Delta mayor pushes for expanded transit out to Abbotsford

DELTA (NEWS 1130) – Have you ever taken public transit for a weekend trip to Vancouver Island? You probably know the drill, you have to take the 620 bus to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. Now imagine a day where the Canada Line expands right to the terminal. That’s just a small part of Delta Mayor Lois Jackson’s vision for the future of transit in Metro Vancouver.

With the Evergreen Line extension now complete and showing it’s early benefits during Monday’s blast of snow, the debate is underway once again as to where TransLink should expand next. While Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has pushed for a Broadway extension to UBC, Jackson sees a greater need south of the Fraser River.

“If we could magically take the Canada Line over our [Massey Tunnel replacement] bridge,” she says. “All the way down the freeway, all the way out to Langley, and all the way out to Abbotsford. That’s what I’d like to see.”

While it’s an ambitious plan, there’s some logic to the suggestion. Surrey is the second largest city in the province and boasts the largest school district in BC. Combining the populations of Abbotsford, Delta, Langley and Surrey, you’re looking at approximately 850,000 people that could benefit from her vision.

“It seems we’re a little behind the times over here on the south side of the river. I think the north side of the river from a point of view of service hours per person per year, I think the north side of the river is being handled very nicely. South side of the river we’re terribly underserviced in my opinion. We have to pay attention to that.”

For many that deal with daily bottlenecks through the Massey Tunnel and over the Alex Fraser Bridge, Jackson’s idea would be a welcome one. “It’s got to be fair. I’m for a system on the south side of the river that would be convenient, save time for people, and money.”

Construction on the 10-lane Massey Bridge is set to get underway in 2017 at a cost of $3.5 billion.