Re: “A Broadway subway line to UBC is not a regional priority,” April 8.
Elizabeth Murphy’s opinion piece misrepresents the Mayors’ Council as agreeing on the idea that the line to UBC is “not a regional priority.” Rather than endorsing this view, the minutes simply state that discussion was had on this opinion. Satisfied with the discussion, the Mayors’ Council then voted to endorse the next stage of development. As a board made up of mayors from across the region, by voting in favour of the expansion the Mayor’s Council reaffirmed what everyone who takes transit in this region already knows — that the subway to UBC is an urgent project that will make the region more livable, sustainable, and prosperous.
As a graduate student at UBC, I experience the overcrowding on the 99 B-Line nearly every day. No combination of streetcars or trolley busses will have the capacity needed to daily transport tens of thousands of students and professionals to VGH, the Broadway employment corridor and to UBC. It is true that the subway expansion will open the West side of Vancouver up to new development on sites such as the Jericho lands. This development will be led by First Nations and will go a long way towards increasing the supply of housing — some of it even affordable — in the city. Perhaps the prospect of new housing is what Ms. Murphy actually fears — but as a young person struggling to build my future in this city, it’s what excites me most.
Jordan Konyk,
Vancouver
