The Vancouver Province is reporting that "Metro Vancouver has voted overwhelmingly against raising taxes to fund transit and transportation improvements, with more than 60 per cent of voters supporting the No side." Three cheers. This is another landmark victory. Power to the People.
The problem with the proposal was obvious. Translink is already obscenely over budget. They burn an extra billions dollars a year in regional gas tax and keep expanding the system when they can't even get it to operate consistently. Giving SNC-Lavalin the contract for the evergreen line was a criminal act. We all thought a mail in ballot would have been rigged. The tax dollars they spent trying to convince us to vote for tax fraud was astounding.
one PR flack for translink said the outcome was more to do with taxes than translink itself. Talk about being in denial. Translink really isn't playing with a full deck. This was about Translink not being able to manage what they have, with the money they have. With their obscene salaries and mismanagement at a time when B.C. has the highest rate of child poverty in Canada, it was a no brainer. The whole rail thing has been a political stunt since it began back in the mid 80s. Had we simply build a regular rail system or used bus only corridors we would have had faster transit and a whole lot less money squandered. Of course the B.C. Lieberals desire to ensure friends get the best deal and the most money didn't help things either. From their appointments of B.C. Lieberals to the board of directors to the people they hire at outrageous salaries, they all need to be fired and have the organization start over again.
ReplyDeleteTiller Folly sang a song about an electric railway that used to service Metro Vancouver. It was clean, affordable and ran on budget. So much for progress.
DeleteOh right, when I was a child there was a train from Richmond, actually Steveston right into Marpole in Vancouver. Then they went modern and did away with it.
DeleteI can recall riding on rail street cars in Vancouver, as a child also They were electrically operated. Then they went modern and got rid of them. There was also an old inter urban from the Valley into town. Hey I'm only 65 and it was there when I was a kid. Now they have to rebuild it all.
Had they kept the rail line from Richmond into Vancouver we would not have had to build that sky train from downtown Vancouver at the cost of billions. On the other hand politicians and their friends would not have made as much money.
The politicians were n't even smart enough to use what was there. No they had to go re-invent the wheel at double the cost. These people truly are the great criminals of the 21st century.