For the past five years the City of Vancouver, Canada has consistently ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world, yet in the last two years it has been proclaimed North America’s most congested city. This paradox is compounded at the regional level by having the third highest transit ridership in North America, behind New York City and Toronto, but one of the lowest per capita investment rates in transit. As a region, Metro Vancouver (composed of 21 municipalities, a First Nation, and Electoral Area) committed over twenty years ago to managing urban sprawl by linking transportation and land use planning, providing frequent and reliable transit service to densified urban centres and corridors. And this commitment is no more salient than in the City of Surrey, a suburban city that is rapidly urbanizing, and is set to become the region’s second largest urban centre in the next thirty years. But, Metro Vancouver is currently at a crossroads – to maintain the livability of the region and address congestion significant investments in transit are required. In an upcoming regional transit referendum the public will be asked to support a suite of tax increases including congestion pricing, fuel taxes, and a regional carbon tax to fund the expansion of the transit network.

1. Decongesting a Liveable
Region Through Transit
Investment
Holly Foxcroft, Urban Planning Consultant
Presentation to GOV-OECD
July 3, 2014

2. An introduction
1997-2012
Daily trips to/from
campus increased 30%
from 106,100 to 138,200
15% decrease
despite 51% student
population increase
297% increase from
19,000-75,600 transit
trips per day
More trips are made to and from UBC by transit than by all other modes combined.

3. Relevant projects
6 Years of Private and Public Sector Experience in: Analysis, Transportation and Land Use Planning,
Consulting, Negotiation, Strategic Directions, and Project Management

4. Two cities and a region
Vancouver
Surrey

5. Public Governance and Territorial Development
Directorate goal and presentation themes
Goal:
Support national and local
administrations to design and
implement evidence-based
and innovative policies that
will strengthen public
governance, enable them to
respond effectively to
economic and social
challenges, and deliver on
commitments to citizens.
LIVEABILITY
GREEN CITY
GOVERNANCE
FINANCING

6. Liveability and the Green City

7. City of Vancouver

8. Liveability indexes
Economist Intelligence Unit:
Livability Survey
Rank City Country
1 Melbourne Australia
2 Vienna Austria
3 Vancouver Canada
4 Toronto Canada
5 Adelaide Australia
6 Calgary Canada
7 Sydney Australia
8 Helsinki Finland
9 Perth Australia
10 Auckland New Zealand
Mercer Quality of Living Survey
Rank City Country
1 Vienna Austria
2 Zürich Switzerland
3 Auckland New Zealand
4 Munich Germany
5 Vancouver Canada
6 Düsseldorf Germany
7 Frankfurt Germany
8 Geneva Switzerland
9 Copenhagen Denmark
10 Bern Switzerland
Vancouver has ranked in the top 10 for the past 5 years in either or both surveys
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, Mercer Quality of Living Survey

9. But why is Vancouver so liveable?
Vancouver
1 2
Source: Kyle Brownlow, City of Vancouver Archives, National Geographic, The Province, Metro Vancouver
3
4 5
Natural Constraints Large Redevelopment Opportunity in Downtown Core Culture of Green
Congestion: 1990s and 2014 Long-Range Planning

10. Transit expansion and densification
Source: City of Vancouver, Wikipedia
• Densest areas outside of the
downtown core are located
along the frequent transit
corridors

11. Vancouver the greenest city
Source: City of Vancouver

12. Congestion: TomTom Traffic Index 2014
Source: TomTom
1. Vancouver, Canada – 93 lost hours due to
congestion
2. Los Angeles, USA – 92
3. San Francisco, USA
4. Honolulu, USA
5. Seattle, USA
6. San Jose, USA
7. Toronto, Canada
8. Washington, USA
9. New York, USA
10. Montreal, Canada
o Vancouver has not built a new highway
in 40 years
o Shifts to transit, walking, and cycling
have invariably freed up space on the
road, that over time has been filled by
the growing population

13. But Vancouver’s liveability is linked…
 Vancouver has benefited from the foresight of
regional planners in the 1990s that sought to
diversify the economic centres in the region
 Effective regional goods movement
 Vancouver is a liveable city because many of
the negative externalities other municipalities in
the region (e.g. congestion, industrial lands,
etc.)
Source: Metro Vancouver

14. To Surrey’s liveability
 Vancouver cannot accommodate the
anticipated population and employment
growth over the next thirty years
 Vancouver is reliant on Surrey and other metro
areas to attract new residents and businesses
Source: City of Surrey

15. A brief comparison – Paris and her suburbs
1960s
• Paris built five suburban cities to
accommodate urban growth and provide
new amenities
• RER lines extended to banlieus
• Predominant vehicle and transit travel
pattern is suburban  urban
2014
• Paris has worst air pollution in Europe from
transportation sources
• No significant extension of transit in banlieus
since 1960s
• But intra-municipal travel between banlieus
becomes more common, but not transit
supportive so car dependence remains
The lesson from Paris: To create a successful
region, multiple economic centres should be
encouraged with transit and transportation
systems to disrupt the suburban  urban travel
pattern.
20141960s
Source: RATP

