If there’s one thing B.C.’s competing political parties seem to agree on, it’s that British Columbians need more ways to get around the province.
Pledges released this week from the B.C. NDP, Conservative Party of B.C. and the B.C. Greens all focus on ways to expand transportation options, from upgraded highways, better buses or brand-new rail lines across the province’s more than 900,000 square kilometres, a land mass greater than France and Germany combined.
They also look at ways to ease congestion in rapidly growing metro areas in and around Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna.
Ideas being floated include a new bridge across Okanagan Lake (Conservatives), rail travel across Vancouver Island (Greens) and the creation of a new passenger train service in the Fraser Valley (NDP).
All three parties have also expressed interest in TransLink services in the Lower Mainland, proposing new and expanded SkyTrain lines as far out as Squamish and the North Shore.
Here’s a look at some of those pledges.
Conservatives want to build bridges, literally
In his party’s “Get B.C. Moving” policy released Thursday, Conservative Leader John Rustad made a series of transportation infrastructure pledges.
They include building a new bridge across Okanagan Lake connecting the cities of Kelowna and West Kelowna by 2032, replacing the aging Taylor Bridge across the Peace River between Fort St. John and Dawson Creek and rebuilding the recently destroyed Red Bridge in Kamloops — something David Eby has already committed the province to.
Rustad also said his party would fund upgrades to Nanaimo’s Highway 19, an expansion of Chilliwack’s Highway 1 to six lanes, an expansion of the Pattullo Bridge to six lanes and replacements for the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and George Massey Tunnel, some of which have also been promised by the NDP.
On transit, he vowed to extend SkyTrain service to Newton in Surrey.
Less specific pledges include analyzing whether transit service could be expanded along the Sea-to-Sky corridor and analyzing the need for rail service between Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Langley and Surrey.
There were no financial details attached to any of the pledges.
NDP propose new rail and bus routes
In his party’s platform released Thursday, David Eby said a new NDP government would also commit to expanded transit services, including extending the West Coast Express from downtown Vancouver as far east as Chilliwack.
Like the B.C. Conservatives, the NDP also said it would improve Highway 1 to Chilliwack, both by widening it and building in “climate resiliency” to avoid flooding and washouts. The party also echoed the Conservative pledge to replace the Pattullo Bridge and the George Massey Tunnel.
Other pledges aimed at Metro Vancouver in the NDP platform include completing the already-underway Surrey to Langley SkyTrain expansion, completing the Broadway Subway line to UBC, adding a new fast transit service along the King George Highway from Surrey Centre to White Rock and building a new rapid transit to the North Shore.
The party also said it wants to connect Langley and Maple Ridge more directly using a 200 Street-Golden Ears bridge-Lougheed Highway route.
Further afield, the party’s platform says the B.C. NDP would work with CP Rail to create a new passenger train service throughout the Fraser Valley and expand on the B.C. Bus North service the party launched to replace Greyhound in 2018 by adding a new fleet of express buses between “key transportation hubs.”
In an email to CBC News, a CP spokesperson said they had not been briefed on the proposal.
While not making any specific promises, the party also said it would evaluate restoring commuter rail service from Vancouver to Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
Financial details were not provided for any of the pledges.
Greens focus on more free transit
Transit services are also a key pledge in the B.C. Green Party’s platform, with leader Sonia Furstenau vowing to make SkyTrain and bus services free if elected. (The B.C. NDP has said it would offer free transit to seniors during off-peak hours).
The party acknowledges there would be financial costs to the plan but said the benefits are worthwhile, which it said would include a reduction in congestion, a reduction in carbon emissions, and more accessible communities for people of all ages and abilities who aren’t able to rely on vehicle travel.
The B.C. Green Party’s election platform calls for free public transit. Brad West, the chair of the TransLink Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, tells BC Today host Michelle Eliot that he likes the idea, but it’s not currently realistic.
“Our transportation system heavily subsidizes car drivers while underinvesting in public transit, cycling, ferries, trains and inter-regional buses,” the platform reads. “In many parts of the province, public transit is either nonexistent or so infrequent that it’s not a viable option for most people.”
Other pledges from the party include a doubling in the number of buses on B.C. roads within three years, with a minimum hourly service on key routes, a requirement that all spending on highway infrastructure is matched by equal spending on transit, walking and cycling infrastructure and the creation of a working group to determine how to restore rail travel to Vancouver Island.
Mayors welcome pledges
Neither B.C. Transit nor TransLink are able to comment on policy during an election campaign.
However, TransLink spokesperson Dan Mountain previously told CBC News that the service provider always appreciates policy ideas that intend to promote transit use.
Meanwhile, the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, which helps oversee transit services in Metro Vancouver, said it is pleased to see so many commitments to improving travel in the region.
“Clearly, provincial leaders have been hearing from the public that investment in transit needs to be a priority for the next government,” said chair Brad West, who is also mayor of Port Coquitlam.
“Now we look forward to hearing more specifics.”