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Comment by kizz246 | Hacker News Reader

I think it's important to note that the transit plan won't change regardless of whether we vote yes or not. The same light rail and bridges will be built if we vote no, which will lead to the same results in happiness.

If we vote no it's just a matter of whether or not Translink can learn to manage the money that they have now. They have historically been horrible at this.

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Source? I'm probably going to vote yes, since much of what I buy is PST-exempt anyway (e.g. food, books) and I really believe that our city needs world-class transit.

It would be great if we get the transit improvements either way. If that belief is false, though, it's a very dangerous idea to be spreading.

The plan has been touted in the metro and other papers since I moved to Vancouver 5 years ago. I suppose it depends on how you want to define plan -- as talk from officials with no drafts or as a concrete plan with specs and budgets. If we are using the latter definition it has been since around 2012.

I recall when the Canada line was being built for the Olympics there was an outcry because it would push the plans for the rail to Langley(UBC? My memory is not 100%) back by years as they were putting it on hold to make way for rail to Richmond.

From 2014: http://www.bcbusiness.ca/manufacturing-transport/an-expo-lin... From 2013: http://www.surreyleader.com/news/195701621.html From 2012: http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/7340/surrey-mayor-derails... From 2008: (When it was just talk) http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=ea3c45d3-d3b6-48fc-8b18-...

It reminds me of what happened here in Manchester, UK. The population was asked to vote for the introduction of a congestion charge, which would have been used to fund a number of infrastructure improvements. The proposal was soundly (and predictably) defeated, but pretty much all proposed improvements were introduced anyway -- local authorities just found the necessary money in other ways.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

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