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Transportation 2050 is channeling responses from 40,000 surveys to craft an ambitious vision for more abundant, reliable, affordable and carbon-free transportation for Metro Vancouver’s next three decades.
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TransLink’s vision for 2050 includes 310 kilometers of additional rapid transit in Metro Vancouver as a key action to make transit more abundant, reliable and carbon-free, the agency revealed on Tuesday.
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The transport authority has released its draft Transport 2050 report as pandemic-stricken TransLink ridership still hovers around 55% of pre-COVID levels, but policymakers still need to plan for the long-term future , which could see an additional million people relocate to the region during its time span.
Transport 2050 includes more than 100 actions, “the kinds of big and very bold changes that this region needs to be more equitable, more livable and more sustainable” over the next three decades, said Kevin Quinn, CEO of TransLink.
The 120-page document did not list priorities for new rapid transit projects; Quinn said it will be a task for the 10-year vision of the Council of Mayors of TransLink, working with municipalities in Metro Vancouver, but “we know that transit is essential to move this new million people. people”.
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TransLink vice president Geoff Cross said the agency had also not started evaluating potential extensions as part of the consultation process, but deduced from the public’s contribution that there is an appetite. for more cost effective options such as light rail or fast bus services.
“(Transport 2050 recognizes) that there will likely be more needs than dollars over the next 30 years,†added Cross, vice president of planning and policy at TransLink.
“I think the funding is a lot about partnerships,†Quinn said, between municipalities, provincial and federal governments, but “I don’t think there are simple answers to that.
The Global Draft Plan is an ambitious read of 40,000 individual surveys collected by TransLink and over 300 public events since 2019, Quinn said, “and we ask you if we got it right.”
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In the short term, TransLink’s challenges will be getting the public to think beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when “we can barely look at ourselves 50 days ahead,” said Andy Yan, director of the COVID-19 pandemic. City Program at Simon Fraser University.
“My initial reaction (is that) it’s a thick document, but a lot of things in it are ambitious, contested and necessary,†Yan said.
The draft plan is organized around five key objectives aimed at making transit options more abundant, reliable, affordable, safe and carbon-free, said Eva Hou, director of TransLink.
Key actions highlighted in the document include support for comprehensive and practicable communities; transforming roads designed primarily for cars into “people-centered streetsâ€; and aiming to provide frequent transit service within a five-minute walk of most communities.
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The plan aims for reconciliation with the First Nations, both in terms of improving services to communities on reserves and working with the Nations as development partners.
And in addition to determining where to add 310 new kilometers of rapid transit, Transport 2050 aims to expand the existing cycling infrastructure into an 850-kilometer network of separate major cycle lanes that connect each urban center.
Yan said many actions of TransLink’s 2050 plan will depend on regional planning in Metro Vancouver and align with the regional district’s own 2050 vision for the future of development in its municipalities.
“Transport 2050 is planning, not prophecy,†said Yan. “It describes a strategy (for) how to move people and goods through the region, in line with the values ​​and goals of sustainability, affordability and inclusion.”
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The realism of Transport 2050’s vision will depend on the public agreeing with its priorities, said AnnaLisa Meyboom, researcher in architecture and transport.
“If we decide to spend a lot of money on infrastructure, I’m sure we can accomplish these things,†said Meyboom, associate professor in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Colombia. -British.
However, the draft plan is still part of a public consultation process and “you usually get better feedback when you give people specific things to respond to,” Meyboom said.
“You understand it’s a game of chess,†Yan said, “and I think their challenge is actually not to be trapped in the present.â€
depenner@postmedia.com
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