TramTrain should steer us in the right direction

TramTrain should steer us in the right direction By Malcolm Johnston, The Times September 28, 2010 Editor, the Times: Last Monday, Rail for the Valley and Leewood Projects (UK) released a historic and revolutionary TramTrain report for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The TramTrain plan is historic, for it is the first time in […]

Uninformed about transit

Uninformed about transit The Times October 19, 2010 Editor: Each time the light rail issue has been brought up Mayor Sharon Gaetz hasn’t had any more insight than to say rail crossings would cost the city $500,000 each. Upper Prairie Road is shortly getting one of these new crossings and after the government’s contributions the […]

SkyTrain pie in the sky

SkyTrain pie in the sky The Times October 8, 2010 Editor: So Premier Gordon Campbell has promised SkyTrain to Langley, but does anyone believe him? To refresh everyones memory, SkyTrain is a proprietary, automatic railway that is now owned by Bombardier Inc. First marketed in the late 1970s, what we call SkyTrain has gone through […]

Back in the ’40s rail worked well

Back in the ’40s rail worked well The Times October 5, 2010 Editor: (Re: Rail for the Valley) I have been following the progress on this initiative since it was first announced with great interest. In the 1940s we lived in Surrey, and our nearest station for the BC Electric Interurban was at Hunt Road. […]

Dream bigger transit dreams

Dream bigger transit dreams The Times September 28, 2010 Editor: Re: Mayor remains mum on latest rail system study (Times, Sept. 24). The report on revival and enhancement of the interurban rail line (Chilliwack to Surrey) by David Cockle of Leewood Projects is greatly appreciated. The benevolent interest in a neglected part of the country […]

Valley transit much cheaper

Valley transit much cheaper The Times September 28, 2010 Editor: This also an open letter to the government in Victoria and also to Mayor Gaetz and her people in Chilliwack. How wonderful to read about the sensible UK-based consultant David Cockle on light rail service for the Fraser Valley. Finally we hear an unbiased view […]

More vehicles will be driven

More vehicles will be driven The Times September 24, 2010 Editor: In my opinion the light rail proposal is long overdue. Anyone who has driven Highway 1 from here to Vancouver realizes that it is almost impossible to find a particular time of day that the traffic is not congested and it becomes even more […]

View obscured from ivory tower

View obscured from ivory tower The Times July 16, 2010 Editor: This summer, interesting news will be released that will delight supporters of the Return of the Interurban to the Fraser Valley. In the Metro region, we have placed all our hopes for rail transit on the very expensive light-metro model and philosophy, that forces […]

Time to put pressure on officials

Time to put pressure on officials The Times July 13, 2010 Editor: Regarding the remarks of Mayor Sharon Gaetz and Coun. Diane Janzen and those of previous mayors and councils about transit: They are very parochial and short-sighted. They do not see the big valley picture (which includes Abbotsford, Langley and a large portion of […]

Archive of earlier Letters to the Editor

The following is a partial compilation of Letters to the Editor that were collected in the early years of the Rail For the Valley Campaign. Voice needed at transit table The Chilliwack Times Published March 16, 2010 Editor: I appreciate our mayorA?ai??i??ai???s financial prudence and her open-mindedness to transit. I have been frustrated in the […]