When growth outruns the plan

 When growth outruns the plan

Remember when we were told that B.C. was going to become a greener, more sustainable province?

Apparently nobody told the infrastructure.

Metro Vancouver added 183,000 new residents in 2024, more than twice the number added the year before. TransLink itself says population growth was putting increasing pressure on the transit system.

And we saw it.

In 2024, TransLink carried 240.9 million journeys, up about 3% from 2023.

But here's the part that really caught my attention:

137,000 bus trips were overcrowded.

That's 11.2% of bus trips exceeding vehicle capacity at least once.

Anyone who was riding TransLink during that period didn't need a spreadsheet to know what was happening.

You could see it.

You could feel it.

People packed onto buses. People waiting for the next one because there wasn't room. Increasing pressure on a system that was already struggling to keep up.

And then there's the other side of the transportation equation.

ICBC reports that the number of actively insured vehicles in B.C. increased from 3.6 million in 2023 to 3.7 million in 2024.

The number of actively licensed drivers also increased, from 3.89 million to 3.99 million. ICBC itself points out that population growth means more vehicles on the roads, which can contribute to congestion and greenhouse-gas emissions.

So let's ask the uncomfortable question.

If we know we're bringing hundreds of thousands of additional people into the province and region...

Where is the transportation plan?

Where is the housing?

Where is the water infrastructure?

Where is the electricity?

Where are the roads and transit capacity?

Where is the environmental planning?

Because you can't keep saying "grow, grow, grow" and then act shocked when the systems become overwhelmed.

And here's the irony.

We're also telling ordinary people:

Drive less.

Consume less.

Reduce your carbon footprint.

Take transit.

Save the planet.

Meanwhile, B.C. is adding population, adding vehicles and struggling to keep public transportation from being overwhelmed.

And then we hold climate conferences and make promises about reducing emissions.

Remember COP21?

Remember 1.5°C?

We were supposed to be changing the way we planned for the future.

Instead, sometimes it feels like we're planning one crisis at a time.

And I'm not blaming individual newcomers for this.

People come here because governments create immigration policies. People need somewhere to live. They need transportation. They need jobs. They need cars if the transit system doesn't get them where they need to go.

That's the point.

If governments choose rapid population growth, then governments have a responsibility to build the infrastructure required to support it.

You cannot tell people:

"Come here."

And then tell the people already here:

"Sorry, the buses are full, housing is unaffordable, traffic is terrible and the infrastructure can't keep up."

That's not a population problem.

That's a planning problem.

And perhaps it's time we stopped arguing about whether someone belongs here and started asking a much more important question:

Did our governments actually plan for the number of people they invited here?

Because B.C. is under enormous pressure.

And while we're watching our forests burn, our roads clog and our transit systems struggle, I keep thinking about all those climate promises.

Maybe before we make another promise...

We should figure out how we're actually going to keep it.