’s a recipe for paralysis that we have been in,” Toderian said.

Additional funding methods include raising property taxes by up to $5.50 annually per household in some areas starting next year and bumping parking rates by 15 cents per hour.