It is time for Clark County to move forward, to modernize, to embrace a system that will lurch the region toward the future. It is time for the C-Tran board of directors to approve Bus Rapid Transit for the Fourth Plain corridor. Sure, there are shortcomings with the system. But the benefits and the costs — with most of the financing coming from a federal grant — add up to an advancement in the region’s ability to serve the public, and officials should lend their approval when they hold a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Vancouver Community Library.
The question? Should C-Tran create a bus system that employs larger vehicles, specialized traffic signals, and stops that serve more as stations in order to improve service between downtown Vancouver and Westfield Vancouver mall? The $53 million project would require $6.7 million from C-Tran’s uncommitted reserves, with the rest coming from grants.
Before we go any further, it is must be pointed out that there is a certain absurdity to the way in which this country addresses infrastructure projects. One of the arguments in favor of BRT in this case is that local taxpayers have contributed to the federal funds that would finance it, so they should reap some of the benefits; if not us, then some other municipality will use our money for its benefit.
Might we be better off if that money had been kept in the community to begin with? Perhaps. The federal money for the project doesn’t mean the system would come at a discount for local taxpayers; it means simply that those taxpayers are having their money returned to them instead of watching some far-flung community benefit from our largesse. But until the taxation/grant system is altered, local residents would be foolish to eschew the benefits.
The question then becomes whether Bus Rapid Transit is a wise investment of those funds. We think it is. As The Washington Post wrote editorially a couple years ago, U.S. cities have been slow to embrace the potential of “making buses fast and reliable enough to coax commuters out of their cars,” and BRT systems can “transform humdrum bus service into something akin to surface subways.”
The idea of BRT is basically to create a light-rail system on wheels, with elevated platforms and ticket dispensers at the stops enhancing the boarding process and eliminating some of the deficiencies of traditional bus service. Yet it doesn’t require the oppressive infrastructure costs that come with repurposing roadways and laying down tracks, and it offers more flexibility in adjusting routes as needed. The D.C. area this summer is unveiling a BRT system, but the idea is not limited to densely populated areas; Eugene, Ore., has had such a system for several years.
For Vancouver, the Fourth Plain corridor is the ideal proving ground for the system. According to C-Tran officials, that area serves more transit riders than 22 currently operating BRT systems in the United States, and riders along the corridor are much less likely than other C-Tran riders to require a bus transfer to reach their destination.
Vancouver often finds itself torn by being an odd hybrid of urban and suburban. But the fact is that the region is growing faster than most, lending density and generating a need for some urban amenities. In pondering those amenities, it must be acknowledged that public transit is an essential factor in the livability of a city, in the facilitation of growth, and in the protection of services for residents who are most in need.
Because of those considerations, a Bus Rapid Transit system for Vancouver is worthy of approval.
