Quote:
Originally Posted by WarrenC12
Definitely. The Millenium Line in it's current format is somewhat of a joke, but works well because of it's connection to the Expo Line. Assuming the Evergreen Line happens in the next 5 years, the lack of a M-Line extension to UBC should be painfully obvious to anyone... maybe that's what will be necessary to override the NIMBYs on the west side, who's arguments will never change in the face of anything.
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I think there are a lot of things that will override the NIMBYs, first and foremost being the all mighty dollar. With the UBC line built, land values in the immediate area that can be redeveloped will go even higher. People renting out basement suites will be able to charge a bit more. Vancouver City is facing a bit of a budget crunch, the new tax dollars from new high density developments are just what the doctor ordered (balancing the books and keeping property tax as low as possible is still important to some NIMBYs). You give people the option of redevelopment in a mostly commercial corridor or paying higher property tax to keep things the way they are, and enough will choose the redevelopment.
And then you explain to them that a UBC Skytrain line would take all those super loud 99B line buses off the streets as well as lower vehicle traffic in the entire west side by as much as 25%, and they might start thinking twice.
Most of the immediate and large scale redevelopment will probably be along the line between Main and Cambie anyway, where the buildings are almost coming down on their own. Almost the whole length of that section could be replaced with new buildings, and we would all be better off for it.
And to get back on topic, the UBC line would also help increase ridership on the Canada Line by offering great East-West-North-South Connections throughout the region thus helping match and beat ridership projections.
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