Expansion, mouthwash, pets: Translink CEO weighs in on latest survey
Posted November 5, 2019 8:10 pm.
Last Updated November 5, 2019 8:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The results are in, but Translink’s CEO isn’t keen on all of the suggestions coming from the latest public engagement survey.
The TransLink survey drew more than 4000 suggestions with the top request being transit expansion to the Fraser Valley. CEO Kevin Desmond tells News 1130 mapping out service for the next 30 years depends on support from city planners.
“Should we build up or should we build out? Build out would suggest sprawl because that’s where the affordable housing is, but that’s pushing us further out. It’s going to have huge implications for the kind of infrastructure that we’re going to have to build because that rapid transit to Chilliwack ain’t cheap,” he explains.
Another ongoing request is to allow non-service animals on the transit system, but Desmond says it’s not going to work at this time.
“It is a tough choice. Someone who wants to go to a park with their pet dog and it’d be better to take SkyTrain or a bus, we’d love to invite them on board, but you know, transit is not a great place for pets.”
Desmond was quick to dismiss some of the other suggestions from the survey.
“We had some interesting ideas like teleportation. I think that’s a baby boomer answer for Star Trek people. We also had free mouthwash bottles on transit, so everyone has fresh breath,” he says, adding it may seem like a good idea until you need somewhere to spit it out.
About 32,000 participants responded to the survey.
