Vancouver, UBC, First Nations partner in push for SkyTrain extension
Credit to Author: Dan Fumano| Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 22:38:49 +0000
Leaders of the City of Vancouver, University of B.C. and Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations announced Wednesday they had signed a formal memorandum of understanding to join forces in their push to get SkyTrain all the way to the western edge of Metro Vancouver.
The MOU, struck late last year, was described by Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart as “a unique and unprecedented partnership with three First Nations, represented by their development corporation, and one of the world’s premier learning institutions, as well as a global city.”
Stewart appeared at a press conference Wednesday at Vancouver city hall, alongside University of B.C. president and vice-chancellor Santa J. Ono, and representatives of the MST Development Corporation, a partnership between the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. MST Development is developing six major properties in Metro Vancouver, including the Jericho Lands, west of Alma and north of Broadway, which could be near the site of a future subway station.
UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Santa J. Ono speaks at a press conference as the City of Vancouver, UBC and the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Development Corporation (MST-DC) join forces to advocate for the completion of a SkyTrain line all the way to UBC as soon as possible, in Vancouver, BC., January 29, 2020.
The Broadway Subway, as currently planned with funding in place from the federal and provincial governments, is a $2.83-billion, 5.7-kilometre extension of the Millennium SkyTrain line, which will run from VCC-Clark Station west along Broadway to Arbutus, with six stops. Construction is expected to begin in fall of 2020, a Government of B.C. website says, with service to begin in 2025.
But funding and support from the provincial and federal governments will be required to get the SkyTrain extended to UBC, Stewart said Wednesday, stressing the project’s importance to the entire region.
The city, university, and MST Development Corporation will work together to lobby Ottawa and Victoria for that funding now.
During the 2018 municipal election, Stewart campaigned on a pledge to get the Broadway Subway to run all the way west to UBC. That vision was endorsed by Stewart and the new council soon after their inauguration.
More to come
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart arrives at a press conference as the City of Vancouver, UBC and the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Development Corporation (MST-DC) join forces to advocate for the completion of a SkyTrain line all the way to UBC as soon as possible, in Vancouver, BC., January 29, 2020.