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 bill to the city is actually $44,000.
I have nothing against Mayor Gaetz, but I also know that Chilliwack council is totally uninformed when it comes to rail.
There are already three studies recommending it. The Rail For the Valley one is just the most recent, and council hasn’t done anything positive. The experts have said to put together a pilot project and Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford are working toward this goal with the South of the Fraser Community Rail Task Force.
Meanwhile, Chilliwack council is ignoring this and we really risk being excluded from the eventual rail network.
Please, Mayor Gaetz, there is now more then enough data that firmly supports light rail. Chilliwack deserves a lot better transportation then you’re giving us.
Nick Wimpney
Chilliwack
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Chilliwack Times
Chilliwack Progress – Light rail offers economic solution
Light rail offers economic solution
Published: October 25, 2010 6:00 PM
It should be noted that ChilliwackA?ai??i??ai???s public transit is utilized by about one per cent of residents. We donA?ai??i??ai???t need studies to tell us the reason for that is our bus service is terrible. The mayor has pointed out that most vehicle traffic stays within town. What she doesnA?ai??i??ai???t add, though, is that the type of rail being proposed is defined as A?ai??i??E?community rail,A?ai??i??ai??? designed exactly to that purpose. It is politicians who mistakenly label it a commuter system. The fact that it can also be used for traveling to other communities is what makes it so advantageous. It is only with a practical service like this that we will get the ridership on local public transit that we need. A 20 minute trip from Yarrow to Downtown Chilliwack, for example, would take only 11 minutes by train. The recent Quality of Life poll showed only 23 per cent of Chilliwack residents are satisfied with existing public transit.
The mayor mentioned the cost of a new rail system, but has left out that the province has proposed as an alternative a rapidbus system which will cost a great deal more to build and maintain. Most people, including Chilliwack council, are totally unaware of this fact. The province isnA?ai??i??ai???t exactly advertising all the costs of it, theyA?ai??i??ai???ve implied it will be cheaper.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Regardless of what system is built, Victoria and Ottawa will share in a cost partnership with municipalities. (The type of rail crossings needed will in fact cost about $50,000.) Simply throwing money at our broken bus system by adding more buses is not going to work either, and it is sign of poor fiscal planning.
If Chilliwack council fails to move toward light rail like most of our other neighbours are doing, you the taxpayer will pay the price for it. The greatest myth to be corrected is that rail service will cost more. It costs less. Research yourself and you will find itA?ai??i??ai???s true.
William Chambers
via Chilliwack Progress – Light rail offers economic solution.
Rail for the Valley on the Radio
On CKNW radio this morning, Fraser Valley transportation was discussed. Sadly, the mayor of Abbotsford, seems to be quite out of his depth on the issue.
For a listen, please follow the link and set at October 26, 10:00 am
http://www.cknw.com/other/audiovault.html
Why there is antagonism towards at-grade Light Rail/Tramways & streetcars (North America + Canada)
The following was sent to Zwei by a very concerned urban transportation advocate.
All the SkyTrain lobby has is fear to debate light rail and spread fear they do. All technical debates between LRT and SkyTrain/light-metro have been won or lost decades ago and SkyTrain has been relegated to the history books. Like uber Regulus fanatics, the SkyTrain Lobby and its ilk, well entrenched in TransLink, desperately try to keep building with the aging SkyTrain system with any argument they can muster.
Zweisystem predicted over a decade ago, if TransLink persisted in building with SkyTrain/light metro, it would bankrupt itself and that prediction has come true, with TransLink, balancing on the knifes edge of financial peril. It can not fund the $1.4 billion SkyTrain Evergreen Line, it can’t fund the proposed $2 billion plus Surrey/Langley extension and TransLink certainly can’t fund the proposed $4 billion UBC/Broadway subway; yet TransLink still wastes the taxpayers money, playing the same games planning for light-metro that no one can afford.
Like a slow motion train wreck, TransLink skirts with financial oblivion, ignoring all danger signals, until it finally crashes into a brick financial wall.
