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UBC professor warns of suburban sprawl, ‘horrific’ congestion in Lower Mainland

VANCOUVER — Spending money on transit now will save even more money and lives down the road, says a UBC professor who will be speaking Monday on a panel alongside TransLink’s CEO.
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More money is needed to invest in transit, says UBC professor Lawrence Frank, who will be speaking Monday on a panel alongside TransLink's CEO.

VANCOUVER — Spending money on transit now will save even more money and lives down the road, says a UBC professor who will be speaking Monday on a panel alongside TransLink’s CEO.

Lawrence Frank is pushing a comprehensive vision for the region’s transit future as a provincial referendum on funding the stressed system rolls into view. More money is needed, but it has to be spent strategically and viewed differently, the professor at UBC’s schools of Population and Public Health and Community and Regional planning told The Sun on Sunday.

“I’m concerned that in the absence of some significant changes in land use planning that we’re at risk of having a fairly sprawling region with horrific congestion and no way to keep up with it,” he said.

Frank’s plan is all about investing in transit proactively as a way to grow a sustainable and healthy region.

“Increased time spent in cars is associated with obesity that causes chronic disease,” he said, adding that transit encourages people to walk more, which helps reduce obesity and leads to cash savings for the health care system.

But transit needs to be located near people’s work and homes, something that is difficult in outlying areas.

“We have an incentive to build further out,” he said, explaining there are few neighbours that can block developments, there’s less NIMBYism, and infrastructure in the form of roads and sewers is readily provided by governments.

Frank envisions doing that by levying fees on low density or remote development projects that are far from transit corridors.

Part of Frank’s plan is a report card of sorts that would tie transit funding to a city’s performance on development according to Metro Vancouver’s Regional Growth Strategy. That plan is in place to manage the additional million people who are expected to live in Metro within in the next 30 years, boosting daily transit trips from six million to nine million.

TransLink maintains it can only afford to maintain the system and not expand it.

The mayors’ council on regional transportation has previously suggested a regional sales tax, along with a vehicle levy, carbon tax and road pricing as potential funding sources for transit. The province has rejected a vehicle levy and carbon tax, and said any other funding sources must go to a referendum ahead of B.C.’s municipal elections next year.