16. Vancouver and Surrey
• Urban form
developed
in the era
of the street
car
• No new
highway in
last 40
years
• Housing no
longer
affordable,
limited
rental stock
• Urban form
developed
during the
era of the
car
• New
highway
2013
• 1,200 new
residents a
month
• Affordable
housing to
buy and
rent
2011-2041:
Surrey’s population will
grow by 57% from 487,500
to 766,000
2011-2041:
Vancouver’s population
will grow by 22% from
603,000 to 740,000
Surrey’s City Centre will become the region’s second downtown
Source: City of
Surrey, Metro
Vancouver

17. Housing affordability
Source: City of Surrey
• More affordable and
diverse housing stock:
• Detached, semi-
detached,
apartments
• Surrey is attracting more
young families: 46% of
their population is under
34
• Surrey has the largest
school district in the
province: 70 schools

18. Business incorporation and income
Source: Ministry of Finance prepared by BC Stats January 2012
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Surrey and Vancouver Business Incorporations: Indexed to 1998
Surrey Vancouver
o Average income in Vancouver is $8,000
higher than Surrey: $44,000 vs $36,000
o Surrey is the second largest job centre in
the region, behind Vancouver

19. International immigration
2012
Source: Metro Vancouver, BC Stats
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
Immigrants
Metro Vancouver: International Immigration
2000-2012
All Areas
China-Mainland
India
Surrey: 29% of residents’ mother
tongue is Punjabi, Chinese, Hindi, or
Tagalog

20. Surrey commuting shifts
• Surrey was once a commuting
City with the majority of daily
trips made to Vancouver
• 12% of trips made on transit,
higher than most other North
American cities
Source: Vancouver Sun

21. A tipping point
Surrey has ambitious plans to attract more economic
development to its communities, while retrofitting
them to become more transit supportive.
But to do so it needs more transit and
more rapid transit.
Source: City of Surrey

22. 0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 2026 2031 2036 2041 2046
Population
Investment in rapid transit has not kept pace
with population growth
• Since the last transit
investment more than
200,000 people have
moved to Surrey
• By 2016: 30 rapid
transit stations on the
Burrard Peninsula and
only 4 rapid transit
stations south of the
Fraser
• Rapid transit networks:
• N. of Fraser: 62.9
• Surrey: 5.8 km
• Edmonton: 21 km
• Calgary : 56 km
Last
investment in
Surrey’s rapid
transit network
Source: Statistics Canada (1991, 1996, 2006, 2011) and Regional Growth Strategy, 2011, City of Surrey

23. Extended rapid transit will serve a catchment area of
500,000 people in the next 30 years
Source: TransLink

24. Surrey and Vancouver’s success is contingent on the
region
For Surrey, Vancouver, and the region to be successful
they must turn to their governance and financing
mechanisms.

25. Governance

26. Governance in Canadian municipalities
Federal
Provincial
Regional
Municipalities
• Minimal funding
programs
• Gas Tax, Building
Canada
• Regulate regional and
municipal governments
• Provide some funding for
capital projects
• Regional
resource
management:
water, waste,
forests, etc.

27. Metro Vancouver governance
o Composed of 21 municipalities,
one First Nation, and one
electoral area
o Municipalities maintain
independence, accountability
to voter base vs. amalgamated
municipalities
o Participate in and set regional
goals and targets that they
must adhere to
o Municipal policies must align
with regional policies
VANCOUVER
SURREY

28. Long-term regional planning
The LRSP started 18 years of regional land use and transportation planning amongst member
municipalities that refocused development patterns through regional targets.
1996 2013
Source: Metro Vancouver

29. Regional Growth Strategy
 Goal 1: Create a compact
urban area (e.g. 2/3 of all new
growth will be directed to urban
areas)
 Goal 2: Support a sustainable
economy
 Goal 3: Protect the environment
and respond to climate change
impacts
 Goal 4: Develop complete
communities
 Goal 5: Support sustainable
transportation choices
Source: Metro Vancouver

30. Transit continues to be key to regional success
 Among best in North
America
 Smallest metro area
 All others have heavy and
commuter rail
 Third in per capita
ridership behind only New
York and Toronto
City Metro Population
Annual
Boardings
(thousands)
Transit Trips/
Capita/Year
New York City 19,831,858 3,893,854 196/capita
Toronto 5,583,064 987,173 177/capita
Chicago 9,522,434 658,203 69/capita
Los Angeles 13,052,921 620,903 48/capita
San Francisco
Bay
6,349,948 476,219 75/capita
Washington, DC 5,860,342 456,915 78/capita
Montreal 3,824,221 433,710 113/capita
Boston 4,640,802 399,594 86/capita
Metro
Vancouver
2,313,328 363,163 157/capita
Philadelphia 6,018,800 336,981 56/capita
Source: American Public Transportation Association 2012 Q4 Ridership Report; City of Vancouver and City of Surrey

