‘I think we have a fully financed project’: McCallum

Jonathan Fowlie
Sun

The proposed Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid-transit line is a hair’s-breadth away from being fully funded after the company bidding for the massive project knocked $42 million off its price tag, TransLink chairman Doug McCallum said Sunday.

“I think we have a fully financed project,” McCallum said, clearly satisfied at efforts to close a $106-million gap in funding.

The remaining money for the line is expected to be committed by the province in a meeting Tuesday.

McCallum said that to bring the cost of the system down, top employees from SNC-Lavalin/Serco — the group whose newly priced $1.72-billion bid will be put to a crucial vote by the TransLink board Wednesday — worked around the clock for close to eight days to find ways to make the project more efficient.

During this process, the company looked at minute details, McCallum said, trying to reduce waste and determine details such as exactly how much concrete will be used, and the exact curve of the rail at all points of the system.

McCallum added that beyond finding those efficiencies, SNC-Lavalin/Serco cut money out of its bid to allow the cost of the line to meet the level of money currently available.

SNC-Lavalin/Serco spokeswoman Zdenka Buric said she could not say specifically what the company had done until after the bid is officially accepted, but it has been “working diligently to close the gap.”

McCallum also said that, because the contract stipulates that any construction cost overruns will be paid for by SNC-Lavalin/Serco, the $1.72-billion figure is the final price of the RAV line.

“I think we have a good project for the region,” he said.

Given the reduction by SNC-Lavalin/Serco, the only missing piece of the funding puzzle is the $65-million contribution being considered by the province.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said Sunday about the province coming up with that money.

Falcon will take a request to the provincial government’s treasury board Tuesday asking it to contribute the $65 million needed to finish the financial side of the RAV deal.

Falcon said Sunday he believes it will be easier to sell his colleagues on approving the funding now that the private sector has offered help.

“[The $42 million cut] demonstrates that everyone is doing their bit to try and manage down the $106-million gap,” he said, “and that goes a long way towards doing that.”

As details of the price reduction were made public on the weekend, however, so too were some of the concessions that had to be made earlier in the process to reduce the cost of the RAV line from SNC-Lavalin/Serco’s original bid price of $1.899 billion.

As a result of those cutbacks, the bid will no longer cover several elements, including: the replacement of selected areas of overhead trolley lines; 59 ticket vending machines and 38 ticket validating machines; and a police unit to operate on the RAV line.

While this off-loading helped to reduce RAV’s pricetag, some argue it simply hid the cost by shifting necessary services onto TransLink’s operating budget.

“As far as we’re concerned, what they’ve done is handed millions and millions of dollars off to TransLink from the RAV project, which means GVRD taxpayers lose again,” Don Toffaletto, chair of the Rethink RAV coalition, said Sunday.

“TransLink can’t afford this,” he said.

In response, McCallum said the items that have been cut from the original contract are things that logically should not actually be part of the pricetag for RAV.

“It’s not something where we will have to spend more money,” McCallum said. “What we have said is that those [elements that were cut] really don’t fit into this project.”

As an example, he pointed to the removal and replacement of overhead trolley infrastructure.

“We’ve just approved a new trolley building down in south Vancouver and we have our trolley buses coming in,” he said. “When you are looking at costs, we’re going to have to do that anyways, so why should it be part of [RAV]?”

But Toffaletto said TransLink would not have to incur these expenses if the RAV line was not being built, and even though there may be overlap with other parts of the TransLink system, the money should be included in the budget for RAV so people know the total cost.

Others continue to be upset about the cuts as well, including Coun. Harold Steves of Richmond, who is upset that the line will not go as far into Richmond as originally planned. He said it will effectively cut out the most densely populated portion of the area.

To bring awareness to the issue, Steves said he plans to join with others at about 2 p.m. today in a protest along the proposed line that will involve stopping a bus.

“I think the significance is to show where the line is going to end,” he said. “I don’t think anybody in Richmond knows that it’s not going the whole route.”

