Vancouver second most traffic congested city in North America: report
Ha, ha, ha – or should I weep. I guess “rubber on asphalt” with a $8 billion SkyTrain Canada Line sweetener hasn’t worked. Does the taxpayer really want to throw more money at TransLink to carry on with their unworkable and unaffordable light-metro dreams?
The failure of the SkyTrain and the Canada Line light-metros to alleviate gridlock in the Vancouver METRO region should set off alarm bells with regional politicians, but it doesn’t. A very sad commentary indeed.
Vancouver second most traffic congested city in North America: report
By TIFFANY CRAWFORD, VANCOUVER SUNOctober 12, 2012
VANCOUVER – Traffic congestion in the Metro Vancouver area continues to be the second worst in North America after Los Angeles, according to a quarterly report by TomTom, a navigation and map supply company based in Amsterdam.
The congestion index of 26 cities in North America, released Thursday, also says Montreal and Toronto round out the Top 5 worst cities for congestion after San Francisco, in third place.
Vancouver has remained in second place since the last quarterly report was released in July. Ottawa, which was number 10 in July, was no longer in the Top 10.
To compile its list, TomTom monitored real travel time data captured by GPS equipment in customersai??i?? vehicles between April and June to compare the percentage change between non-peak times and rush hour.
The company, which also prepares a separate index for Europe, says that data show journey times in Vancouver are 33 per cent longer during the busy times than in non-peak times.
New Yorkers, in comparison, only wait 25 per cent longer in peak traffic times than do Vancouverites. New York is number 8 on the list, followed by Chicago and Miami.
In Metro Vancouver, the waiting times are longest during evening rush hour, according to the index, with a 69 per cent longer wait during the commute home in the car.
Metro Vancouverai??i??s congestion levels are worse on local and arterial roads than on highways, according to Nick Cohn, head of congestion research for TomTom.
Problem areas include roads leading to bridges such as the Knight Street, Oak and Lions Gate bridges, as well as downtown streets such as Georgia, Dunsmuir and Seymour.
The company says it aims to provide the public, industry and policy-makers with unbiased information about congestion levels in urban areas.
The top 10 most congested North American cities between April and June 2012, according to the TomTom congestion index:
1. Los Angeles 34 per cent
2. Vancouver 33 per cent
3. San Francisco 29 per cent
4. Montreal 28 per cent
5. Toronto 27 per cent
6. Washington 26 per cent
7. Seattle 26 per cent
8. New York 25 per cent
9. Chicago 23 per cent
10. Miami 22 per cent
Ai?? Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Well, that is real stretch. You will note that LA, the most congested city has 4 LRT lines, yet it would be a real stretch to say that those LRT lines have failed.
The whole “study” is obviously just a very clever PR campaign that thanks to the media and blog like this has been successful in getting millions in free publicity for the GPS maker. As such, it’s conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt.
Some other news you might be interested in. Looks like bus riders in other cities are not too happy being funneled into LRT. Like with SkyTrain, it really does not make sence to run express bus lines parallel to LRT. At least SkyTrain is fast and frequent so most riders will be getting a similar level of serve. Some better and, yes some worse.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/10/11/calgary-west-lrt-bus.html
Zweisystem replies: You never cease to surprise me with hype and hoopla. The population in Las Angeles’s metro are is 12.8 million and has 4 metro lines and 4 LRT lines, plus the extensive Metrolink commuter/regional rail service.
The population of the Vancouver Metro area is 2.3 million and has 2.5 light metro lines and a 5 in & 5 out weekday only commuter traiserviceie.
Here is the problem tyou tou will not admit too, if money spent on metro and light metro in both cities were spent on LRT, both cities would have had at lest triple amountmout of rail’ transit, providing a more realistic transit alternative. Both cities operate metro and both cities are doing a poor job providing a viable alternative transit service.
LRT also has fast frequent service, something that the SkyTrain lobby are loath to admit. Ever notice no one builds with SkyTrain anymore?
@Richard, I’d say that the report is very accurate. Have you ever tried to drive from UBC to Metrotown, for instance? It takes at least 40 minutes on a weekend to travel what would take 15 minutes in Seattle on a weekend.
Also, “LRT does not” have buses operating in parallel in Edmonton where I went to university. In Edmonton, LRT took buses off the roads along the LRT route. In Vancouver, when the Canada Line went into operation, it replaced the 98 B-Line, removed trolley buses on Cambie Street and added more diesel buses shuttling people up and down Cambie Street along the Canada Line.
The article that you reference is from a disgruntled transit user who is living in Calgary. If you have to rely on transit to get around in Calgary where people earn double what the average person earns here and where the cost of living is a pittance compared to here, you have major issues.
She is not happy about living off the LRT route and having to transfer to the LRT. This is totally different from people living on a SkyTrain route here and having to bus it to the SkyTrain station – it doubles the cost of transit here and makes taking transit a pain.
She can always drive if she doesn’t like the service or move here where she can ride the vastly superior SkyTrain. As you can see from the 32 comments, not many people agree with her.
@Eric
Seriously? The stop spacing for Calgary’s LRT is very similar to that of SkyTrain. That is why it is fast, efficient and people use it. Parking is limited and expensive in downtown Calgary. This is also another reason why even people without “major issues” use it.
Zweisystem replies: Calgary’s LRT is a true light rail system, operating on reserved rights-of-ways, that’s why it is fast and efficient.