Vision(less) Vancouver May Dump the Heritage Streetcar
It seems Vision Vancouver lacks any vision at all.
There is no debate that the Vancouver heritage streetcar is nothing more than a tourist line and it operates on tracks that never saw any streetcar or interurban service at all. What some within Vision VancouverAi??are afraid of is the line becoming a demonstration line for modern light rail. Vision(less) Vancouver and its mayor have already decided that a SkyTrain subway is in order for the Broadway route to UBC and it would be inconvenient to the extreme to have modern light rail vehicles from various manufacturers showing and operating their wares. Good heavens, the public may want light rail instead of SkyTrain and we can’t have that if Vancouver is to be a world class city.
Calling the heritage streetcar line a “boutique streetcar system” certainly is done to cheapen the system and those calling it so, just shows their ignorance.
The previous post has shown where 32 years of SkyTrain planning has gotten us, but Vision(less) Vancouver will press on promoting a $4 billion or more SkyTrain subway under Broadway.
Such is the state of transit planning in Vancouver and certainly makes the case for South Fraser municipalities to secede from TransLink.
Vancouver may pull plug on funding for boutique streetcar system
By JEFF LEE, Vancouver Sun – July 10, 2012
Ai??Ai??Vancouverai??i??s participation in a boutique railway streetcar system linking Granville Island to Science World may be coming to an end.
Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, Sun file photo
Vancouverai??i??s participation in a boutique railway streetcar system linking Granville Island to Science World may be coming to an end.
Although the city bought the right-of-way from the Canadian Pacific Railway 15 years ago as part of a long-term dream to extend grade-level railway service into the downtown and even as far as Stanley Park, the current Vision Vancouver council on Tuesday signalled a waning interest in the project.
At issue is councilai??i??s concern that the line ai??i?? which it considers a local tourist attraction rather than a serious commuter service ai??i?? will detract from the cityai??i??s priority of getting TransLink to put a rapid transit system along the nearby Broadway corridor.
ai???I am increasingly of the view that Vancouver cannot or should not go it alone in terms of regional transportation,ai??? Coun. Geoff Meggs said. ai???If there is an argument for a major investment in light rail here in Vancouver, it has to be done with the rest of the region knowing they have a stake in the outcome.ai???
The city, under former mayor Philip Owenai??i??s administration, bought the line for $8.5 million and invested another $8.5 million in improvements. The track has mostly been used by a historic railway society to operate two vintage restored interurban railway cars. During the 2010 Olympics, Bombardier loaned two of its modern Flexity rapid train cars for a demonstration project that transported sightseers for free.
This year, however, the historic railway society ran into difficulty after the city, in a cost-cutting exercise, withdrew the staff support it offers to maintain the historic cars. The value this year was about $100,000 because of some scheduled maintenance, although in previous years the contribution was about $40,000, according to Dale Laird, a society director.
The society appealed to council to have the support reinstated. But the Vision majority on council opted only for a report back on an assessment of the long-term viability of the operation, and options for getting it restarted this summer.
Non-Partisan Association councillor Elizabeth Ball said the city is missing an opportunity to increase tourism along the south shore of False Creek.
ai???This is a great tourist attraction and the last time I looked tourism was a major part of our economy,ai??? she said.
Ball suggested Vision is also abandoning support in part because former NPA Coun. Suzanne Anton made expanding the system an election promise in her failed bid for the mayorai??i??s office last year. During the 2011 election, Meggs and Mayor Gregor Robertson roundly criticized Antonai??i??s plan, saying the city shouldnai??i??t become involved in transportation issues, especially if it delayed regional improvements such as the Broadway corridor line.
jefflee@vancouversun.com
