B.C.'s short-sighted transit planning keeping UBC subway line from getting on track, says expert

Critics calling for a subway line extension to the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus say a recent infusion of government cash for transit in B.C. ignores an overall lack of vision resulting from a dearth of planning. 

"No subway was ever justified on the here and now," said Mauro Chiesa, a transit development expert who has organized the financing of tunnel projects world-wide.

He says that even with the B.C. Liberals promising to match Ottawa's $2.2 billion for projects such as the SkyTrain link along the Broadway corridor, TransLink still remains "woefully underfunded."

"It's a 30 to 50 year game," said Chiesa, saying trains and tunnels sometimes need to be built — even if they're underused at first.

30-100 year plans

A 10-year plan like TransLink's is not enough, he said, adding that Paris plans 100 years ahead for its transit.

Many cities turn to private financing before appealing for public funding, and the arrangements are often made well in advance. 

But not in B.C.

Transit projects here tend to arrive at the the station just in time, and are quickly overloaded by users.

That's what happened on the Canada Line as it became overwhelmed at key points by the influx of Evergreen Line passengers after it opened late last year.

Chiesa says part of the problem is planning is too short-term, political and reliant on public funds.

"Everyone waits for Ottawa money and then Victoria money and that ultimately means whatever plans the fragmented mayors may have is going to be automatically antiquated by the time the money comes through," he said, noting the usual influx of funding announcement near election time.

Getting all 22 mayors on the Mayors' Council to agree on any overarching vision is challenging.

Big UBC vision

A subway line down the Broadway corridor is expected to cost between $300 million to $500 million per kilometre of track.

While constructing an underground line is expensive — planners say the payoffs are worth the cost, saying subways draw riders with their speed and convenience. 

So why not extend the subway line to UBC?

Critics say at 78,000 trips a day, the cost isn't warranted.

Now, TransLink is working to determine what British Columbians want next.

There's been plenty of wrong turns taken in the past.

In the 1970s, the City of Vancouver planned a freeway through Stanley Park.

That vision was killed by protests and a young lawyer named Mike Harcourt who later became NDP premier.

Now he's arguing for a subway to UBC convinced it's the key to a tech sector boom.

"Get transit right and the rest falls into place." said Harcourt, who sits on the Musqueam Development Corporation.

Harcourt predicts development of the Jericho Lands will add another 100,000 people to the area's population.

His dream "brain train" would connect UBC to Simon Fraser University, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver General Hospital and the business hub around False Creek.

"It's not just a transportation system. It's a catalyst."

The minister responsible for TransLink made no promises or apologies for the timing of the transit funding announcements.

"The next election starts coming the day after the last election," said Peter Fassbender.

Dreams and visions

As for TransLink's vision the minister said "there is a sort of 30-year look into the future."

People have "lots of visions," he said, noting a since-shelved plan to build a gondola up Burnaby Mountain to SFU.

But Fassbender says the province can't fund every vision.

So maybe there are not enough riders, or money, for a UBC line just yet. 

But leaders are often smart to envision the future and plan ahead.

Or, riders end up crushed together on a brand new subway platform that would have been fabulous — 20 years earlier.