Meeting Long-term Needs

The Canada Line will provide additional transportation capacity equivalent to 10 major road lanes in a dense corridor where expanding roads and bridges is neither practical nor desirable. This additional capacity will address congestion and make growth in these centres more manageable, boosting our cities' liveability, sustainability and competitiveness.

The transportation corridor connecting downtown Vancouver with downtown Richmond is one of the busiest in Greater Vancouver and home to one-third of the region's jobs and 20 percent of its population. Of the four major regional transit corridors, it experiences the greatest traffic density and associated problems. The projected population growth will further burden existing transportation infrastructure, impacting not only our economy and environment, but also our quality of life.

The Canada Line will provide the region with many benefits, including:

• Adding significant transportation capacity in one of the region's busiest corridors, offsetting the need for more roads and bridges;
• Providing an efficient and reliable means of transportation between destinations, both within the corridor and throughout Greater Vancouver's regional transit network;
• Improving transit access to businesses and services in the corridor, helping to address vehicle congestion and its associated impacts; and
• Providing a key link between the Vancouver Airport, the cruise ship facilities at the Port of Vancouver, the expanded Trade and Convention Centre and the communities it serves, supporting the region's growth as a tourist destination.