In the end, as noted American transit expert, Gerald Fox: “But, eventually, Vancouver will need to adopt lower-cost LRT in its lesser corridors, or else limit the extent of its rail system. And that seems to make some TransLink people very nervous.”
Why there is antagonism towards at-grade Light Rail/Tramways & streetcars (North America + Canada)
The title could be for a doctorate or thesis on public attitudes & political psychology, towards public transport.
The anathema is not always or usual directed towards cost of a project. Over the last ten years or so of Light Rail advocacy, IAi??Ai??has noted a number of key arguments which I have listed below.
- The road lobby fear at-grade Light Rail/Street Tramways, because of the reduction in road width/road capacity for cars.
- The road lobby and dedicated motorists donA?ai??i??ai???t like Ai??Ai??Light Rail/Street Tramways, because it means that junction/intersection signals will be prioritized for Light Rail
- Buses & BRT are tolerated because it is known that these modes will not offer modal shift comparable to Light Rail/Street Tramways
- Downtown & suburban/out of town retailers fear Light Rail/Street Tramways will give shoppers a reliable transport service into the city centre to shop & by so reducing their trade.
- Politicians & business leaders in suburban townships & rural areas, fear Light Rail/Street Tramways will turn their communities into dormitories as residents find that a commute to Ai??Ai??the big city is feasible.
- Politicians, civic leaders & established residents fear Light Rail/Street Tramways, will bring developers & an influx of newbieA?ai??i??ai???s into their communities.
- Big city politicians & civic leaders fear Light Rail/Street Tramways will mean citizens moving out further into the suburbs to live, work & shop.
- Planners & politicians fear Light Rail/Street Tramways will bring urban sprawl.
- Contrary to many expressed views, major private bus operators are remarkably tolerant of Light Rail/Street Tramways, in Europe many of them operate the Light Rail/Street Tramway systems. With public bus operators, competition with Light Rail/Street Tramways cannot be an issue. There may be a number of small existing public transport operators such as cab firms that fear a loss of trade, but often they readily adapt to the changing patterns.
Ai??Ai??To put this into a Fraser Valley/Vancouver/BC context.
- TransLink fears Light Rail/Street Tramways, because its likely popularity with the general public will undermine their business model for SkyTrain & their credibility.
- Likewise the TransLink apparatchiks on Skyscraper, for whom urban transport is ART running through densely populated cities on elevated segregated tracks surrounded by A?ai??i??Ai??.. wait for itA?ai??i??Ai??A?ai??i??Ai??SkyscrapersA?ai??i??Ai??.of course! What they would actually like to see is a Dan Dare year 3000 scenario with thousands of PRT pods flying around.
- Gordon Campbell fears Light Rail/Street Tramways, because it will destroy his credibility and his power base.
- Civic politicians Ai??Ai??fear Light Rail/Street Tramways will turn their communities into dormitories as residents find that a commute to Ai??Ai??the big city is feasible and will bring developers & an influx of newbieA?ai??i??ai???s into their communities.
- Civic politiciansAi??Ai??would support buses or BRT, cos they know that mode will not offer a comparable modal shift.
- LangleyapparatchiksAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??fear Light Rail/Street Tramways, cos it wasnA?ai??i??ai???tAi??Ai??their idea and they didnA?ai??i??ai???t think of it first.
- Mike Archer & others of his ilk fear Light Rail/Street Tramways, because heA?ai??i??ai???s a journalist & itA?ai??i??ai???s his job & nature to write negative articles about what he doesnA?ai??i??ai???t really understand.
UBC Transit A?ai??i??ai??? Rapid transit for UBC has priority over SurreyA?ai??i??ai???s, students and university say
Well now, someone should instruct the UBC Alma Matter Society on the economics of subway/light-metro and light rail, because there is no way that a $4 billion subway can be funded by $1.00 a day U-Pass ticket holders. That Translink still wastes the taxpayer’s money planning for yet more SkyTrain for the region only confirms that this ponderous bureaucracy is completely out of touch with reality.
