Road pricing better done regionally, says Greater Vancouver Board of Trade

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Charging drivers to enter Vancouver’s downtown core could be catastrophic for businesses as they attempt to recover from the pandemic, says the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade as it slams the City of Vancouver’s proposal to bring in road pricing.

Board of trade chief executive Bridgitte Anderson believes Vancouver should not go it alone when it comes to road pricing.

“A city-centric strategy to transport pricing fails to ensure a holistic approach, regional cooperation, and even real clear policy goals. Mobility pricing cannot be implemented in a vacuum. It would be an uncoordinated approach and that would likely have unintended consequences,” she said.

The board also claims the strategy lacks consideration of the movement of goods and the region’s role as a gateway for trade throughout the rest of the country.

One of the major fears is that road pricing in the city alone could push businesses to move out of the downtown core and out to the suburbs.

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“The city core is already suffering due to the pandemic and a pricing scheme that is city-centric approached could exacerbate the escape to the suburbs for both small and large businesses,” Anderson said. “So businesses leave the downtown core could actually increase emissions to other areas of Metro Vancouver that are not served well by transit and or not as walkable.”

The board of trade has formally written a letter to Vancouver city council, urging it to pursue mobility pricing at a regional level.