Mobility in Metro Vancouver

Growth and Mobility in Metro Vancouver [Weekend Watch]

January 4th, 2014

Local transportation policy wonk Matt Taylor recently published a video looking at ‘growth and mobility in Metro Vancouver.” While the title and Matt’s straight-laced voiceover may come across as dry, the video delivers a devastating critique of the current direction of our region’s transportation policy; and by extension, the forthcoming TransLink referendum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJmeCm4yOOY

Key Facts: Growth and Mobility in Metro Vancouver

Here are a few noteworthy facts contained in this information dense video:

  • Expected population growth (2014-2044): 1.1 million people.
  • Number of new Metroplaces (Burnaby 46-storey tower for 730 people): 1,500 equivalents, or 50 more every year.
  • Number of additional vehicles by 2044 at current vehicle ownership rates: 730,000.
  • Length of new lane kilometres needed to park these additional vehicles (at 200 vehicles per lane km): 3,700 kilometres – from Horseshoe Bay to Sault St. Marie.
  • Number of new parking spaces required (3 spaces per vehicle: home, work and all other): 2.2 million.
  • Space needed for parking: 66 square kilometres (1.5 times the area of Bowen Island, or 1/2 the are of Richmond).
  • Cost of underground parking: $90 billion (@ $40,000 per space).
  • Expo line equivalent (26,000 passengers per hour per direction): 26 lanes of freeway.

My Take

This video highlights—in very stark terms—the necessity of a high level of transit investment in a growing metropolitan area like Vancouver.  This video illustrates just how inane the upcoming TransLink referendum is.  However, by demonstrating how expensive the status quo will be to support,  the video just may also present a silver lining: that investment in transit (and TransLink) may actually be cheaper than continuing effort to construct our way out of congestion.

Please Share

Matt has made a plea to share the video as much as possible—something that I am only too glad to do.  Please watch this video and share it widely. Even if you don’t live in metro Vancouver, the basis of this presentation can be extrapolated to other urban areas. Indeed, many North American cities are in much worse shape than Vancouver.

If you enjoyed this video, be sure to also check Matt’s other video: What would Commercial Drive look like with Surrey parking standards?

Via Pricetags.