In his Aug. 11 column, “Listening a critical skill in this job — and everywhere else,” when Greg Jayne said buses can do the same job as light rail, I pictured a lane of traffic just for these buses. Three big diesel burners pull up and throw open their doors for 30 seconds, close doors and take off. No tickets, money or interaction with driver. If you don’t make it on, three more will pull up every 15 minutes.
Giving Jayne a pass on the air that we breathe, it is still obvious that buses can never do what light rail does.
When Jayne said people ride light rail because it’s convenient and it won’t be convenient to him so he wouldn’t support it, he was correct. In my opinion, a self-serving Scrooge, but correct.
Light rail will be convenient to and mostly benefit only six neighborhoods in the heart of Vancouver. Six of our highest crime, lowest income, lowest property-valued neighborhoods that in any other city our size would be among the most coveted properties. We can’t make light rail convenient to Jayne until we get it here. If you are not willing to pay 2 cents or maybe nothing for decades-overdue improvements to the heart of your city, then we are truly a city without a heart. Vote “yes” on light rail.