Will They Or Won’t They – The (N)Evergreen Line Debate and The 40,000 Person Question
Posted by zweisystem on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 · 1 Comment
Like a good soap opera, the Evergreen Line debate goes on.
Again, a BC premier has appointed a Minister of Transportation who hasn't an inkling about modern public transportation, metro, and light rail, with the obvious reason of being held to the mercy of his bureaucrats.
There is more BS about SkyTrain and LRT than ever before and it is time a Minister of Transportation get up to speed on transit issues and operating criteria and not be mislead by others.
Here is the current nonsense that TransLink is spouting about LRT. TransLink has been telling local civic politicians that LRT/streetcar cannot carry more than 10,000 pphpd. Well, I have a news flash for TransLink and Mr. Hardie. The City of Karlshrue Germany has approved relocating its tramway on the main street into a subway because with the astounding success of its TramTrain service. The present tram (streetcar route as this line runs in mixed traffic) sees 45 second headways with coupled tram/TramTrain units during peak hours.
45 second headways equal 90 trips per hour per direction and with coupled units of GT8-100's and Stadtbahnwagen B trams with a capacity of about 240 persons per vehicle (based on all seats used and standees at 4 persons per metre/sq.) or 480 persons for a couples set. 480 x 90 = 43,200 pphpd! This is over four times the capacity that TransLink claims that LRT/streetcar can handle!
Please let me repeat this for the benefit of TransLink, regional and provincial politicians and especially Ken Hardie LRT can obtain capacities in excess of 40,000 persons per hour per direction in revenue service on simple tram or streetcar lines!
Is the Evergreen Line off the rails?
Meeting to discuss funding options
Lyle FisherJul 06, 2011 – radio 1130
BURNABY (NEWS1130) – Could this be the day we finally learn if the Evergreen Line will get the green light? Local mayors are meeting this morning to reveal their funding options to make up a $400 million budget shortfall for the project.
Both the federal and provincial governments have already committed roughly $1 billion.
Last week Lower Mainland mayors met with Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom to talk about the possible ways to fill the funding gap. Those options include: raising property taxes, traffic tolls or vehicle levies.
The mayors are not too keen to hike property taxes, especially because municipal elections are coming up in November. They also say that homeowners are paying too much in taxes as it is.
Construction on the Evergreen Line was supposed to begin last year, but has been put on hold because of the funding issues. Lekstrom says he's optimistic that they can break ground on the project sometime this year.
The transit line has been in the works since 1986.
It looks like it will be skytrain and two cents a litre increase in gas to pay for it. I really do not get why these translink people love skytrain so much and refuse to use other and more efficient LRT? Not to mention all the ‘normal’ lrt that could be built for the cost of one skytrain line… It is so frustrating.