2012 Supplemental Plan and Outlook

In addition to the Evergreen Line Rapid Transit Project, significant upgrades in the existing transit system would occur providing more service around the region to improve reliability, reduce crowding and serve new demand from population growth and the expanded U‐Pass BC program.

A fast, frequent and reliable B‐Line service would be introduced in Surrey on 104th Avenue and King George Boulevard to connect Guildford, Surrey Central and White Rock. Local service would be introduced to connect White Rock to Langley, and in 2013 bus rapid transit service would run on Highway 1 and over the new Port Mann Bridge, connecting Langley and Surrey with the SkyTrain network at Lougheed Station in Burnaby.

Renovation projects would be undertaken at four key SkyTrain stations and at the Lonsdale Quay SeaBus terminal to add capacity and make these stations easier to use.

This plan would also restore funding for TransLink’s Major Road Network Minor Capital Program to $20 million per year and the Bicycle Capital Program to $6 million per year (from $10 million and $3 million respectively), providing cost-share funding to municipalities to support a multi‐modal transportation system, promote cycling and improve safety for all road users.

The investments considered under this plan would significantly improve Metro Vancouver’s integrated transportation network of rapid transit, bus service, cycling routes and major road network together.

1. Evergreen Line Rapid Transit Program

Station upgrades

2. Main Street Station upgrade
3. Metrotown Station upgrade
4. Surrey Central Station upgrade
5. New Westminster Station upgrade
6. Lonsdale Quay Station upgrade

New bus service

7. King George Boulevard B-Line service
8. Highway 1 Bus Rapid Transit Project
9. White Rock to Langley bus service

Increased bus service around the region, which may include: 

10. North Shore - Marine Drive to Downtown, SeaBus & Lonsdale Ave
11. South of Fraser - Fraser Highway & 104th Ave
12. Richmond - Cambie Ave & Queensborough
13. Vancouver - 4th, 41st & 49th Avenues
14. Burnaby/Coquitlam – Willingdon & Pinetree Way

Roads & Cycling

15. Increase funding to the Major Road Network from $10 million to $20 million per year
16. Increase funding to TransLink's Bike Capital Program from $3 million to $6 million per year

How priority projects were selected
A comprehensive evaluation framework was developed to assess and rank initiatives in terms of the priorities for this Supplemental Plan and Transport 2040 goals.

Four priorities were identified for this plan and initiatives evaluated based on their fit with these priorities:

• previous regional commitments
• opportunities to leverage significant other funding
• opportunities to make best use of existing infrastructure and fleet
• decision required in 2010 in order to capture an opportunity

In addition, six criteria were established to reflect the six Transport 2040 goals. Each identified initiative was evaluated and scored against these four "theme" criteria and six Transport 2040 criteria.

The region-wide improvements and upgrades outlined in this plan would translate into:

• a nearly 7 per cent increase in conventional service hours, a 415,000-hour annual increase in bus and SeaBus service, by 2014 with approximately half of those hours bound for South of Fraser
• A nearly 9 per cent increase in total transit service hours, including 138,000 new annual rapid transit hours, with the launch of Evergreen Line
• A nearly 10 per cent increase in transit boardings by 2021, representing more than 40 million rides per year
• A drop in vehicle kilometres travelled per capita by 2014; a reversal of historic trends

The improvements contained within the 2012 Moving Forward Supplement would continue to move our region significantly towards our long-term goals of:

• aggressively reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• increasing the number of trips made on transit, by cycling and by walking
• encouraging the development of transit where people work and live
• reducing road congestion and supporting the efficient movement of people and goods

"Moving Forward" was originally rolled out in the fall of 2010 in a series of public events held around the region as well as an internet-based process that gathered thousands of comments.

The Plan received strong public and stakeholder endorsement, but lacked an approved funding formula needed to support it. With a proposed funding agreement now in place, we are bringing the plan forward for a final round of public comment.

For more information on the consultation that was conducted last fall, please read the 2011 Supplement Final Consultation Report.

The Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation and the provincial government have agreed to a funding formula for the development of a Moving Forward Supplemental Plan that would see a staged introduction of measures that would produce the required $70 million in additional annual revenue.

Motor Fuel Tax
The provincial government has committed to bring forward legislation in the fall of 2011 to increase motor fuel taxes in Metro Vancouver by 2 cents per litre in April 2012. The Mayors' Council has agreed to approve the use of this source for the Moving Forward Supplemental Plan.

Time-limited Property Tax in 2013 and 2014 or an Alternative
The Mayors' Council and the province have agreed that the balance of the funding to support the Moving Forward supplemental plan would come from one of two sources:

• a property tax increase, levied in 2013 and 2014, that would amount to approximately $23 per year on the average residential property, or;
• a new long-term revenue source that the province and the Mayors' Council would approve that, if implemented before the end of 2012, would replace the property tax portion of the total funding package

Our "Moving Forward" 2012 Supplemental Plan and Outlook was approved by the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation on October 7, 2011. Check back soon for more information.