Video: The provincial government and TransLink are trying to figure out how to word an upcoming referendum that would determine the long term future of our transit system. Keith Baldrey, New Westminster councillor Chuck Puchmayr and Coquitlam’s council Brent Asmundson join Jill Krop for the discussion.

The provincial government will hold a public referendum next year to ask Metro Vancouver residents how to fund transit expansion.

The office of the transportation minister says specific details are still be worked out, but the referendum will take place during the November 2014 municipal elections. The province wants Lower Mainlanders to “make a clear choice,” according to a brief statement issued to Global News.

Legislation will be tabled this Spring to allow the referendum to proceed.

The province has not released any specifics on how to fund new transportation projects, but some of the options being thrown around include a property tax levy, regional sales tax, increased gas taxes or more tolls.

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17 cents of every litre of gas sold in the Lower Mainland already goes to Translink, and drivers already pay some of the highest gas prices in North America.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is pushing hard for an underground rapid transit line down the Broadway corridor to UBC, while Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has her heart set on light rapid transit in Surrey.

Both projects would cost billions of dollars — meanwhile, Translink says it’s difficult to sustain the transit infrastructure we currently have, without more funding.

Translink has also just spent almost $200 million on the new Compass card system — set to debut this winter — and is midway through several expensive renovations to Expo Line stations. A major upgrade or replacement of the Patullo Bridge is also in the planning stages.

The NDP says the province’s plan for a referendum is “disjointed” and the Premier and Transportation Minister are not on the same page.

“What transit users and drivers of this region need are better transportation options, and what they’re getting is a series of contradictions from the people who are supposed to be in charge,” says NDP Translink critic George Heyman.

“There is clearly no plan, no co-ordination and no direction from the Liberals, who are ultimately responsible for this. This is doing nothing to ease congestion problems in this region, and we know that hurts the economy of British Columbia as a whole. The bottom line: if the Liberals can’t do a referendum properly, is it any wonder they’re failing to address the transportation problems in Metro Vancouver?”

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