The Evergreen Line: An effective expansion or money pit?

Photo By Alycia Sundar

Construction of the nearly 11-km extension of the SkyTrain route is underway, with an additional six stations being added and major upgrades taking place at the Lougheed Town Centre and Commercial-Broadway stations. On completion, the transit line will become the largest in Canada, producing two and a half times more ridership according to the Business Case Executive Summary released in 2008.

Translink estimates that once expansion is complete, the entire system will serve up to 70,000 commuters a day by 2021. While the Evergreen Line will improve transit options for the northeast sector of the Tri-Cities, there is controversy surrounding the project’s budget and timeline. The Vancouver Observer reported in September 2012 that the entire development is estimated to cost $1.4 billion dollars.

The cost breakdown is as follows according to Translink’s website: The provincial government is contributing $583 million and overseeing construction, and the federal government is contributing $417 million. Translink has announced that in order to finish the project, annual revenue will have to exceed $450 million dollars on their end. Without additional funding from the provincial government, commuters could be looking at reductions in bus services – by up to 40 per cent – to keep Translink afloat.

Photo by Alycia Sundar

While this project is aimed at increasing both capacity and connectivity by extending deeper into the Lafarge-Douglas area of Coquitlam, the July 2016 deadline for completion has crews working around the clock to avoid additional charges for finishing late.

The new six stations include:

• A renovated Lougheed Town Centre Station
• Burquitlam Station
• Moody Centre Station
• Inlet Centre Station
• Coquitlam Central Station
• Lincoln Station
• Lafarge-Douglas Station

There have already been adjustments made to the original plan, including the reduction of two-tunnel to one-tunnel passageways in an attempt to cut the workload and meet the construction deadline.

It is undeniable that the line will “increase transit integration” by covering a larger area of the Coquitlam area, as stated on the Evergreen Line webpage. It also will provide more opportunity for single occupancy vehicle reduction and a multitude of new transit options.

The cost of the endeavour is large, but if the completion of the new stations and routes runs smoothly, it could be beneficial to a larger demographic of Lower Mainland commuters.

Zoey Vanrassel, 16, says her sister often takes the SkyTrain to Surrey from their home in the Lafarge-Douglas area, and that the new line will significantly decrease her travel time. “There are a lot of people who rely on transit instead of automobile transportation, so I think it would be beneficial to the community,” she said.

Others are not so optimistic.

“Hopefully, the construction goes as planned, and that the new SkyTrain is safer and more reliable than [transit] is now,” says Jonathan Hughes, 24. Hughes, a Monday-through-Friday commuter from Coquitlam to Surrey, says that increased faires and unreliable schedules have compromised Translink’s reputation.

Photo from Translink’s website

Suggestions that officials haven’t been completely truthful with residents about the project plan are another concern. In Deutsch’s article, residents claim they feel duped by officials and with construction going full tilt, it seems unlikely that there are any options for change.

Contractors on the construction site at Burquitlam Plaza declined to comment on the progress of the construction, and forwarded all inquiries about the project to the Translink website.