Following hopeful statements made by Liberal MP Stephanie McLean, BC Green Party Leader, Emily Lowan, and BC NDP MLA George Anderson, reporters are now asking questions to Premier Eby and the leadership candidates of the BC Conservative Party.

While Vancouver Island deals with congested roads, ferry bottlenecks, higher emissions, delays and higher costs due to road wear, the debate about what to do about it continues.

With the highway rights of way maxed out in many congested areas and the entire Eastern seaboard of South Vancouver Island private land, it's either rail or an order of magnitude of higher costs to expropriate private land to expand highways.

Shifting many truck trips to rail using policy instruments like weight and seasonal highway restrictions, and shifting car traffic to rail using rate incentives, is the right way to do transportation on Vancouver Island.  What better time to do it than when congestion is continuing to rise at an ever increasing rate.

Hopefully we will see more attention paid to Island Rail on the National Level soon.  Fingers crossed!

Petitioner

Warren Skaalrud
Restore Island Rail