The British Columbian government wants to be seen as one of the greenest in North America. It has recently set a target of a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The Premier, Gordon Campbell, has signed agreements with some states to set up a carbon trading scheme. He also made big news with the “hydrogen highway.” There will be a string of hydrogen vehicle refuelling stations from California up the West Coast. Announcing this provided him with a media opportunity alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But at the same time, he is determined to double the size of the main freeway from Vancouver up the Fraser Valley, which includes a new bridge across the river. While this is being promoted as essential for the Port of Vancouver to capture more of the transpacific container trade, the fact is that most of the freight (now and in the future) moves by train. The real impetus for this project is the disgruntled electorate of the suburbs, who spend increasing amounts of time stuck in traffic as the population grows, jobs disperse across the region, and housing continues to spiral ever upwards in price. The unaffordability of Vancouver housing has long been cited as the main cause of suburban sprawl, as people look for cheaper housing on the edges of the region.

The city of Vancouver has long been a destination for planners and urbanists, who see the example of the revitalised downtown as a model for other North American cities. In the late sixties, there was a plan to build a freeway through the downtown, but that proposal was defeated, and a new wave of planning then set about reshaping the region. The idea was to protect the Green Zone (the parks, mountain watersheds and agricultural areas) and build complete communities (not dormitory suburbs) in a compact urban region. The key to all this was to increase transportation choice. In other words—get more people to walk, cycle, or use transit for more of their trips. And the plan has, to some extent, been successful. Enough, anyway, for a former premier and a regional planner to publish a book, “City Making in Paradise: Nine Decisions that Saved Vancouver” (Harcourt and Cameron, 2007).

Gordon Campbell's decision to widen the freeway is now the subject of a mandatory Environmental Assessment (EA). Federal as well as provincial standards have to be met. Before the process even started, both Campbell and his Minister of Transport, Kevin Falcon, had referred to the project as a “done deal.” Oddly enough, they also conceded publicly that “you cannot build your way out of congestion.” There have been many studies, of course, but until the EA, very little was released publicly. Now it has become apparent that there is, in fact, very little justification for the project. It will actually increase traffic and urban sprawl, but the provincial government will not admit that, and has produced computer modelling to “prove” the merit of the freeway project. Except that it is stated in the model that the land use and thus the number of trips generated is exactly the same in both scenarios—with or without the project. The government says that the population will grow anyway and it is up to the municipalities to plan for this growth. Of course, if you are a municipal planner, and you know that the freeway is going to be widened and the only commitment to transit expansion is an extra 20 buses in 2013, you might be a bit reluctant to impose a requirement for transit oriented development.

When asked why the EA had not examined a transit alternative, the Ministry of Transport claimed that transit was outside their jurisdiction. At the very same time, however, the Minister was pushing legislation through the house to replace the municipal councillors on the transit board with his own appointed “professionals.” He also reversed a long standing “proof of payment” fare system with new gates for the rapid transit lines (existing and under construction) without even a cursory consultation with the operators. These actions make his jurisdiction excuses look a little thin. Especially when one considers that buying enough cars to operate the existing SkyTrain across the Fraser at its full capacity would be the equivalent of ten lanes of freeway capacity at a much lower cost—both financially and environmentally.

The widened freeway will have significant impact on the environment, but you will have a hard time determining that from reading the proponent's submission to the EA. On closer examination, it is apparent that much of the mitigation that is being offered is, in fact, already in place—and was built in as mitigation for earlier expansion (which was then made respectable by designating the added lanes for High Occupancy Vehicles). And for much of the detail, the consultants have simply cherry picked from earlier studies, and missed or ignored some designated species of endangered wildlife.

But the biggest impact will be the growth of the traffic. As studies by many academics have shown, including the Texas Transportation Institute, traffic expands to fill new freeway lanes. The number of trips will not be the same, and despite improving technologies, the air quality and greenhouse gas emissions will worsen. The developers are already moving to take advantage of the new capacity, and the pattern for more big box stores, office parks, and low density subdivisions is already apparent. Given that transportation is one of the biggest single sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the region, it does seem counter productive to ensure continued auto dependence in the part of the region that will doubtless absorb much of the expected population growth.

But it also calls into question why BC goes through an Environmental Assessment process at all. The province has had a series of well publicised, but poorly made transportation investment decisions. Fast ferries that went over budget hardly ever sailed in commercial service and were sold for a fraction of their cost and remain unused, tied up at a dock in Vancouver. The ferries project was one of the favourite targets of the present governing party when in opposition. They were quieter about an extension of the SkyTrain, which doubled back on itself, and has not yet reached its ridership targets. And the transit system is actually overcrowded and desperately needs more equipment to meet existing demands. A new subway is under construction which will improve travel to the airport and the suburb of Richmond, which has grown rapidly. But the construction has caused howls of anguish from local businesses—the sort of people who normally support right wing government—as the disruption has led to bankruptcies and dislocation. That was the subject of an EA, too—but the project now being built is remarkably different from what was proposed.

Opponents of the freeway proposal are currently concentrating their efforts on the opportunities for comment presented by the EA. But if they are ignored, as seems to be the pattern in BC, it may be that stronger, less polite measures will be used.

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Government - Choosing a Sustainable Future for Vancouver