Forget about light rail for the capital region, Premier John Horgan said this week, drawing sighs of disappointment and relief.
The advocates of rail are frustrated to see the province giving up on what is obviously the way of the future. Other people are relieved to see the province stop dithering on what is obviously a waste of time.
“The business case doesn’t seem to be there,” Horgan told 400 members of the various local chambers of commerce. They applauded him, which such crowds don’t always do for NDP premiers.
With Horgan and other ministers coming from the south Island, there is hope the government will pay more attention to fixing our traffic woes than did their predecessors. Wider roads and more overpasses soon fill with cars, so we need better mass transit.
Fast, efficient and low-carbon, light rail has worked in cities around the world, but most of them have larger populations than Greater Victoria does. Attractive as the dream is, the cost is too high.
Will we need it when there are 200,000 more people in the region? Of course. But that doesn’t make it any more affordable in the interim.
Prudence suggests we should keep our options open. Put rapid buses on the E&N right of way, but keep it available so it could be converted to rail in the future. Designate a right of way along the Pat Bay Highway because the Peninsula’s population is growing.
We have to plan for the future, but we also have to be able to afford the present.
