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To help solve some of TransLink‘s funding for future projects, the mayor of Surrey has a suggestion for the transit organization – corporate naming rights. Diane Watts suggests that funds could come from corporate sponsors which in turn would help pay for infrastructure upgrades and extensions, like the controversial Evergreen Line. Mayors from around Metro Vancouver have recently proposed a hotly contested gas tax to come up with the remaining money to push the Evergreen Line through.
To be fair, it’s not a far fetched thought as other agencies have reached out to corporations for extra cash. The Chicago Transit Authority has tossed around a similar idea after allowing computer giant Apple to contribute funds towards renovations of an L station. New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority sold the rights for a single station to the London-based bank Barclays in 2009. It’s possible that Vancouver Canucks fans and tourists to Chinatown could alight at Rogers Arena-Stadium Station if Watts’ idea passes.
Would selling the naming rights to corporations bring in much needed revenue to the cash-strapped system? Or could the idea cause confusion to both locals and visitors alike with unrelated station names? The next station is for sale!
Sources: News1130, CTV British Columbia
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