Vancouver residents want more transit

A new poll shows 69 percent of Metro Vancouver residents support redirecting money away from road expansion projects toward a better public transit system. The Synovate poll, conducted for the David Suzuki Foundation and the Livable Region Coalition, also showed 60 percent of Vancouver residents would choose rapid transit to Coquitlam, expanded bus and rapid transit service in Surrey and rapid transit out to UBC instead of twinning the Port Mann Bridge and widening Highway 1.

“The poll clearly shows there is a real need and a desire for better public transit across the Lower Mainland,” said Ian Bruce, a climate change specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation. “Investing in public transit will help make our transit system faster, more convenient and more direct. Widening highways and bridges simply puts more cars on the road, and makes the current traffic congestion problems worse.”

The poll comes at a time when drivers in the Lower Mainland are seeking relief from painful prices at the gas pumps. It also comes during a push by the provincial government to cut greenhouse gas emissions 33 percent by 2020.

But, in direct contrast with its new plan to go green, the province still wants to twin the Port Mann Bridge and widen Highway 1. Transportation is already the biggest source of BC’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Experience from around the world has shown that building more highways can actually lead to longer commutes, more sprawl and more time spent in cars, and eventually worsens traffic congestion instead of relieving it. Conversely, cities that have given priority to transit have reduced congestion and fewer emissions as a result.

“Now is the time for the premier to rethink the Gateway project,” said David Fields, coordinator, Livable Region Coalition. “Metro Vancouver residents support a transit-first approach by two to one. It is time to build a transportation system that can meet the challenges of climate change and achieve healthy communities.”