SpongeG
10-03-2007, 10:56 PM
Harcourt: Build rapid transit to Fraser Valley now
http://rogersradiointernet.com/BC/CKWX/images/2007/SkyTrain4.jpg
News1130 File Photo
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Former Premier and now transportation consultant Mike Harcourt says 'forget about doing more studies, the time is now' to start building rapid transit to the Fraser Valley. Harcourt says we know what has been causing transportation problems into the Fraser Valley, and we know how to solve them.
He says two billion dollars a year is wasted by commuters trapped in gridlock, so spending a billion a year over the next six years on rapid transit and fast buses becomes a real option. "That's the key, give people an alternative, particularly the fast growing communities of Coquitlam, Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford."
Harcourt says up to 70 percent of the next million people who move to our region will live in those communities. Harcourt believes by the middle of next year we'll see some real action from the provincial government on creating the kind of transportation solutions that will truly change the way we live in the Lower Mainland.
Transit users in the Valley often deal with long wait times, and say commuting into Vancouver is a major pain. Chief Administrative Officer Francis Cheung with the City of Langley says there is a lot that could be done to address those issues, without spending hundreds of millions on a commuter rail service. "From our perspective, I think if we can invest a lot of dollars into enhancing the frequency of public transit and route increases to local municpalities...I think those are things we would like to see happen rather quickly."
However, Cheung says long term, some kind of direct transit service between the Valley and downtown Vancouver must be built.
http://www.news1130.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20071003_162405_5296
http://rogersradiointernet.com/BC/CKWX/images/2007/SkyTrain4.jpg
News1130 File Photo
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Former Premier and now transportation consultant Mike Harcourt says 'forget about doing more studies, the time is now' to start building rapid transit to the Fraser Valley. Harcourt says we know what has been causing transportation problems into the Fraser Valley, and we know how to solve them.
He says two billion dollars a year is wasted by commuters trapped in gridlock, so spending a billion a year over the next six years on rapid transit and fast buses becomes a real option. "That's the key, give people an alternative, particularly the fast growing communities of Coquitlam, Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford."
Harcourt says up to 70 percent of the next million people who move to our region will live in those communities. Harcourt believes by the middle of next year we'll see some real action from the provincial government on creating the kind of transportation solutions that will truly change the way we live in the Lower Mainland.
Transit users in the Valley often deal with long wait times, and say commuting into Vancouver is a major pain. Chief Administrative Officer Francis Cheung with the City of Langley says there is a lot that could be done to address those issues, without spending hundreds of millions on a commuter rail service. "From our perspective, I think if we can invest a lot of dollars into enhancing the frequency of public transit and route increases to local municpalities...I think those are things we would like to see happen rather quickly."
However, Cheung says long term, some kind of direct transit service between the Valley and downtown Vancouver must be built.
http://www.news1130.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20071003_162405_5296
