[melloman]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

So, based on decisions that were made decades ago (which were arguably logical at the time), the current management deserves to be blamed in perpetuity? Do you blame your parents for who you are today? Do you dwell on the past, or do you try to move forward (whether it comes to your career or personal life) with what you are given to work with?

People are fixated on things that are somewhat unimportant in the grand scheme of things - faregates, management salaries, etc. The real reason why we have transit problems in the city is the result of broad failures in urban planning, the housing market and globalization of financial capital, and antiquated sentiments about the type of life we're entitled to in North America. Many of these causes are beyond the scope and capacity of Translink to solve. These problems more specifically are:

- Suburban sprawl that is largely driven by the housing preferances (ie. Single family detached houses) of North Americans, and the cost of housing in Metro Vancouver
- the astronimical growth in housing prices which has been driven by offshore capital and loosening credit
- the failure of muncipalities to gain anything from the paradigm shift in the local real estate market in the form of increased taxes and community contributions
- the fact that jobs are no longer stable which means people can expect to alter commuting patterns every 2-3 years
- the stigma against public transit in North America
- the relatively low cost of owning, and operating a car in North America (gas, leasing options, and free maintenance)
- NIMBYism that is particularly strong
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Don't get me wrong here, I am not saying that today's people should be held liable for the mistakes made by people 30 years ago. I just think that not enough time and thought are put into the major billion dollar projects that they are proposing today.