Is light rail coming to La Center? The short answer is no, but the politics of light rail sure is, as a flier is being distributed throughout La Center that paints a negative and false impression of the proposed Columbia River Crossing light-rail project. Because I represent the cities of La Center and Ridgefield on the C-Tran board of directors and care about the future of public transportation for our region, I would like to use this opportunity to set the record straight about both light rail and the future of C-Tran.

After more than two years of planning and working with local communities, the C-Tran board of directors adopted a 20-year transit development plan — C-Tran 2030 — which will guide the agency’s future. The plan, over the first 10 years if approved by voters, calls for preserving existing bus service levels and provides for: increased bus service on existing routes; two new bus routes in east Vancouver; meeting the growing demand for C-Van, which serves thousands of disabled citizens who are not able to ride fixed route buses; constructing a bus rapid transit line along the Fourth Plain corridor; and funding the operations and maintenance costs only for the proposed light rail.

These improvements would require voter approval of a sales tax districtwide of 0.3 percent, or three pennies on a $10 purchase. It is important to note that well over two-thirds of the proposed new revenue would go to fund C-Tran ­bus-related service, not light rail. A copy of the full 20-year plan is available on C-Tran’s web site, http://www.C-Tran.com. In the coming months, the C-Tran board of directors will be discussing a potential ballot measure for voters in 2011.

Concerning light rail, the C-Tran board has been very consistent in saying the agency will not use existing revenue to pay for any capital or operating costs, and that any future voter-approved increase will pay for the operating and maintenance costs only. No local C-Tran revenue will be used to pay for light-rail capital costs. This position is spelled out in a resolution adopted by the C-Tran board of directors back in July 2008 and is included in C-Tran’s 20-year plan. Based on current planning, the Columbia River Crossing project assumes the Federal Transit Administration will fund up to the full capital cost for the light-rail portion of the project (not toll revenue, as some have incorrectly stated) through their New Starts program. This was made possible with the passage of federal legislation just last year. ­Utilizing federal funding for the capital cost of light rail will help save local revenue, which in turn can be invested in C-Tran’s bus service, and that is what the agency is proposing to do. This will help expand, not reduce, bus service for our citizens.

Some people have stated there will be very little ridership on light rail and that it will simply bring crime to downtown Vancouver. First, ridership forecasts show about 17,000 daily boardings on light rail, not even counting those who will be riding C-Tran’s express buses. That’s about 5.5 million trips per year on light rail alone. As the planning and design for light rail in Vancouver advances, C-Tran is very engaged in how the design of the stations and park-and-rides builds in all of the features that provide good safety and security. Some specific examples include surveillance cameras, good lighting and the resources to provide security. Just as it does with its bus system, C-Tran will take every measure possible to ensure a safe and secure light-rail line in downtown Vancouver.

Finally, I know not everyone agrees on light rail. That’s fine. In the end, voters will have their say. What I hope, however, is that the community conversation about the future of light rail and C-Tran service can be done in an open and transparent way, with an effort to focus on the merits of the issue, and avoid the type of rhetoric that intentionally distorts and misleads our fellow citizens.

Jim Irish is mayor of La Center.

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