The problem with transit planning in the region is that TransLink, abetted by the province and the city of Vancouver, have convinced themselves that building subways is the only way to go and have forgotten that SkyTrain (Read SKY train) was so designed to be elevated to mitigate the high cost of subway construction. The notion failed, but Translink carries on with this SkyTrain nonsense and have created a rosy little world of the SkyTrain myth. Reality check boys and girls, because there is absolutely no way one can fund a $4 billion subway, while letting other regions in METRO Vancouver go wanting.
To put the estimated $4 billion cost for a subway under Broadway to UBC in perspective, this is what $4 billion will buy you if we build with light rail.
- A BCIT to UBC/Stanley Park LRT.
- A full build, Vancouver/Richmond to Rosedale TramTrain.
- A new Fraser River Rail Bridge.
- TramTrain from Vancouver to Whiterock/Maple Ridge/Queensbourgh/Annicis Island.
- 40 to 50 km of LRT in Surrey and Langley.
Yet Translink still thinks in the terms of truncated subway lines that will not attract the motorist from the car!
One can see the concern with the UBC Alma Matter Society, but demanding rapid transit (a.k.a. SkyTrain) instead of light rail, shows contempt for the already over burdened taxpayer and instead should hire a out of province consultant to give an independent view on improving transit along Broadway.
Rail for the Valley did and now has a bona fide plan for LRT or TramTrain, from a respected consultant, at an affordable cost.
Rapid transit for UBC has priority over SurreyA?ai??i??ai???s, students and university say
By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
October 24, 2010 10:04 PM
The push for rapid transit to the University of B.C. is heating up, with the Alma Mater Society urging Metro Vancouver to make the issue an A?ai??i??Ai??urgent priority.A?ai??i??A?
Society president Bijan Ahmadian has sent a letter to the regional district saying rapid transit to UBC should be considered as A?ai??i??Ai??equally urgentA?ai??i??A? as that for south of Fraser communities in Metro VancouverA?ai??i??ai???s draft regional growth strategy.
The move comes after Metro cited the Evergreen Line, a Surrey SkyTrain extension and the Broadway corridor as the top priorities in its draft plan, bumping the UBC rapid transit line to the bottom.
Metro chief administrative officer Johnny Carline has said Surrey will bear the brunt of the regionA?ai??i??ai???s growth in the next 30 years, and more transit is needed to help shape that cityA?ai??i??ai???s development.
Only after Surrey gets improved transit should TransLink consider extending rapid transit to UBC, the draft strategy says.
But UBC argues the demand is already there for more transit to and from the university. About 4,000 students are passed up by full 99 B-Line buses every day.
The Alma Mater Society last week launched a campaign to demonstrate support for rapid transit. It said transit use to UBC is expected to grow by 10 per cent each year.
A?ai??i??Ai??We are concerned that Metro Vancouver is playing politics on the issue, and that students will suffer as a consequence,A?ai??i??A? Ahmadian said in the letter. A?ai??i??Ai??This is not just a UBC issue. This is your issue too. UBC students, faculty and alumni live throughout Metro Vancouver.A?ai??i??A?
Nancy Knight, UBCA?ai??i??ai???s associate vice-president, planning, at UBC, agreed the university is a significant employment centre not just for the region but for the province.
The university is proposing to build more affordable student and faculty housing on campus, in hopes of building a more sustainable community where people can live, work and study closer to home.
A?ai??i??Ai??It doesnA?ai??i??ai???t make a lot of sense for a significant centre like this not be connected by rapid transit,A?ai??i??A? she said.
TransLink is preparing technical reports for both a UBC rapid transit line and extending SkyTrain in Surrey.
ksinoski@vancouversun.com
Centenarian ready to roll
Centenarian ready to roll
The Times October 8, 2010
On Oct. 3, 1910, the first Interurban train rolled down the track from New Westminster to Chilliwack.
Over the next four decades, it was the main transportation link for people in the new rural communities.
The service rattled back and forth across the Fraser Valley several times a day, taking rural residents to the urban centre and delivering their fresh produce and meats to hungry urban markets.
