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Overview
Light Rail Transit (LRT) from downtown to Uptown and then to West Shore has been recommended by the Victoria Regional Rapid Transit Project (VRRTP) and endorsed by the BC Transit and CRD Boards and the municipal councils. The estimated cost is $950 million and the business case has been submitted for funding under the Provincial Transit Plan.
See the Rapid Transit Local Funding Options Backgrounder for a summary of development plans and funding options being considered.
Map of Transit Future Plan transit network
Task Force
Anticipating that the cost of LRT will be shared between all levels of government (Federal, Provincial, Regional and Municipal), the BC Transit and CRD Boards have formed a joint task force to find alternate funding and transit incentives for the local share of project costs. The project funding structure cannot be confirmed until Federal and Provincial government commitment has been defined and an agreement negotiated with Regional and Municipal governments. Recent cost share arrangements for selected transit projects are summarized in this chart. In the meantime, the CRD Board and the Victoria Regional Transit Commission will explore options for a local funding share of the projected cost of $950 million.
The purpose of the joint CRD/BC Transit task force, as outlined in the Terms of Reference, is to evaluate and recommend funding and incentive options to raise the local share of costs for the Victoria Regional Rapid Transit Project (VRRTP) and other transit infrastructure priorities identified in the Transit Future Plan. The objective is to recommend local funding options and an implementation strategy to the CRD Board and Victoria Regional Transit Commission. The recommendations will support the development of a final funding agreement with the Provincial and Federal governments.
The Local Funding Options Final Report will be reviewed and discussed by the newly created CRD Transportation Select Committee. The purpose of the Select Committee will be to examine current transportation and public transit governance and funding arrangements in the region to determine how these should be changed to facilitate better decision making and investments for regional transportation priorities. Select Committee Terms of Reference.
Consultation and Reporting
The task force will consult with the public and stakeholders through a dedicated e-mail address, focus groups and public hearings. A Final Report is anticipated to be presented to the CRD Board and Victoria Regional Transit Commission in September 2012.
To allow for an adequate review, discussion and input to the Local Funding Options work by the CRD Transportation Select Committee over the summer of 2012, the Final Report will be presented to the BC Transit and CRD Boards in September 2012 rather than July 2012 as originally scheduled.
- September 2011 - Task Force initiation
- November 2011/January 2012 - preliminary research and evaluation
- February 2012 - focus groups
- March/April 2012 - option evaluation and packaging
- April/May/June 2012 - draft technical report
- July/August 2012 - public hearings
- August 2012 - prepare Final Report
- September 2012 - Final Report with recommendations.