Transportation Summit Highlights Business Concerns for Local Politicians
North Vancouver Chamber (the Chamber) has released highlights from its North Vancouver Transportation Survey to elected officials at a Transportation Summit it organized on Friday, January 12, 2018 at the BlueShore Financial head office. The Chamber’s Economic Partnership North Vancouver (EPNV) program has taken the lead on the organization’s transportation efforts.
The summit, an invitation-only event for local mayors, MLAs and MPs, called on leaders to develop a bold, long-term vision for transportation in the region, and to include business at the table as solutions are being developed. Kevin Desmond, CEO of TransLink, was also in attendance.
“It’s time for politicians to be courageous in the funding they allocate for transportation,” said Patrick Stafford-Smith, Chief Development Officer. “We need a significant investment to support the economy of the North Shore, and to integrate transportation with the rest of Metro Vancouver – not just for businesses but for their employees and customers.”
Transportation is the number one economic issue that North Vancouver businesses face. The Chamber’s Business Transportation Survey, which was today released online and polled North Vancouver business owners and managers. It revealed that, because of transportation challenges, 84% of business have difficulty attracting employees, while 40% are likely or very likely to consider relocating their business from North Vancouver.
Since its creation, the Chamber’s EPNV program has advocated in favour of transportation solutions for the North Shore. Last November, it held a Transportation Forum to bring focus to the issue. The Forum included panelists from Arc’teryx, Seaspan, TransLink and Simon Fraser University.
The Chamber furthermore applauds the recently announced Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project, which will create a collective long-term transportation vision. “Kudos to Bowinn Ma for initiating this project,” said Stafford Smith. “This is the first time I’ve seen this level of collaboration. We encourage leaders to ensure that business is involved in the solutions because, by definition, commuting means getting to and from work.”
