Millennium Line - Evergreen Extension | Completed

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by BCPhil

If spending is constant across all fields (I spend 40% of my income on housing, and 20% on travel and so on...) then the effect of the mill rate is noticeable as a % of income (4.1% in Vancouver or almost 12% in Port Alberni). Higher mill rates mean a higher portion of income goes towards city taxes, so in other communities, your tax burden is higher as a portion of your income.

Again, you can't claim that mill rates alone paint the whole picture. In fact you have to consider mill rates AND property values - that's my point. I simply think your original post was misleading to compare only property values without taking the other factors into consideration.


> He is complaining about a 2 cents a liter tax, when the mill rate in the GVRD is about half of what it is in rural communities BC, where they have NO services like transit.

No matter how the money is raised it's going to come out of the pockets of most of the taxpayers in the Lower Mainland no matter where they live. That means it's going to come out of his pockets, one way or another. I agree that it's very parochial of him to gripe about it. It makes him sound like the type of person who deplores paying school taxes because he doesn't have any children.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by Pinion

There is no third seabus - not in use, at least. That is my point.

There is a third seabus and you are benefiting from it because its existence has allowed for badly needed refits of other two 34-year-old vessels. Those vessels may have the best in-service record in Translink's entire fleet, but they can't last forever.

I still marvel at the job that John (Jack) Case did in designing the Seabuses and the terminals for them. Everything is redundant, those vessels have kept right on trucking through thick and thin. They even use the same engines as the diesel buses for greater parts commonality and reduced maintenance costs.

They're amazing vessels, but until that third Seabus was commissioned they've never had the chance to have more than a weekend's worth of work done on them.

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by Pinion

There is no third seabus - not in use, at least. That is my point.

I am all for the Evergreen line. Don't get me wrong. But North Vancouver's been around for 100+ years and it feels like it'll be another 100 before anything's done here. I remember not that long ago when Port Coquitlam was nothing but empty land (my uncle bought one of the first houses in one of those terrible massive sprawl developments). When is it our turn to get decent infrastructure? Seems like tri-cities and other far away suburbs are jumping the queue.

Again, it's not some regional rivalry, it's just bemusement at not only getting passed up for transit improvement but having to pay more in gas for my tiny car that I never wanted to buy in the first place and can barely afford as-is.

What are you talking about?!

The North Shore had the first major transit improvement in BC since the closing of the streetcars and interurban. The Seabus.

It wasn't floating out there in Burrard inlet 100 years ago and they happened to found a city it could sail to. The people of this region and province paid for your service first, before any other major improvement anywhere else.

It took money and hard work to establish the Seabus, and when it comes time to establish service elsewhere: "While 2 isn't good enough, we deserve 3 [/end snooty English upperclass entitled accent]." The region sat by for years until construction started on Skytrain while Lonsdale became a bustling hub. It's other peoples turn now.

And what about improvements to service that are going to happen to the major construction on Marine Drive Transit Priority bus lanes?

http://www.translink.ca/en/Be-Part-of-the-Plan/Projects/Marine-Drive-Transit-Priority.aspx

You North Shore guys are lucky they don't just make all buses pass through Lonsdale and make all travelers crossing the Burrard Inlet take the Seabus, like how they make the suburban buses stop at Bridgeport on the Canada Line.

Building the Evergreen line is important because it shows Translink, the Mayors and the province can follow through on their promises. A promise to build anything else, including service improvements on the North Shore, wouldn't hold a cup of water with the specter of the failed Evergreen line in the closet. How could you believe them when they say anything if they can't finish up this decades old promise, a promise that has shaped development and land use in 3 or 4 cities. Yes, other people in other cities will have to pay for it, but by holding up promises that are made and paying for them we can finally move forward. And after its done, the people in the Tri Cities will help fund improvements somewhere else.

If we universalized the notion of not paying for other cities stuff, then when it came time for your cities turn, they wouldn't want to pay for you... and nothing would get done, ever.

[racc]

Originally Posted by usog

Hello from Surrey, I think we've been screwed over more than you guys kthx. Dunno, nothing to do but wait for your turn in line like us.

Don't forget, Surrey got the first rapid transit line 25 years ago.

[Metro-One]

Actually the Surrey extension was built in the early 90s I believe, but your point still stands true.

Surrey has had 4 rapid transit stations for 20 years, they chose to do very little with them until recently.

[DKaz]

My friends are pissed. Haha.

My car cost me $10,000 a year in 2009 and 2010. The current carbon and Translink taxes contributed roughly $211, that's like a tiny chunk. $80 in annual vehicle levies and additional gas tax? BIG EFFIN WHOOP!!!

[WarrenC12]

People are complete morons when it comes to this stuff. 2cents a litre has them setting their hair on fire, and yet a 1% increase in income taxes and they are completely oblivious.

Meanwhile a friend of mine who is a teacher, voted to strike, so either wants more money in his pocket or more things for the education system, both costing money, yet is also voting against the HST.... so, where is the money going to come from?

[GeeCee]

Apparently a property tax increase is in the card for the future as well.. and surprise surprise, Derek Corrigan is mad about it!

http://www.burnabynow.com/Burnaby+mayor+...ith+property+increase/5061029/story.html

Apparently he was out of town when the vote went down.

[DKaz]

Why does Burnaby vote the 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 in election after election?

[BurnabyAaron]

Originally Posted by DKaz

Why does Burnaby vote the 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 in election after election?

