VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) The fact that the BC government has $2.5-billion to spend on roads while it is forcing Metro Vancouver to approve an increase in sales tax to fund transit hasn’t gone unnoticed. People online are wondering why road improvements aren’t being put to a referendum while transit improvements are.

Transportation planner Gordon Price understands the confusion. “The government has never adequately explained why there has to be a vote on transit but not on, often greater numbers in terms of dollars, money being spent on roads and bridges.”

Price says it’s politically popular to lay asphalt and cut ribbons on bridges, while transit has often been seen as a social service that’s a local responsibility.

Todd Litman with the Victoria Transport Policy Institute doesn’t understand why the province is prioritizing road projects. “This is very unfortunate because throughout North America, automobile travel is peaking. The amount of driving is not growing and so there’s less of a need to expand roads while demand for walking, cycling and public transit is growing. More people want to rely on walking, bicycling and public transit if those are high quality. And so it really does make sense for all levels of government to be shifting resources from expanding roads to improving walking, cycling and public transit and the provincial government is making that difficult.”

The BC government’s 10-year transportation plan includes $18-million for cycling improvements, but that’s ten times less than what’s proposed in the plebiscite plan. The latest Angus Reid poll shows about two thirds of respondents plan to vote “no.” Transportation Minister Todd Stone was asked about the optics, but he never really answered the question, saying the government hopes Metro Vancouver votes “yes.”