When elected mayors and councillors sat on the TransLink Board, they listened to people with disabilities and seniors and increased HandyDART service hours by about 5% per year to keep up with demand. But after the provincial government removed elected board members and imposed an appointed board in 2008, HandyDART service hours were frozen and HandyDART trip denials soared.
Now our elected mayors are regaining some of their lost power. The Mayors Council is putting together a package of transit improvements to be voted on in the transit referendum that will likely happen in June 2015. But increased HandyDART funding will only be part of the referendum package if the Mayors insist on having it included.
Please write a letter to your mayor asking them to ensure that there is a substantial increase in HandyDART service hours we can vote for in the transit referendum. You can also phone instead; emails, mailing addresses and phone numbers are listed on the second page.
Writing about your own experience, or that of family members or friends, is very helpful. When writing your letter, please keep the tone respectful and remember to include your full name, postal code and city of residence.
A few points to consider when writing your letter:
- The upcoming transit funding referendum likely won’t pass unless it meets the needs of an aging population, including better HandyDART service. We will campaign and vote for better HandyDART service.
- People with disabilities and seniors were denied HandyDART service over 42,000 times in 2013, an eight-fold increase in four years.
- The number of people over 70 in Metro Vancouver will increase by about 40% over the next decade – about 10,000 per year. This increase in older seniors will translate into a greater need for HandyDART.
- Three 80,000 hour increases, each costing about $7 million or 0.5% of TransLink’s present budget to operate, is needed to fully catch up after five years without an increase in HandyDART service hours.
- For safety, many people with disabilities and older seniors need door-to-door transit service provided by trained and experienced HandyDART drivers.
Contact information for your mayor is below. Write or call today! Please send a copy to us at handydartriders@gmail.com, to Premier Christy Clark premier@gov.bc.ca and to mayorscouncil@translink.ca
You can also download and print copies of this Letter Writing Pitch to share with friends, family and groups you are involved in.
Find Your TransLink Mayors Council Representative
Burrard Peninsula:
Gregor Robertson
Mayor of the City of Vancouver
Email gregor.robertson@vancouver.ca
453 West 12th Ave
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4
Phone: 604-873-7621
604-873-7621
Derek Corrigan
Mayor of the City of Burnaby
Email mayor@burnaby.ca
4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 1M2
Phone: 604-294-7340604-294-7340
Fax: 604-294-7724
Wayne Wright
Mayor of the City of New Westminster
Email: wwright@newwestcity.ca
511 Royal Avenue
New Westminster, BC
V3L 1H9
Phone: 604-527-4522604-527-4522
Fax: 604-527-4594
Maria Harris
Director, Electoral Area ‘A’ – University of British Columbia & UEL
Email: sirrahairam@airam.ca
604.225.2254604.225.2254
South of Fraser / Richmond
Malcolm Brodie
Mayor of the City of Richmond
Email: mayorandcouncillors@richmond.ca
6911 No. 3 Road
Richmond, British Columbia
V6Y 2C1
Phone: 604-276-4123604-276-4123
Fax: 604-276-4332
Dianne Watts
Mayor of the City of Surrey
Email clerks@surrey.ca / www.surrey.ca/city-government/6866.aspx
13450 – 104 Avenue
Surrey, BC, Canada V3T 1V8
604-591-4126604-591-4126
Jack Froese
Mayor of the Township of Langley
Email jfroese@tol.ca
20338 – 65 Avenue Langley, BC V2Y 3J1
604.533.6000604.533.6000
Ted Schaffer
Mayor of the City of Langley
Email tschaffer@langleycity.ca
20399 Douglas Crescent
Langley, BC V3A 4B3
Phone: (604) 514-2800(604) 514-2800
Fax: (604) 514-2838
Lois Jackson
Mayor of the Corporation of Delta
Email mayor@delta.ca
4500 Clarence Taylor Crescent, Delta, BC V4K 3E2
604-946-3210604-946-3210
f: 604-946-6055
Wayne Baldwin
Mayor of White Rock
Email: wbaldwin@whiterockcity.ca
15322 Buena Vista Ave
White Rock, BC V4B 1Y6
Phone: (604) 541-2124(604) 541-2124
Bryce Williams
Chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation
Email info@tsawwassenfirstnation.com
1926 Tsawwassen Drive
Tsawwassen, B.C. V4M 4G2
(604) 943-2112(604) 943-2112
North Shore:
Richard Walton, Mayor of the District of North Vancouver
Email rwalton@dnv.org
355 West Queens Road
North Vancouver, BC
V7N 4N5
604-990-2208604-990-2208
Craig Keating
Councillor, City of North Vancouver
Email ckeating@cnv.org
141 West 14th Street
North Vancouver, BC V7M 1H9
Phone: 604-984-7485604-984-7485
Michael Smith
Mayor, District of West Vancouver
Email msmith@westvancouver.ca
750 17th Street West Vancouver BC V7V 3T3
t: 604-925-7001604-925-7001
Brenda Broughton
Mayor of the Village of Lions Bay
Email mayor.broughton@lionsbay.ca
604-921-9333604-921-9333
Jack Adelaar
Mayor of Bowen Island
Email: jadelaar@bimbc.ca
981 Artisan Lane
Bowen Island, B.C. V0N 1G2
Phone: (604) 506- 1244(604) 506- 1244
North East Sector
Richard Stewart
Mayor of the City of Coquitlam
Email rstewart@coquitlam.ca
3000 Guildford Way,
Coquitlam, BC Canada V3B 7N2
Office: 604-927-3001604-927-3001
Cellular: 604-314-4345604-314-4345
Mike Clay
Mayor of the City of Port Moody
Email mclay@portmoody.ca
100 Newport Drive
Box 36
Port Moody, BC V3H 3E1
604.469.4515604.469.4515.
Greg Moore
Mayor of the City of Port Coquitlam
Email mooreg@portcoquitlam.ca
2580 Shaughnessy Street
Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2A8
Tel 604.927.5410604.927.5410*
Fax 604.927.5331
Ralph Drew
Mayor of the Village of Belcarra
Email redrew@shaw.ca
4084 Bedwell Bay Road
Belcarra, BC, V3H 4P8
(604) 937-0143(604) 937-0143
Heather Anderson
Mayor of the Village of Anmore
Email: heather.m.anderson@telus.net
604-469-0929604-469-0929
Pitt Meadows / Maple Ridge
Deb Walters
Mayor of the City of Pitt Meadows
Email dwalters@pittmeadows.bc.ca
12007 Harris Road
Pitt Meadows, B.C., V3Y 2B5
Telephone: 604-465-5454604-465-5454
Ernie Daykin
Mayor of the District of Maple Ridge
Email edaykin@mapleridge.ca
11995 Haney Place
Maple Ridge, BC Canada V2X 6A9
604-463-5221604-463-5221