Question of the Week: What should be done with public transit in Squamish and the corridor?
Mayoral candidates
Auli Parviainen
Let's first put public transit on the agenda as a priority and think of it as infrastructure. A well-functioning transit system will attract new businesses and residents alike to our community and it needs upfront investment. Appropriately sized vehicles to allow better frequency and service levels combined with marketing will attract the ridership in the long-term and provide return for our investment by increased tax base. Solid community input on the needs and commuter patterns is needed along with municipal leadership to innovate solutions for both within Squamish and commuter transit. Time to develop and use expertise within Squamish and assume the lead role.
Ron Bahm
My take on the commuter bus is that B.C. Transit inflated the budget to cash in on the Olympics, to save face it was fazed out. It irks me to no end that affluent property owners in Whistler who get two or three hundred dollars a night for rental units want housekeeping staff to work for minimum wage. To add insult to injury have to work two hours to pay for the bus. Those who benefit should contribute. We need a private company in place to make it affordable, better service in Squamishalso needs to be funded ASAP.
Rob Kirkham
Transit is a challenge with low ridership, high costs and the geographic impact on routing and schedules. Large, mostly empty buses on ineffective routes runs contrary to our objectives. The solutions are difficult to pinpoint. We will only get closer to a workable plan by including all those involved and affected in roundtable discussions. The solution will have to be flexible, integrated and coordinated. The local system must be integrated regionally, north and south. B.C. Transit, DOS, SLRD, users, potential users, vanpool operators, private and school buses, Squamish CAN and Murray Gamble are all resources to be included in consensus building and problem solving.
Council candidates
Brad Hodge
Consider using smaller, hybrid buses for some routes. Use the savings to run seven days a week and later at night. Make transit convenient! I like Patty Heintzman's idea to possibly eliminate fares and merge public and school bus systems. Pressure the Province to re-establish commuter rail and bus links.
Larry McLennan
I don't see a lot of passengers riding the bus. Is there a cost/benefit analysis available? It might be cheaper and more effective to privatize the service - especially the Whistler run. This district needs to balance costs with community needs.
Chris Wallace
Public transit is crucial to a town's ability to function properly. One of the keys to help make this work is incentives for business and public to be encouraged to use this system. It is an issue that will always be very tough to make feasible for Squamish.
Bryan Raiser
It must be fixed and B.C. Transit is definitely not a leader. We must tackle this with a grassroots approach (charrette). Work with school board to utilize fleet of unused busses. Work with local ride share initiatives. As with most things - listen to the public and make decisions accordingly.
Douglas Neville
Transit is expensive and at this point I do not believe raising property taxes to fund transit is a priority. Our first goal should be to expand our economic base by bringing in industry - then yes, work on transit.
Ron Sander
The transit system must be structured to maximize ridership and increase the revenue collected. Enhancements such as the corridor connector and Handi-Dart shuttles to medical services in Vancouver need to be considered and developed in a cost-effective structure.
Eric Andersen
Both local and regional (northbound) services are burdened by past bus equipment, etc. decisions. Future solutions need both a clear local vision (vis-à-vis B.C. Transit) and a regional collaboration platform. I favour a second, Garibaldi Village transit hub. Converting our employment lands to housing only adds to our transportation problems.
Doug Race
We already spend a considerable amount of money on transit in Squamish and I think our goal is to get the best value for that. That would include more frequent trips on some routes and adjustment of routes to serve the greatest number of people.
Debra McBride
Working people must have safe reliable mass transit. Twentieth-century problems, denied and ignored, have solutions from the 1950s in solar energy panels. Reallocating tax funds for eco-friendly mass transit solutions ensures our existence. Local employment researching and restoring our resource; the estuary, for film, is one solution for commuters.
Geoff Dyer
Public transit should be maintained with reasonable frequency to all areas within the community.Where budgets allow, the service should extend to West Vancouver and Whistler.
Rob Weys
Squamish and the corridor should join TransLink B.C. Translink has had plans to expand herein the past. This will give Squamish a better system andlarger provincial funding options. Other, smaller communities already belong to TransLink and benefit from this. Busescould connect to currentsystem inLions Bay.
Susan Chapelle
We need a transportation planner. It cannot be done from a corner of a desk; the time has come to make transportation a priority. We need to extend our boundaries to include Whistler and Vancouver. Accessible transportation is a necessity, not having reliable service for those without cars is a bad paradigm.
Balvinder Biring
The public transit is not meeting the needs of the entire community and must be fixed. Offering a range of transportation options is one way in which Squamish can help retain employers and residents, maintain the local economy, ensure equal access to public services, and keep our environment clean.
Uffe Hansen
I believe that the present transit system serves the community very well.
Nate Dolha
Transit is central to the success of our community, and should be approached as infrastructure, no different than the other municipal services. Instead of costs alone, we should consider the impact transit could have on the revitalization of downtown, and the economic development of our entire community.
Peter Kent
We must stem the bleeding funds (more than $500,000 per year) from our current transportation system. We need to trade off our large buses for cheaper, more efficient Dart-types and facilitate a comprehensively scheduled system, from Pemberton into the Lower Mainland, hooking into TransLink at Park Royal. Innovate.
Patricia Heintzman
We must view transit differently not simply as a last resort but service that is essential for economic growth, healthy living and decreased environmental footprint, then collectively develop a Squamish-made solution that explores unique partnerships in Squamish and beyond. It can't be effectively directed off the corner of one desk.
Mike Jenson
There's duplication along Government, creating two long routes. I'd have hubs: one serving the Estates, Brackendale and Highlands and one serving Downtown, Valleycliffe, Hospital Hill and the Adventure Centre, with a connector between Downtown and Estates hubs servicing Dentville, North Yards and Brennan Park. For now, leave the corridor to carpools, Greyhound and TransLink.
Phil Audet
We need to find a local business or individual who is willing to undertake the commuter issue as a viable business. At this point we need to let that business run itself and concentrate on other issues. The local issue needs to be further explored through a committee of local leaders.
Jeff Cooke
I want to see more people use public transit but in order for ridership to increase, the frequency of buses passing each stop needs to increase. We need to come at this problem in an innovative way, considering smaller, less costly vehicles that can circulate more often.
Ted Prior
Transit is a community asset. We need to invest in a long-term, sustainable plan that includes our neighbors to the north and south, using available funding that is not being utilized. The result will be a transportation system that works for both the commuters and local transit users of Squamish.
Editor's note: Council candidates Sarah Braebrook and Terrill Patterson had not responded to the question by The Chief's press deadline.
