The Surrey Board of Trade is pleased that the $7.3 billion Phase Two Investment Plan is finalized signalling transportation improvements in Surrey.
“This is a historic moment for our region as it is the largest transit and transportation investment in Metro Vancouver’s history,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
“The Surrey Board of Trade will work with the City of Surrey and Translink on an organized business outreach strategy before, during, and after construction for the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT Line along 104 Avenue, City Parkway and King George Boulevard.”
“The Surrey Board of Trade maintains its position that Light Rail Transit is the best solution for Fraser Highway connecting to Langley City. This is only the beginning of light rail as a very cost-effective way to expand to other parts of Surrey. We envision the system expanding throughout the South Fraser Region eventually and out to Abbotsford in the not too distant future.”
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Highlights of Phase Two
Bus
– 900,000 more hours of new bus service on 75 different routes.
– Two new B-Lines in Richmond and Surrey (In addition to five new B-Lines being rolled out by 2019 as part of Phase One).
SkyTrain
– Extension of the Millennium Line with six new stations along Broadway from VCC-Clark to Arbutus Street in Vancouver.
– 40% increase to service on Expo and Millennium lines.
– 203 new SkyTrain cars (108 new, 95 replacement) for Expo and Millennium lines.
– Increased Canada Line service during rush hours, evenings, and weekends starting in 2020.
Light Rapid Transit
– Construction of Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT Line along 104 Avenue, City Parkway and King George Boulevard.
Road
– $75 million for rehab and upgrades to the Major Road Network.
HandyDART
– 249,000 additional HandyDART trips.
Early works
– Project development and early works for the Surrey-Langley Line.
– Planning for a potential Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
– Planning for rapid transit to UBC Point Grey campus.
Investment plan funding finalized
The Government of British Columbia has committed to funding 40% of the capital costs of Phase Two of the Mayors’ Council 10-Year Vision. In addition, the Government of Canada, through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, is also making significant investments in public transit.
In order to assist the region in funding the Investment Plan, the Province of B.C. will commit to introducing legislation by spring 2019 to enable the region to increase the motor fuel tax in Metro Vancouver by up to 1.5 cents per litre – an increase of about one per cent based on current fuel prices. This tax hasn’t been increased since 2012.
The Mayors’ Council has determined that the region’s portion of the Plan will be funded through:
· Increased revenue from ridership growth: $1.6 billion of the region’s share will be funded through increased fare revenue from higher ridership resulting from service expansion.
· Fares: Five to 15 cents increase to adult transit fares, part of a 2% increase to all fares over two years beginning 2020.
· Parking Tax: 15 cents per hour increase for an average $5 per hour parking, increasing the parking sales tax from 21 to 24%.
· Property Tax: $5.50 increase per average household each year or about 46 cents a month, beginning 2019.
· Development Cost Charge: $300 to $600 increase, to the charge on new residential units depending on type of dwelling, relative to the Phase One Plan.
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