31. But changing regional preferences…
Declining
 Car ownership
 Drivers license holders
 Vehicle kilometers travelled
Increasing
 Desire to live near where people work or
go to school
 Commutes by transit, walking, and
cycling
 Commuting time for vehicles
 Preference for access/proximity to rapid
transit by residents and developers
Source: Metro Vancouver, ICBC, TransLink
Drivers license holders

32. Are threatening the liveability of the region
In the next 30 years:
1 million more people
and 600,000 jobs in
Metro Vancouver
Source: TransLink
1. Growing Population 2. Growing Congestion 3. Growing Transit Funding Shortfall
700,000 cars = more congestion
2011 2041
People 2.3 M 3.4 M
Jobs 1.2 M 1.8 M

33. Are threatening the liveability of the region
4. Goods Movement
 Heavily reliant on provincial
and major road
infrastructure
 A 20% increase in trade with
Asia by 2030 may result in
thousands more trucks
moving throughout the
region
 10% of vehicles on bridges
are moving goods
Source: TransLink

34. 1. Growing regional population
Source: TransLink
Policy challenge: accommodating a 1 million more people and 600,000 new
jobs that utilize transit, walks, and bikes as their main form of transportation
5% 17% 13% 2%
3% Non-Auto Travel

35. 2. Growing congestion
Annual cost of congestion in Metro Vancouver is $2 B CDN:
fuel, wasted time, and GHG emissions
Direct and indirect costs not included: air pollution, obesity,
stress, or diminishment of family time
700,000 more cars
by 2041 =
39% increase in rush
hour traffic by 2021
120% increase in
severely congested
roads
3 million more auto
trips per day
Governance challenge:
• Existing provincial tolling policy
is mismatched with regional
objectives
• Leads to underutilized toll
facilities and manufactured
congestion on mandated
“free” bridges
Source: Jonathan Arnold Congested and Nowhere to Go: Congestion, Road Infrastructure, and Road Pricing in Metro Vancouver

36. 3. Growing transit funding shortfall
Financing and governance challenge: TransLink and Metro Vancouver do not have the agency to
create new revenue sources to fund transit, this lies with the provincial government. The province
has determined that the public must vote on the new funding mechanisms.
600 K gap is widening
Source: TransLink

37. 4. Goods movement
 21% of regional jobs are in trade, transportation and warehousing
 2012: 3,000 vessels carrying 125 million tonnes of cargo
 Asia Pacific Trade expected to increase from 10% of Canada’s total trade to more than
20% in 2030
 Port Metro Vancouver is doubling the capacity of one of its terminals to 8 million TEUs per
year
 Past 5 years – 10 trains per day, now 20 per day
 Completion of project will result in 40 per day
Source: TransLink, Port Metro Vancouver
Governance challenge: To maintain the liveability of the region it must be able to continue to
economically prosper from goods movement, while not suffering from it

38. TransLink referendum: spring 2015
 21 elected representatives negotiated over 6 months to develop a $7.5 B, 10 year plan for
regional transportation investment that includes:
 New rapid transit, bus routes, and service hours
 New bridge
 Upgrades to the major road network
 New cycling routes
The greatest outcome of the process was recognizing that the full cost of transportation must be priced
to create a long-term solution for regional liveability
They have shifted the regional public
dialogue from an either/or to an
everyone wins conversation}

39. New TransLink funding mechanisms
 Short-term: Regional Carbon tax and Regional
Sales Tax
 Greater financial equity, more resilient tax base
 Long-term: Road Pricing
 Users of road infrastructure pay for use
Source: CBC News, Rail for the Valley

40. TransLink and the region
Must look to the metro Vancouver population to support the regional goals, and increase in
taxes to sustain the liveability of the region in the 2015 referendum

41. Lessons learned from Metro Vancouver
1. Provide frequent, reliable transit where people work and live to foster modal shifts away
from vehicle use reducing congestion and urban sprawl
2. Develop a transit supportive region through long-term regional agreement and planning
that links transportation and land use decisions
3. Provide metro regions with the tools to diversify tax revenues
4. Foster the cooperation of neighbouring municipalities in decision making on infrastructure
investment and growth management
5. Foster economic development in nodes within a regional area to create a more robust
economic region
6. Recognize that some residents need to utilize vehicles as their primary mode of
transportation, but manage how they use their car

42. Discussion Question
How do we leverage government interests for overlapping
objectives into integrated policy and planning?