The commuter service was discontinued in 1950, but the track, owned by B.C. Hydro, is in working condition and in use by Southern Railway.
Now, a century later, Fraser Valley commuters stuck on freeways due to accidents or congestion are again looking longingly at the train.
The Rail for the Valley group argues that the rail service should be a key part of B.C.’s transportation plan.
In 2008, the province agreed to do a feasibility study for light rail as part of its ambitious $3-billion-plus Gateway plan.
When the rail proponents tired of waiting for the transportation ministry to complete its study, they hired their own consultant. Leewood Projects Ltd., of London, England, made a detailed study, determining the endeavour would cost B.C. taxpayers about $500 million for a 98-kilometre route. (The Canada Line cost $100 million per km).
Public transit is generally not a money-making venture, but the West Coast Express has a remarkable record. According to Translink, the WCE recovers more than 90 per cent of its operating costs, even though it pays hefty fees to Canadian Pacific Rail for the use of its track.
Rail proponents argue since B.C. Hydro owns the track, there would be no lease fee. They note the population served by the Interurban line is three times that served by the WCE, which just added seven cars due to increasing demand.
Surely there is enough merit in the rail study for Transportation Minister Shirley Bond to stop ignoring this option and to take an honest look at reinstating light rail in the Fraser Valley.
All the pieces seem to be there – all that’s missing is the political will.
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Abbotsford Times
via Centenarian ready to roll.
Surrey Leader – COLUMN: Paying for poor service
COLUMN: Paying for poor service
By Frank Bucholtz – Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: October 22, 2010 11:00 AM
Updated: October 22, 2010 11:26 AM
Despite millions of dollars spent in the past decade to improve transit service in the Metro Vancouver region, Surrey, Delta and White Rock continue to get shafted.
TransLink has added bus routes, boosted the fleet and vigorously promoted transit. After a shaky start from its beginnings in the late 1990s, it has done a good job on the whole, and service during the 2010 Winter Olympics was its high-water mark.
However, most of the improvements have happened north of the Fraser, where the transit system has been long-established. There was no public transit to speak of in Surrey until the 1970s, and expansion here has been at a snailA?ai??i??ai???s pace. It is always a lower priority than expansion in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, the City of Surrey has spent millions of dollars on roads. Surrey has taken on the challenge of making many major roads four-lane thoroughfares, and has improved traffic signal co-ordination in many places as well to keep traffic moving. Traffic circles are becoming far more common as well.
But traffic flow is barely improving.
ThatA?ai??i??ai???s because there are thousands of people moving into Surrey each year, and many have vehicles. If they have jobs, they have to have vehicles, because the transit service in Surrey remains substandard.
IA?ai??i??ai???ve had more of an up-close opportunity to observe this trend in recent months. A member of my household is attending Simon Fraser University, with most classes at the Surrey campus. SheA?ai??i??ai???s been using the transit system, taking full advantage of the U-Pass that all SFU students get (and pay for through student fees).
While bus service is direct and frequent, it is slow. Traffic along Fraser Highway, most of which has been four-laned in the past decade, moves at a crawl through much of Fleetwood and west of Green Timbers.
The 502 bus is frequently overflowing with passengers. Another household member tried to catch the bus at Surrey Central station this week, at the tail end of the evening rush hour. She had to wait for the third bus before she could board A?ai??i??ai??? the others were too full to handle any more passengers.
The 502 and other bus routes that connect to SkyTrain tend to be well-used, but people trying to go from place to place in Surrey along many major streets have infrequent bus service, with poor connections. Thus taking the bus isnA?ai??i??ai???t a realistic option if your time is valuable.
At present, there are no concrete plans to improve Surrey bus service. TransLink canA?ai??i??ai???t even find the money to build the Evergreen rapid transit line in Coquitlam, and is looking at a property tax increase to do so A?ai??i??ai??? despite opposition from mayors.
