Mayoral candidates in Vancouver pitch their public transit plans

With less than two weeks left until Vancouver’s municipal election, mayoral candidates are hoping to move voters to the polls with their plans for public transit.

In a plan presented on Wednesday, councillor and mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick pitched her idea of getting rid of the Broadway Subway extension and developing four light rail lines across Vancouver.

Hardwick says creating the 58 kilometres of light rail can be done for the same price as the University of British Columbia (UBC) SkyTrain extension.

Incumbent mayor Kennedy Stewart recently announced the “Vancouver Loop,” his plan to connect UBC to the Expo Line via the new Broadway Subway extension, and back around to Metrotown via 41st and 49th Avenue.

The extension along Broadway to UBC has been approved and is already well underway. As for the rest of the “loop” to Metrotown, there is currently no approvals or funding in place.

On Tuesday, candidate Ken Sim held an event with the mayors of North Vancouver, Maple Ridge, and Coquitlam to pitch a SkyTrain line to the North Shore along Hastings Street.

The line to the PNE would connect to North Vancouver and to the West Coast Express.

“To tackle the big transportation challenges facing our region, we need to work collaboratively with other municipalities and senior levels of government,” Sim said in a tweet.

Sim and the mayors say that presenting a “united voice” for transit needs in Metro Vancouver will help with funding, and getting new projects built.