Improving public transit and infrastructure is the number one concern for Vancouver business owners, according to a survey released by the Vancouver Board of Trade October 14.
The business advocacy organization surveyed its members and found 68% of the respondents picked public transit and infrastructure as the most important issue, followed by real estate development, density and city planning (50%), and community engagement and government transparency (40%).
Mayor Gregor Robertson has made advocating for a subway line along the Broadway Corridor a key part of his campaign.
However, Kirk LaPointe, the Non-Partisan Association’s candidate for mayor, has criticized Robertson for not being able to get the funding commitments needed from the provincial or federal government to build the $3 billion project.
The campaign promises come in the midst of an ongoing tug-of-war between Metro Vancouver mayors and the province over transit funding. The region is set to go to the polls in the spring to vote in a provincially-mandated referendum on new fees, such as a local carbon tax, to fund transit expansions.
“Once the Evergreen Line is built, we’ll still be dumping the whole northeast sector out at commercial and broadway instead of connecting them through to the Canada Line and eventually all the way to UBC,” Robertson told Business in Vancouver in a recent interview. “That’s the single biggest investment we can make in the city’s economy.”
Robertson said he was hopeful the province would “champion the referendum” to get to a yes on new transit money. However, Premier Christy Clark recently said the province will not participate in the referendum campaign, instead leaving the responsibility with Metro Vancouver mayors.
The Vancouver Board of Trade’s survey respondents had some ideas about how to improve transportation in the region: 49% want transit to be properly funded, but without the burden shifting further to businesses; 46% want traffic to be better managed during construction; and 34% said Vancouver’s existing bike lanes should be removed.
Robertson said he thought housing affordability was the most pressing issue for businesses. That issue came in fourth in the Vancouver Board of Trade survey, with 34% of respondents saying the city's high cost of housing as their most important concern.
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