While TransLink has recently unveiled a study looking at rapid transit expansion in Surrey, which could include SkyTrain expansion and fast buses, it really doesnA?ai??i??ai???t mean much. It clearly has no money for any addition to SkyTrain, which is very expensive to build, and the study didnA?ai??i??ai???t even consider the old Interurban rail line as an option.
Unless TransLink gets a major and ongoing infusion of funds from the federal and provincial governments, it will be fortunate to maintain the service levels it has today.
Meanwhile, Surrey keeps paying, and being asked to pay far more, even though no improvements are likely.
via Surrey Leader – COLUMN: Paying for poor service.
Abbotsford News – Transit will work
Transit will work
Published: September 28, 2010 2:00 PM
Updated: September 28, 2010 2:56 PM
0 Comments
Would we make use of a light rail transit system in the Fraser Valley? Yes.
All members of my family would use it, as well as my friends and many of my fellow teachers. A light rail system is the most environmentally friendly option. Commuter traffic will continue to be a problem no matter how many more roads and bridges we build. A light rail system in the Fraser Valley will make Abbotsford a more desirable place to live.
Amy Watkins
via Abbotsford News – Transit will work.
Build Murray-Clarke A?ai??i??ai??? or Evergreen support goes: PM council
An interesting little spat is taking place in Port Moody, where the city council want TransLink to chip in with the Murray-Clarke Connector project and if they don’t, they will pull their support for the Evergreen (Nevergreen) Line. This confirms two of Zwei’s opinions about the $1.4 billion light-metro project:
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The Evergreen Line is front for more road and highway construction and for massive up-zoning of residential and light-industrial lands for high density, shoe box style of apartments.
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The Evergreen Line will not take cars off the road.
The artist’s rendering says it all, SkyTrain and the West Coast Express are almost hidden away by a massive new highway interchange, designed to handle large volumes of traffic.
Zweis thinks it is time for a moratorium on all transit (highway and rail) contraction and planning and the provincial government hold a Royal Commission on regional transit to getAi??Ai?? a proper foundation for the implantation of an affordable regional transit system.
Build Murray-Clarke A?ai??i??ai??? or Evergreen support goes: PM council
By Sarah Payne – The Tri-City News
Port Moody council may pull its support for the Evergreen Line if the Murray-Clarke Connector isn’t built.
At a special meeting Tuesday, council again discussed the 32 requirements it says are critical to its support for Evergreen. Among them is building the connector before construction of the rapid transit line.
But with TransLink struggling to cover the funding gap just to get Evergreen built A?ai??i??ai??? and pay for other needed transportation projects throughout the region A?ai??i??ai??? Murray-Clarke has fallen off the radar once again.
“It’s one of the prerequisites of us going along with the Evergreen Line,” said PoMo Mayor Joe Trasolini of the connector. “We’re very concerned that now it seems the Murray-Clarke Connector is being orphaned again. It’s nowhere on the priority list of TransLink” even though the previous board not only approved the project in 2008 but also allocated $50 million for its construction.
Costs for the connector, which will have to be extended to reach over the SkyTrain line, are now estimated at more than $70 million. PoMo has set aside $4 million for the project.
“Today, when we’re expecting it to be completed, all of a sudden TransLink doesn’t have it on its priority list,” Trasolini added. “It’s a great concern to us and should be to everyone east of us. It throws doubts on our support for construction of the Evergreen Line.”
TransLink must come up with $400 million for its share of the $1.4-billion Evergreen Line and Metro mayors have recently balked at suggestions to hike property taxes to pay for Evergreen and part of the North Fraser Perimeter Road (Option A: $465 million) or a handful of regional projects including expanded bus service and station upgrades (Option B: $338 million).
Trasolini says Murray-Clarke must be built regardless of those funding issues.
“With the narrow corridor in Port Moody, if the Murray-Clarke Connector remains undelivered when construction for the Evergreen Line starts, you can see the disruption we’ll have. This is not just a Port Moody problem, it’s a northeast sector problem.”
Trasolini maintains the connector is not a new TransLink expansion project but the completion of an existing project A?ai??i??ai??? the Barnet Highway A?ai??i??ai??? that was promised by the province more than 20 years ago.
But TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis sees it differently, noting earlier this month that the original justification for the connector was to protect Moody Centre businesses when the Evergreen Line was planned as an at-grade LRT system down St. Johns Street. With the switch to an elevated SkyTrain system, the Murray-Clarke Connector is no longer an urgent priority, Jarvis said.
Trasolini said it’s “absurd” that a one-lane overpass that causes rush-hour back-ups stretching for several kilometres is part of the inter-municipal corridor, echoing an earlier council discussion that suggested PoMo may withdraw the Murray-Clarke from TransLink’s major road network A?ai??i??ai??? and block access to it for commuters coming from outside Port Moody.
He also wants to know whether the new, provincially appointed TransLink board, whose meetings are closed to the public, rescinded approval and funding for Murray-Clarke.
Trasolini and city manager Gaetan Royer were to meet with TransLink executives today (Friday) to discuss the issue. Royer said it’s unclear what effect Port Moody’s withdrawal of support for Evergreen would have on the project or who will cover the increased cost of the Murray-Clarke Connector.
“We have a tougher job getting support for the Murray-Clarke Connector because now it’s going to cost more, it’s going to have to be a longer bridge,” Royer said. “We want the province, which is the lead of the Evergreen Line, to pay for the longer bridge… because it would be a smaller project were it not for the Evergreen Line.”
spayne@tricitynews.com
A?ai??i??ai??? with files from Jeff Nagel
http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/news/105477778.html
Pivotal transit study still stalled at provincial level
Pivotal transit study still stalled at provincial level
Further delays could impact local budgets
By Rochelle Baker, The Times October 22, 2010 8:05 AM
Fraser Valley politicians are growing increasingly impatient as they wait on the provincial government to release a comprehensive study around the future of transit services in the Fraser Valley.
Abbotsford Coun. Patricia Ross and Chair of the Fraser Valley Regional District said the delay of the Fraser Valley Transit Study is raising concerns at both the regional and municipal levels.
“It’s a very important piece of information we need so we can all move forward,” said Ross. “It’s somewhat frustrating.”
The Fraser Valley Transit Study, which includes the FVRD communities of Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Kent, Harrison Hot Springs, and Hope, was initiated by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in November 2008.
It set out to determine the best options for transit services within the region and to link up with Metro Vancouver.
The anticipated completion date was late 2009 and municipalities had expected to have it in hand by February, said Ross.
Community planning and detailed regional and local transit plans by municipalities and BC Transit are being held up by the study’s delay.
“We need to plan our communities around transit routes,” said Ross.
Additionally, Abbotsford and other municipalities in the region are planning their budgets for 2011.
If the study is delayed much longer, it won’t be able to shape budgets until 2012, said Ross.
Local governments and the FVRD need the study to help meet their commitment to become carbon neutral by 2012 as part of the province’s Climate Action Charter, she said.
The FVRD also intends to use the study to help establish green house gas reduction targets and strategies for its Regional Growth Strategy due in May 2011.
The FVRD has contacted via letter the ministry twice – in June and September – and hasn’t received any reply about when to expect the study.
At Monday’s council meeting Abbotsford Mayor George Peary said he’s seen the draft document, and cannot imagine what is causing the delay.
Peary and Mission Mayor James Atebe met briefly with the Minister of Transport Shirley Bond in the early fall and raised their concerns, but were not given any indication as to when to expect the report.
“It might well be that the provincial government doesn’t have the resources at this time to come to the table and help us achieve the vision (outlined in the study),” Peary said.
Ministry spokesman Dave Kreb said the report is undergoing an internal review and should be available to the municipalities and public sometime this fall.
“It’s just due diligence. It’s a pretty comprehensive document,” Kreb said.
The study – largely funded by the province and developed with the FVRD, BC Transit and TransLink – will address future demand in the region and also examine the viability of using the Southern Rail Corridor or Interurban Line from Chilliwack to Surrey for commuter rail.
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Abbotsford Times
via Pivotal transit study still stalled at provincial level.
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