Metro Vancouver mayors are pushing for the ability to impose a new carbon tax and vehicle levies as possible options for covering a $30-million TransLink funding shortfall.
At a March 7 meeting, the TransLink mayors' council passed a motion asking the province for the legal right to implement a regional carbon tax; additional fuel tax; and vehicle registration fees based on fuel consumption, engine size and emissions.
The fees and taxes would be an alternative to raising property taxes and would cover expansions to the regional transportation system including new buses, upgrades to SkyTrain stations and improvements to bike paths.
District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, who chairs the mayors' council, told CTV News that there really isn't an alternative to imposing more costs on taxpayers.
"If the system is going to increase its capacity to give people options to not drive their cars, it obviously has to increase. If we stopped investing in public transportation now, our roads would become increasingly congested," he said.
The mayors have written a letter to Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom, asking him to consider changing legislation to allow for the different funding solutions.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore said that the council isn't making any judgments yet on which funding solution is best.
"There needs to be more tools in the tool box to be able to fund some of these major capitol projects coming up," he said.
"It's important to have the options in front of us so that we can go out to the community to engage the community in that discussion."
Lekstrom said the new gas taxes are a non-starter for the province, but he'll consider the vehicle levy proposal.
"I want to take some time; I want to digest the letter that they've sent me," he said, adding that he hopes to have an answer for the mayors soon.
Local mayors and TransLink tried to bring in a vehicle levy a decade ago, but it was scrapped in response to public backlash.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander
