Mayor expects to lose parking battle

By Dan Hilborn
Published Apr. 19, 2006


Mayor Derek Corrigan admits he will probably lose the fight against TransLink's proposed $20-million parking tax today, but he's still hopeful the debate will lead to positive changes in the way regional transportation decisions are made in the future.

An impromptu survey of TransLink directors published by the Vancouver Sun on Tuesday indicates the parking tax will likely be approved by a one-vote margin when it comes up for a vote this morning.

Corrigan, who will second Surrey mayor Dianne Watts' motion to cancel the tax, said the "manufactured crisis" over TransLink funding will result in small businesses being forced to pay for a tax that nobody really wants.

"See how it's been botched?" Corrigan said Tuesday morning. "If they cancel this (parking tax), they would have to cancel the projects they've supported from the beginning, like the Evergreen Line in the northeast sector and the new buses.

"The problem comes down to the fact that the RAV line (now formally dubbed the Canada Line) has eaten up all their available funding and they have no place to go but back to the taxpayers. And I've warned of that from the very beginning," he said. "And now, after the provincial government manufactured the crisis, they're now pointing their fingers at TransLink and saying, 'It's your fault.'"

Corrigan also said that the region's transportation funding problems could just keep getting worse as TransLink embarks on its ambitious $3-billion Gateway regional transportation proposal.

"Over the next four years, they're looking at a $300-million shortfall and they'll be coming back to the taxpayers again and again. Once the decision was made to support the RAV line, they've been in a desperate position to look for more money."

But finding a solution is another matter of debate.

Corrigan said local governments need more autonomy under the TransLink structure, which is currently undergoing a review at the request of Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon.

Corrigan wants all 15 seats on TransLink's board to be appointed by local government and their votes to be weighted according to the population of the cities they represent.

"We need to have enough cities at the table so that everyone buys into the projects," he said. "It's a fairly simple solution and one that answers the needs of the Lower Mainland."

But Corrigan's plan runs counter to the beliefs of Burnaby- Willingdon MLA John Nuraney, who supports the idea of having local elections to choose TransLink directors.

Nuraney, who also opposes the parking tax proposal, said direct election of GVRD and TransLink directors could at least add more accountability to the process.

Nuraney said that the fact the parking tax will provide TransLink with only $20 million of the $300 million it needs for the Gateway plan indicates that the alternatives were not looked at adequately.

"The way it's sitting right now, there's no dialogue among the three different levels of government," Nuraney said. "But I believe that was the way it evolved. Even when the NDP gave TransLink the authority to tax, there wasn't enough thought given."