For so many reasons, the provincial government should be ashamed that there isn’t regional transit in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
Local governments aren’t often aligned, and yet in the corridor, the diverse members of the Sea to Sky Regional Transportation Committee are all on the same — er — bus on this one.
The committee includes representatives from the Squamish Nation, Lil’wat Nation, District of Squamish, Resort Municipality of Whistler, Village of Pemberton and Squamish Lillooet Regional District.
They all want affordable and robust regional transit.
As Mayor Karen Elliott told The Chief, this shared vision is a tremendous opportunity.
The funding model is all that stands in the way of the wheels on the buses rolling or not.
The private options are great for some. But they aren’t comprehensive enough or affordable for all.
How about using some of that approximately $21 million that is B.C.’s share of federal duty on cannabis cash payments to help fund a Sea to Sky route?
Regional transit would put action where the NDP government’s mouth is.
We need to get more vehicles off the road and reduce our greenhouse gas footprint.
The 2021 provincial budget has $120-million for tourism.
Great. Squamish is a tourism hotspot.
But how are people getting here?
Every local knows that they are getting here primarily by fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
So much for caring about the environment.
“If we had a great regional transit system, we could get more people to their jobs in the city or Whistler without them needing to get in their car,” Elliott noted
Regional transit is also a matter of equity and safety.
The NDP touts itself as the government of the working class and the disadvantaged.
“We know people are still hitchhiking in this corridor. It is dangerous. None of us on the regional transit committee want that anymore,” Elliott said.
This government also seems genuine in its desire to work with First Nations in B.C.
Regional transit in the corridor could be a step in reconciliation.
It will also help us recover from the pandemic.
“Transit is a driver of economic development. You allow people to connect to jobs, whether in their community or just outside their community. It allows people to get where they want to go without spending a lot of money. It provides really vital connections for our region that I think is looking at tremendous growth and opportunity in the years to come,” Elliott added.
“Economically, socially, environmentally — it all makes sense to have a regional transit system.”
The provincial government needs to come to the table with a willingness to create a funding agreement.
It is possible.
But locals have to do their part too. Don’t just post on social media about how bad the highway is on weekends.
Write to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and explain how regional transit will help you.
Let’s get the wheels on the bus rolling in the right direction.
