Seven years after a $795-million makeover to the Sea to Sky Highway and traffic on this community’s only north/south thoroughfare is already reaching critical mass.
Last November our mayor told Pique Newsmagazine, “We have to start thinking about more than building highways wider and bigger and faster.” As an alternative, she is giving her full support to a “future focused” high-speed passenger train service.
But upgrading the existing 60-kilometre rail line snaking along the eastern shore of Howe Sound will be a pricey proposition. A 2014 World Bank report estimated the cost per kilometre of high-speed rail is $25 million to $39 million in Europe and it tops out at $56 million in California.
More to the point, how will that option fly with taxpayers beyond the Sea to Sky Corridor who would, for the most part, foot the bill? The quick answer is like a lead balloon.
Two years ago, Metro Vancouver residents were asked to approve a new 0.5 per cent sales tax to help fund a $7.5-billion regional transportation plan. Nearly 62 per cent voted against the proposal, thereby adding a level of uncertainty to how improvements to transit will be funded over the next decade.
Of course there are other possibilities, including a Squamish to Vancouver fast ferry service. In 2013 Slipstream Vehicles Ltd., a Powell River research and development outfit, announced it was close to launching game changing thrust-cushion vessels. A year later the proponents enthralled a crowd at the Squamish Yacht Club with the exciting proposition of whisking commuters from Squamish to Vancouver in 40 minutes. But that tempting possibility appears to have faded from the radar.
Last September an email inquiry resulted in the following cryptic reply from one of the proponents: “We’re busy with other items at this time, so no service possibility for some time yet.”
A more recent information request resulted in an equally non-committal response: “Thanks for your interest. There isn’t much news at this time, we’re still in the midst of a long and slow development curve. We may know more in a few months.”
And let’s not forget, even the slightest whiff of fast ferries in these parts can quickly lead to memories of the foul odour of previous provincial government debacles.
Despite that hesitation, we could always consider sweet talking the folks who launched the V2V Empress into setting up a similar operation here. That 254-seat passenger vessel links Vancouver and downtown Victoria, with the cheapest one-way fare setting travelers back $125. In other words, unless the price dropped drastically, it doesn’t look like a feasible daily choice for Squamish commuters. Ultimately, as much as the high-speed rail and fast ferry options are appealing in theory, the most viable alternative in the foreseeable future will likely be a more robust transit bus service between Squamish and the Lower Mainland.
