British Politicans Get It, While Canadian & BC Politicans Don’t
Britian’s politicans get it about TramTrain, while in BC, our politicians haven’t a clue.
Money for transportation projects or even maintaining an affordable public transit system is finite. All to often, people support horrendously expensive transportation projects without an inkling as how toAi??pay for it. The clarion call for new or higher taxes to fund government sponsored projects only meets increased resistance from tax maxed out residents, yet our transit planners ignore economic transit solutions because they are foreign, or they never studied ‘that‘, in university.
Our regional transit planners and politicians are ever so quick to force European style taxes on the local taxpayer, such as carbon taxes or congestion fees, but they never apply European style transit solutions, which are mostly funded by the European style taxes. Oh yes, the European solution for reducing traffic (carbon emissions) is modern light rail transit is and not the hugely expensive SkyTrain light-metro system, but we can’t have that can we, because it will well illustrate over 30 years of bad transit planning.
TramTrain or the reincarnated interurban an get construction costs for LRTAi??can be as low asAi??$5 mil/km. to $7 mil./km. and for the $2.2 billion cost to extend SkyTrain to Langley, we could construct the ‘full build’ RftV/Leewood, Vancouver/Richmond to Rosedale (138 km.) TramTrain, the RftV WKW Line and a third LRT line in either Surrey or Langley.
It is time our regional transit planners & politiciansAi??in TransLink and Metro Vancouver think out of the box and apply proven 21st century transit solutions to solve 21st century transit problems. TramTrain is part of the solution.
PRESS RELEASE FROM the All Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group
24 June 2012
Chairman of UKTram calls for government funding for TramTrain
At a recent meeting at the House of Commons, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Light Rail, Geoff Inskip, Chairman of UKTram and Chief Executive of Centro the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive and Authority, called upon the government, through the Department for Transport, to set aside A?100 million per annum from the A?3 billion savings they will be making from implementing the McNulty report and ring-fence that money to fund TramTrain schemes. This would be a way of ensuring that DfT can achieve its agenda of delivering a better value-for-money railway and a greener, more sustainable economy.
Mr Inskip said that while the DfT’s TramTrain trial in Sheffield is welcome, TramTrain is a proven concept and it is desirable that viable projects elsewhere proceed as soon as possible as not to miss the full benefits.
TramTrains can be more economical than heavy rail by reducing track maintenance and signalling costs. Lighter vehicles can serve more frequent stops without unduly extending overall running time. Street running in city centres can provide greater connectivity for passengers while reducing congestion at central stations.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The All Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group is an independent forum for MPs and peers from all political parties and industry to come together and raise awareness of matters concerning light rail and tramways; their best practice and sustainable development.
The All Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group holds regular inquiry sessions in order to provide a holistic package of policy proposals that will drive forward best practice, leading to affordable light rail and tramways with resultant physical and economic regeneration, carbon reduction, improved air quality, congestion relief and affordable transport to the UK and its citizens.
Secretariat support is provided by Jim Harkins FCILT, Light Rail (UK) and various supporting organisations and individuals.
For press enquiries – please contact:
Mr Jim Harkins FCILT
Yes you are so right – cronyism and nepotism at TransLink are rife . Gordon Campbell who attended SFU for his degree in business was influenced by the great minds there, I‘m sure.
Gordon Price who is one of the supposed great economists at SFU and former council member in Vancouver never misses the opportunity to warn the media about how we must spend more money on TransLink or turn into another American city! What’s in it for Gordon Price?
I lived in Seattle for five years and getting around on the 405 and I5 highways was a breeze – five minutes door to door from home to work. To go east to Burnaby from my residence near UBC in Vancouver takes me 45 minutes in stop and go driving. Is that good? Is not having a highway in Vancouver saving people time? Is it improving the air quality?
Vancouver suffers from too many ideological idiots who see everything in black and white – transit good and cars bad. It will be interesting to see what the argument against cars is going to be in 10 years when many people are driving non-polluting electric cars and TransLink is operating soot blowing diesel buses to its SkyTrain stations – hmm.
TransLink is loaded with inept economists and accountants appointed by the Lie-berals. Gordon Campbell woke up one day and declared SkyTrain for UBC, Coquitlam and Surrey! Was he on crack or drunk at the time? He has the dubious distinction of being caught drunk behind the wheel of his car on vacation in Hawaii (a total bum and disgrace – just how we like them in BC).
Gordon Campbell knows nothing about transit and used TransLink as a quick money scheme for his self efficacy – awarding billion dollar contracts to cronies. We’re left with his legacy – useless stooges spinning lies about the merits of SkyTrain (to stay employed as long as possible) at TransLink. They are all gone in less than one year after the next provincial election but they sure had a good party while it lasted.
On a positive note, the following BBC article on the success or trams in Melbourne, Australia might be of interest:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fast_track/9733879.stm
ec
I come from Manchester U.K and they have a very good sytem, and is expanding all the time.
It seems to me that we keep pointing out, what these poiticians are doing wrong, BUT we don’t seem to be getting anywhere.
I live in Chilliwack, and we have mayor, Sharon Geatz that just wants to go along with what the last mayor Clint Hames said, It would make Chilliwack a bedroom community.Would you know we got another bus this year, and we now have 7, and they think that is moving in the right direction!!!!!
Are we just going to keep saying the same old thing, and they don’t do anything .Can we not get them to debate it onTV or on the Radio, if they wont do that let the public know ,We have to find some way of pinning them down.
There are new warehouse biuidlngs be built on South Fraser Way and 103A Avenue. Frito Lays recently moved there and a couple other distribution centres including Lordco are planning on moving this year. I think these business are properly situated here.The problem with this area is that it is in floodplain and has an old vacuum sanitary system. To get residential or office would require a massive investment in the infrastructure. I understand that the new SFPR will become the new dyke for the area.I agree with you that this area has so much under utilized land, especially around Scott Road Station. TransLink should tender a P3 project to design, construct, and sell a office and residential campus around the station.