Province to make transit funding announcement in Surrey Friday

The B.C. government will make an announcement on Friday about transit in the Metro Vancouver area.

According to a news release, Community Sport and Cultural Development Minister Peter Fassbender, who is also the minister responsible for TransLink, will be in Surrey Friday morning “for an announcement about transit in Metro Vancouver.”

The release did not go into details about specific transit projects, but some critics are speculating the next big funding announcement could be the province agreeing to fund its portion of phase two of the 10-year Metro Vancouver transportation plan.

Last week’s federal budget promised $2.2 billion toward transit infrastructure in the region, including light rail transit (LRT) in Surrey, the Millennium Line Broadway extension and the Pattullo Bridge replacement.

That would cover 40 per cent of the plan. The original proposal called for a three-way equal share of funding between the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

In September 2016, NDP leader John Horgan promised, if elected, his government would commit to providing 40 per cent of funding for transit and major infrastructure projects, leaving Metro Vancouver with a 10 per cent funding responsibility.

–With files from Paula Baker