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Rapid Rail for Cascadia? BC, Washington and Oregon sign treaty on high-speed traffic


(BigStock photo / Taras Rudenko)

Washington, Oregon and British Columbia have agreed to work together to bring bullet trains or other forms of ultra-high-speed ground transportation to connect the major population centers of the Cascadia region.

Below Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Notice at Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference in Vancouver, BC, on Tuesday afternoon, the states of the United States and the province of Canada will form a joint policy committee to coordinate planning and funding for long-discussed initiative.

Ultimately, the goal is to get people from Portland to Vancouver, BC, in as little as two hours. ONE poll released earlier this year by advocates of the concept point out that a majority of Washington and Oregon voters support the idea.

The memorandum says the newly passed U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Build Back Better plan “provides a unique and timely opportunity for the Cascadia region to compete.” future federal funding to support the project.”

Washington Governor Jay Inslee virtually appeared at the Cascadia Innovation Corridor conference. (Screenshot via webcast.)

Washington Governor Jay Inslee, one of the signatories of the Memorandum of Understanding, said during the conference that he hopes up to $1 billion in funding will be provided for “the planning process of growing up and down the coast.” “.

Inslee said closing the US-Canada border increased awareness of the importance of cross-border connectivity in the region, illustrating “why all the work we’re doing on high-speed rail and every everything else is key.”

Oregon Governor Kate Brown and BC Premier John Horgan signed the MOU with Inslee. The preamble cites the challenges that growth is expected to bring to the Cascadia region for decades to come. The current population is about 9.5 million people, which is expected to increase by 3 million to 4 million people by 2050.

These challenges “require a regional effort to develop innovative approaches to transport infrastructure, land use and housing that prioritize equity and sustainability while reducing emissions.” greenhouse gases,” wrote the MOU.

At the same time, the MOU acknowledges its own symbolic nature, saying that it “will have no legal effect or impose a legally binding obligation on the state of Washington, the province of British Columbia or the state of Oregon.”

Microsoft President Brad Smith. (Screenshot via webcast.)

Microsoft President Brad Smith said in his keynote address at the event, high-speed transportation supports the goal of spreading growth, supporting housing affordability, and addressing the challenge of status homeless.

“We can make sure that when people look at the future of high-speed rail and other forms of transportation on this continent, they’re not just looking at the Northeastern part of the continent, but they’re also looking at it. into the Northwest,” Smith told the conference Tuesday afternoon. “That needs to be our goal.”

The agreement comes amid global events that prove challenging to move across the region even today. Canada reopens borders to vaccinated Americans in August and the United States followed suit on November 8, easing restrictions put in place when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Destructive storms and torrential rain tore through the region on Monday, just as corporate and government leaders attempted to travel from the US to Canada for its fifth annual conference.

Former Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, conference host and CEO of Seattle Challenge, said she had tried many highways and back roads without success.

Former Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, conference host and CEO of Challenge Seattle, opened the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference with Greg D’Avignon, CEO of the British Columbia Business Council. (Screenshot via webcast.)

“I went to places I had never heard of, or had never been, and had no intention of going back,” recalled Gregoire as she opened the conference. “And then I gave up, drove back to Sea-Tac, checked in and flew up here this morning.”

Connections between the regions are already strong, if sports chat is any indication.

Appearing on stage with Greg D’Avignon, CEO of the British Columbia Business Council, Gregoire donned the Vancouver Canucks jersey, making good on a bet she lost to D’Avignon as the Canucks beat the franchise Seattle’s new NHL, Kraken, 4. 2, in their first regular game on October 23.

In a later session with Inslee, BC Premier Horgan joked that it was important to improve cultural connections in the Cascadia region “so Kraken can get better over time”.





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