Taxpayers entitled to better transit: Light rail advocate

Taxpayers entitled to better transit: Light rail advocate
Call comes as mayors float idea of two-cent-a-litre gas tax
Renee Bernard Jul 08, 2011 20:34:59 PM
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FRASER VALLEY (NEWS1130) - If we pay the taxes, we want the transit. The proposed increase in gas taxes to pay for the Evergreen Line has some saying it's time to get serious about transit to the Fraser Valley.

John Buker speaks for the group Rail for the Valley and predicts people who live south of the Fraser will oppose the tax, unless there are some transit improvements for them.

The organization has been pushing for the use of an already established rail line through to Chilliwack for a light rail system. Buker says the time is right for their idea.

"You could have a 100-kilometre line for a third of the cost of the Evergreen Line. We're not saying that there shouldn't be an Evergreen Line, but that the taxes residents south of the Fraser are paying need to go to projects south of the Fraser," he argues.

Surrey mayor Dianne Watts has thrown her support behind light rail, saying it's a cheaper option than SkyTrain