A motion is coming to city council next Tuesday to bring back Vancouvers summer streetcar.
NPA Coun. Elizabeth Ball initiated the motion to investigate options for funding the Downtown Historic Railway, which has transported over 130,000 passengers between Olympic Village and Granville Island over the past 15 years. The city cancelled funding for the streetcar in April, but Ball said council only recently became aware of the budget cut.
The motion is to explore the options for funding the streetcar and hopefully that we could bring it backId like to see it operating in two weeks, said Ball.
Volunteers handle the operations of the streetcar, while the city pays for maintenance, which usually costs $40,000 per year. The Downtown Historic Railway would have needed $100,000 this year to keep running.
NPA Coun. George Affleck seconded Balls motion.
We passed a motion at last council for $20,000 for 10 minutes of fireworks and had no problem passing that unanimously. Why we cant find $80,000 to $100,000 for a train that will run all summer is beyond me. Its just ridiculous, said Affleck.
Ball said the money to fund the streetcar could come from the Vancouver Greenest City Fund, which dedicates $2 million to finance projects that make the city more sustainable. Dale Laird, president of the Transit Museum Society, said the streetcar is one of the most sustainable modes of transit.
This project fits right into the criteria for that fund, said Laird. You cant get very much greener than a streetcar. In fact, its greener than a trolley bus.
Ball said the streetcar is a safe form of transportation that appeals to people of all ages.
I think that its just critically important that we dont just do away with everything that appeals to seniors and children and young people in the city because its expedient, said Ball.
According to Ball, the streetcar is an important part of Vancouvers heritage and its loss would be a blemish on the citys reputation.
When tourists come to Vancouver, they dont come for one thing. They come for a whole experience and a package. And this is certainly one of the things that people loved doing.