Steves and most other Richmond council members are opposed to the plan for the RAV line to be elevated along Richmond‘s No. 3 Road because they say it will be ugly and hurt business in the area. They will meet Ravco and TransLink today to discuss the issue.

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

Province

Once upon a time the TransLink board went shopping.They chose a company called SNC-Lavalin to build us a shiny new RAV Line.The Olympics were coming. All was right in the world.
Suddenly the plotline of our story takes a turn.We hear that the “best and final offer” from SNC-Lavalin (our private “partner”) is going to cost $106 million more than was originally proposed and that, despite the huge increase in the purchase price, we will have one less station in Richmond and there will be no direct connection between the Waterfront Station and the cruise ship terminal.
The drama continues as the RAV proposal goes to a “do-or-die” vote of the TransLink board Wednesday. If you believe that the fourth Translink vote on RAV will be the last, please raise your hand.
This has become a horror story for the people of the Lower Mainland. It’s time to scrap the current RAV line concept once and for all.
   Derek Wong, Maple Ridge
End gridlock. Say “yes” to RAV
Not moving ahead with the rapid transit line would be the most expensive decision the City of Richmond and the TransLink Board could make.The price tag will only increase as time goes on.
The level of funding from the federal government is unprecedented. I wouldn’t count on the feds leaving that money on the table for future projects,particularly when we can’t even come to an agreement on how we are going to spend it.
The cost of having more vehicles on the road will be measured in loss of productivity, traffic congestion and, most importantly, deteriorating air quality and health impacts. But we all know that the main reason for the hold-up is that it’s not aesthetically pleasing.
It’s time for the city of Richmond and TransLink board to end the political gridlock and let this project move forward.
   Dean Beauvais, Richmond
Elevated RAV is the way to go
The Richmond councillors who are against an elevated RAV line along No. 3 Road need to come to terms with reality. The councillors believe an at-grade system would be more suitable for the area.I work No. 3 is bad at the best of times, an at-grade line would result in a dangerous traffic nightmare that would see trains crashing into cars and people. Proof of this can be found in Calgary where several people die each year as a result of collisions with their LRT. How many cars crash into the SkyTrain each year? None. How many business people complain about SkyTrain hurting their business? None.
   The people of Richmond have been surveyed and most of them are in favour of an elevated line, that’s what they should get.
   Paul Jones, Delta
Fast ferry fiasco, part two
The bid for the Olympics 2010 has been won. What’s the hurry? I believe in rapid transit as a solution to the increased traffic and congestion in the Lower Mainland but the RAV project is a fast ferry fiasco all over again — with the price tag being triple that of the fast ferries. The RAV plan has had serious problems from the beginning. To proceed at this time,with all this uncertainty, would be folly.
   Gerry Weeks, Burnaby
Arthur Laing fiasco, part two
I hope that Richmond City Council will not block this RAV project like they blocked the original proposal for the Arthur Laing Bridge years ago.
The connection to Richmond was eventually made,but it was an indirect connection because the bridge could not be redesigned.
Gridlock now occurs each rushhour because of that original bad decision! An elevated RAV on No. 3 Road is much better than no rapid transit to Richmond for years!
   Donald Allen,Vancouver
Transport needs are great
As a commuter from Maple Ridge to Langley, I am nowhere near the RAV line. However, I will benefit greatly from the new Golden Ears Bridge at 200th Street crossing the Fraser River. Isn’t the essence of a regional transportation plan ensuring that all areas of Greater Vancouver have their needs met?
No one can disagree that rapid transit to Richmond and YVR is long overdue.I may not benefit from the RAV Line but they need it, just as I need the bridge to Langley.
   Iain Nicol, Maple Ridge
Richmond deserves a line
Now that the bid price for the RAV line has been announced I find it interesting that so many people say the project is already over budget. At this stage I would say that it is better for the selected bidder to publish the true cost in advance of construction. If steel and concrete prices have inflated,this fact should be included and reflected in the initial bid price.
Among others, Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan states that this may become another fast ferry fiasco. However, he fails to mention that the fast ferries were constructed for more than $450 million and sold by the government for a little over 10 cents on the dollar back to the initial builders Seaspan. Furthermore, they remain tied up at the North Shore docks.
Basically, the B.C. taxpayer paid 450 million for an experiment that failed. For Corrigan to compare it with the RAV line, which is based upon proven technology and which will help to alleviate traffic gridlock in the Lower Mainland for generations to come, is unfair.
He is using the projected cost for the RAV line as an excuse to oppose
   . I find it strange that he never opposed the building of the Millennium line through Burnaby.
Vancouver needs a modern transportation infrastructure and we have to be prepared to pay for it.
   B. Barden, North Vancouver
My autistic son should be home
   My autistic son has had partial treatment funding since April,2003 and he has made measurable gains in that time.
   He currently lives in a group home but we love him and want him back home. It would be a huge taxpayer saving. I would much prefer treatment over custodial care.
I match the $500 per month partial funding for Lovaas-style ABA therapy every month and our son is getting more out of life now.I know
   can be done much more cost effectively to include medical Lovaas treatment at home.
   Susan Burns, Maple Ridge
George W. can go to Halifax
   So George W. Bush is afraid to address Parliament when he visits Canada this week because he might be “booed.” How pathetic, even the Cowardly Lion displayed more courage. And this from a selfdeclared “War President.”
   Alex Boivin Vancouver