I can't wait for the next municipal election. I moved to Burnaby after the last one and I can't WAIT to get my chance to vote this guy out.

[Mininari]

Your city has two skytrain Lines, Derek. Why don't you admit that maybe Burnaby didn't pay its fair share for those????

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Again when the M-Line is extended down Broadway they should build a third platform at Columbia at the same time.

Because with the Evergreen Line and the Broadway extension the most logic scenario is this:

Expo Line - Waterfront to King George - 100%

Evergreen Line - UBC to Douglas

Millennium Line - UBC to Columbia and then circling up to Lougheed, or not?

Here, the Evergreen and Millennium Line trains would alternate (maybe 1 and 1 or 2 and 1, with 2 going to Coquitlam).

The bolded question I inserted in your statement is something I need to clarify. Thanks.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Apparently a property tax increase is in the card for the future as well.. and surprise surprise, Derek Corrigan is mad about it!

http://www.burnabynow.com/Burnaby+mayor+...ith+property+increase/5061029/story.html

Apparently he was out of town when the vote went down.

huh. the usual friggin' suspects.

still kinda funny how either 1) derek corrigan took vacation when there was advance notice of this major decision, allowing him to wash his hands, or 2) all the other mayors are in agreement in moving forward with this except for him. (and they did the group double-cross, to boot!)

[incognism]

Originally Posted by DKaz

Why does Burnaby vote the 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 in election after election?

Originally Posted by Mininari

Your city has two skytrain Lines, Derek. Why don't you admit that maybe Burnaby didn't pay its fair share for those????

Originally Posted by BurnabyAaron

I can't wait for the next municipal election. I moved to Burnaby after the last one and I can't WAIT to get my chance to vote this guy out.

Good luck. The civic right is fractured (at best) in Burnaby and is of no challenge to Corrigan and the BCA. Dominant would be an understatement.

For the most part, there isn't much to complain about in Burnaby. The city is fairly well run for the most part, and there haven't been any major hot-button issues. The city as a whole is historically left-leaning, a union/NDP hotbed, with the only breakthrough being the two BCLib MLAs in place since '01. The BCA, which is the civic arm of the NDP in Burnaby, has had a stranglehold on council for the past 24 years.

Both local community papers (the Now and the Newsleader) are in bed with the BCA/NDP.

Things are more likely to happen than Derek Corrigan being defeated for the mayorship of Burnaby:

1) Completion of Evergreen Line
2) Completion of UBC Line
3) HST Referendum fails
4) NDP provincial government

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Mininari

Your city has two skytrain Lines, Derek. Why don't you admit that maybe Burnaby didn't pay its fair share for those????

Burnaby paid in the form of NDP votes in the 90s.

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by incognism

Good luck. The civic right is fractured (at best) in Burnaby and is of no challenge to Corrigan and the BCA. Dominant would be an understatement.

For the most part, there isn't much to complain about in Burnaby. The city is fairly well run for the most part, and there haven't been any major hot-button issues. The city as a whole is historically left-leaning, a union/NDP hotbed, with the only breakthrough being the two BCLib MLAs in place since '01. The BCA, which is the civic arm of the NDP in Burnaby, has had a stranglehold on council for the past 24 years.

Both local community papers (the Now and the Newsleader) are in bed with the BCA/NDP.

Things are more likely to happen than Derek Corrigan being defeated for the mayorship of Burnaby:

1) Completion of Evergreen Line
2) Completion of UBC Line
3) HST Referendum fails
4) NDP provincial government

You are completely right.

But, that's what I find so backwards about it. If you were an outsider from out of the province looking in, and you examined the Corrigan rehtoric, you would think his party must be an offshoot of the USA Republican Tea Party, not the leftist NDP. Anti-tax, anti social services, anti responsibility is all you hear from him.

But I guess that's what I think is wrong about the NDP. Instead of holding the Liberal's feet to the fire over transit and their other responsibilities to the people of the province, they are trying to undermine them at every turn for their own gain. It's dirty politics, and I expect better from a left leaning party looking out for the social good. They come off as corrupt, manipulative, and self-serving, instead of standing up for the common good.

[dreambrother808]

For left-leaning people like me, they leave no choice but to vote Liberal instead.

[racc]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Actually the Surrey extension was built in the early 90s I believe, but your point still stands true.

Surrey has had 4 rapid transit stations for 20 years, they chose to do very little with them until recently.

Yeah, thanks for the correction. The Expo Line to New West is 25 but the extension to Surrey is younger.

If the funding goes through, Surrey will be getting rapid bus over the Port Mann too.

[queetz@home]

Throughout the years, I've been saying we'll have colonies in Mars before we'd see the Evergreen Line (or PMC Line back in the day) get built. Funny that there is a Globe and Mail Opinion piece that follows that theme....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nati...hanks-to-translink/article2092176/print/

Stephen Quinn
Finally – a place to park your interplanetary space cruiser, thanks to TransLink

Vancouver – TransLink board members and the Mayors’ Council today approved the initial design phase and funding formula for the proposed Metro Vancouver Space Port (MVSP).

“This is a bold step toward the future of transportation in the Lower Mainland,” said a spokesperson for TransLink. “We know that the future of transit in our region extends far beyond the shackles of gravity. It’s true this is an ambitious project, but then so is the Evergreen Line.”

[Millennium2002]

In spite of the humour, I think that article's actually poking fun at the Evergreen Line though + the many other projects that TransLink has on its plate... =S