Radiofrequency energy waves correct a common problem

Pamela Fayerman
Sun

CREDIT: Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun Dr. Francis Law of VisionMed frees Eric Wan from dependency on reading glasses.

Source: Marketscope, an independent research firm that follows the vision correction industry. Eye-opening numbers • Canadian industry observers expect a 15-per-cent increase in vision correction procedures in 2005 over 2004.

Fifty-five-year-old Burnaby realtor Eric Wan should be able to read this newspaper article about himself today without reading glasses, for the first time in years, following a brief and painless procedure Wednesday morning at a Vancouver clinic.

VisionMed is the first eye care facility in Canada to offer the three-minute, $1,500 NearVision procedure for presybyopia, a condition that half of Canada’s 10 million baby boomers are now experiencing and the other half will eventually experience, due to the aging process that affects the eye’s ability to focus on words and numbers at close range.

Wan said he was frustrated with being so dependent on reading glasses. “I am looking at a computer and at contracts all the time in my job. It is awkward with reading glasses and I wanted to get away from them. Now I can give them to my wife,” he said gleefully, minutes after the procedure took place at VisionMed on West Georgia.

(VisionMed, a subsidiary of Family Vision Care Ltd., has another clinic in Edmonton that is not yet offering the procedure.)

Demonstrating the technique to a news media audience, Vancouver ophthalmologist Dr. Francis Law first anesthetized Wan’s eye with drops, then used a lid speculum to hold it open.

Using a probe powered by radiofrequency energy, Law applied it in a circular fashion to eight points around the periphery of Wan’s cornea. The radiofrequency energy waves shrink the corneal tissue to cause a reshaping, or increased curvature of the eye.

Typically, only one eye needs to be done and Law said the procedure will not compromise the treated eye’s ability to see objects in the distance.

The NearVision CK (conductive keratoplasty) technique received approval from government authorities in the U.S. and Canada earlier this year for presbyopia. Dr. Michael Melenchuk, chief executive officer of VisionMed, hailed it for its potential to allow aging baby boomers “to turn back the clock on their eyes.”

But he acknowledged the procedure does not provide permanent results and patients may need less costly “enhancements” three to five years later.

Referring to a two-year clinical trial of 150 patients led by Stanford University doctors, Melenchuk said 98 per cent of participants could see newspaper and magazine print without reading glasses after the procedure while 87 per cent could read names and numbers in the phonebook.

There were no serious, sight-threatening events reported in the clinical trial, he said.

The procedure is recommended for those over age 40 who have excellent eye health and require glasses only for reading, not distance, Melenchuk said

VisionMed has invested more than $100,000 in the technology and he expects a 10- to 12-per-cent return on investment.

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

Improvements needed to road, rail and port facilities to cope with booming China trade

Bruce Constantineau
Sun

CREDIT: Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun Vancouver Port Authority chief executive officer Gordon Houston faces an explosive growth in trade with China.

Source: VANCOUVER SUN GVRD, Port of Vancouver Shipping crunch

Congestion at the Port of Vancouver threatens to scare business thousands of miles away to the U.S. Eastern seaboard, Vancouver Port Authority president Gordon Houston said Tuesday.

He said some port customers are considering longer “all-water” routes to bring products from Asia to North America, using either the Suez or Panama canals to reach ports like New York and New Jersey in order to avoid delays in Vancouver, even though the Asia-Vancouver voyage is several days shorter.

It hasn’t happened yet, Houston stressed in an interview, but the fact it’s even being considered should concern everyone in the B.C. port community.

“If we don’t get the road and rail infrastructure and our own infrastructure in place, that all-water route starts to look very attractive,” he said after a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade.

Congestion at Vancouver’s port facilities has become a major issue as port business booms as a result of huge increases in trans-Pacific shipping traffic. Houston said the total volume of trade with China shipped through Vancouver has increased by 56 per cent in the past year, with lumber exports climbing 46 per cent and sulphur exports rising by 63 per cent.

Growth in Asia-Pacific trade will provide a huge stimulus to future economic growth in B.C. but the province has to be ready, he said. The port and its business partners plan to spend $1.4 billion to triple the port’s container terminal capacity by 2020 and Houston said major capital investments are also needed to boost capacity in the region’s road and rail networks.

“If we build it, they will come,” he said in his speech. “But if we cannot accommodate their growth, we will be left behind as they seek other gateways.”

Houston headed a 25-person trade mission to Asia this month and he came back with a newfound respect for the “incredible dynamism” driving that continent’s economic growth.

“Until you have seen these things first-hand, and experienced the energy that drives these contemporary Asian economies, it’s all just a bunch of numbers,” he said. “The people in Asia are hell-bent on business and I believe the growth we’re seeing today will not slow down or flatten out in the foreseeable future. If anything, it will increase.”

The provincial government will release a report next month on plans to develop a provincewide ports strategy to get the greatest benefit from Asia-Pacific trade but ports are a federal responsibility and Houston noted the federal government does not have a national strategy to optimize Canada‘s trade relationship with China.

“Unless we have a national vision of what we’re trying to achieve, we’re not going to make it,” he said.

Greater Vancouver Regional District officials have expressed concerns over the Port of Vancouver‘s expansion plans, fearing air quality will be threatened by increases in marine traffic while congested road and rail networks will be under even more pressure.

A joint Canada-U.S. study recently forecast that marine traffic emissions would surpass air pollutants from motor vehicles in the Georgia Basin and Puget Sound regions by 2010.

GVRD chairman Marvin Hunt said district officials want the region to receive a special designation that would force marine vessels to use more expensive, cleaner-burning fuels but Houston said it would be unrealistic to force that on the industry overnight.

“It’s going to take the GVRD 50 to 70 years to change the system to get cleaner sewage and the shipping community is no different,” he said. “Ships last about 20 years and it will take them 20 years to change the engines so they can use better fuel with better burning capabilities.

“Ship engines weigh 150 tonnes and cost tens of millions of dollars. You don’t just throw that away.”

Houston said urban congestion in Vancouver has made it extremely difficult for port industry officials to find the land necessary to develop new infrastructure. We still use rail corridors that were developed in 1910 and those constraints have to be lifted, he said.

“Vancouver has become a society that loves to live on the waterfront but people don’t want to see anything when they get there,” Houston said. “It’s a very difficult position for us. People who live on the waterfront here have a responsibility to that farmer in Saskatchewan [who has to get his wheat to market].”

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

PORT: Houston sees