Bob Mackin
TransLink is spending $2.31 million for a committee to exploreAi??spending hundreds of millions of dollars to tax motorists who drive in downtown Vancouver and cross the regionai??i??s bridges.
So-called mobility pricing is how the Mayorsai??i?? Council wants to fund the regional share of the 10-year plan for roads, bridges and the Broadway subway and Surrey light rail. The latter two megaprojects will costAi??more than $4.6 billion combined, but the 2017 cost estimates are a tightly held TransLink secret, for fear of sparking sticker shock among taxpayers.
TransLinkai??i??s 2015 interim CEO Doug Allen (Mackin)
When interim CEO Doug Allenai??i??s $35,000-a-month contract expired in August 2015, his exit report said TransLink should strike a committee and study the tax measure for two years, then take until 2025 to design and implement the measure. But this new committee is supposed to report and dissolve by the end of April 2018.
Almost three years ago, Allen warned that it would be a political minefield.
ai???Road usage charging can only be used to increase transit ridership [not fund roads and bridges] if it ever gets implemented in the first place,ai??? Allen wrote in his advice to his successor. ai???Risks and challenges to implementation are numerous on both the technical and the public acceptability fronts ai??i?? several orders of magnitude more complex than the Compass Card project.ai???
The Compass Card faregates and smart card project took an extra three years and doubled in budget to $200 million by the time it was launched in 2016. The road tax would require installation of networked surveillance cameras and sensors throughout the city, like in Milan, San Diego, Singapore, Stockholm and London. It cost the British capital $831 million to start-up and operate its congestion pricing system over the first decade, in order to net $1.3 billion net revenue.
Will anyone on the 14-member committee travel to see how it works, first hand?
ai???At present there are no plans for the commission to travel outside of the region as part of their work,ai??? said TransLink spokeswoman Jill Drews.
ai???At presentai??? could be the operative phrase. TransLink is notorious for junkets. Back in November 1999, chair George Puil led a 10-person, $70,000 delegation to London to explore the turnstiles on the tube. Puilai??i??s travel buddies included: NDP MLA Jenny Kwan and her aide Ian McConnell, Millennium Line president Lecia Stewart, TransLink vice-president Sherri Plewes, ex-BC Transit boss Larry Miller, and transit consultant Jane Bird.
They enjoyed business class airfare and stayed in a $300 hotel room in the posh Mayfair district.
Mobility pricing committee chair Allan Seckel, who was Premier Gordon Campbellai??i??s deputy minister during the 2010 Winter Olympics, and vice-chair Joy MacPhail, the former NDP leader, are being paid $2,500 and $1,666 respectively, per month. All members of the board ai??i?? including directors like ex-NPA Coun. Jennifer Clarke, ex-B.C. trucking industry lobbyist Paul Landry, and United Way CEO Michael McKnight ai??i?? will be paid a $550-per meeting stipend.
The board reads like a reunion of the Better Transit and Transportation Coalition, which lost the 2015 TransLink tax plebiscite: Greater Vancouver Board of Tradeai??i??s Iain Black, UNIFORai??i??s Gavin McGarrigle, Surrey Business Improvement Associationai??i??s Elizabeth Model and Counterpoint Communicationsai??i?? Bruce Rozenhart. Rozenhart was in the backroom for Liberal incumbent John Yapai??i??s re-election in Richmond-Steveston.
Civic Maturity Comes With Light Rail
Light Rail, brings with it, civic maturity.
This civic maturity puts the transit customers before political friends; it puts financial reality ahead of political prestige; it puts the public interest as a whole, ahead of car drivers and even business owners. Light rail focuses on good transit and good planning, which in the future will make the city vibrant and livable.
Metro Vancouver sees no such transit maturity at all.
The anti-LRT crowd, offer cliched “fake news” and “alternative facts” about modern light rail ad naseum, but fail to mention that no one actually wants to build with their pet Innovia SkyTrain and/or the classic white elephant, Canada Line, also lack the maturity to understand modern public transit philosophy.
Metro Vancouver builds transit because of political deals made by the Premier of the day and executed by a neutered TransLink, for the benefit of Bombardier Inc., SNC Lavalin, land developers and land speculators. In Metro Vancouver, the transit customer does not count as transit is designed to move money, not people.
In Toronto, with the introduction of new low-floor modular trams, comes the next step of upgrading the heritage streetcar network to a 21st century light-rail standard and already, ridership has increased, as transit customers like the changes.
Of course there will be problems and of course some businesses will find the changes challenging. Car drivers are finding out that they also must give way to better transit, a lesson that is unheard of in Vancouver, where car drivers are forced off roads, without any noticeable improvement in transit at all!
The result, gridlock reigns in Metro Vancouver.
As for TransLink, their puerile “rah-rah” media friendly news releases claims are just that, claims, as evidence point to the opposite, people are avoiding transit.
The continued abysmal planning for SkyTrain; the continued planning for ‘rapid transit’ on routes that do not have the traffic flows to support it, shows a genuine immaturity with transit planning.
TransLink, the City of Vancouver and the metro Vancouver mayors have shown no signs of maturity, in fact they treat transit like a child’s Christmas train set, very expensive for what it does and then lose interest soon after ‘daddy’ sets it up Christmas Day!
Memo to metro mayors: Grow up and be adults;Ai?? do what is right and not what your political bagmen tell you to do.
City planners dreamed of transforming the crucial roadway in the core, but some ideas were later shelved for being too radical
When the King Street pilot was first envisioned, it was about more than speeding up streetcars. City planners dreamed of transforming the crucial roadway, discouraging drivers in favour of transit and adding dynamic public space that would reshape theAi??corridor.
Instead, the city “shelved” broader plans to improve the look and feel of King Street, nervous that being too radical would bring political and public opposition. The project was launched as a transit initiative that did little to improve what planners call the publicAi??realm.
The city then found itself on the defensive as business opposition mounted, forcing staff and politicians to scramble for ways to head off critics and add elements that would bring life to theAi??street.
Observers say the response ai??i?? including escalating offers of free parking and a restaurant promotion announced, then discarded ai??i?? could have been avoided if the city had started with more comprehensiveAi??changes.
“There are components of the public-realm plan that were sort of shelved, and very clearly those components of the public-realm plan are a critical part of the success,” said former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat, who left the role two months before the projectAi??launched.
“I think that there was some fear about taking the pilot too far too quickly, but it’s kind of like one of those situations where you can’t just dip your toe in the water. You’re either in the water or you’re out of the water, but you can’t be halfwayAi??in.”
In November, the city eliminated street parking and prohibited continuous vehicle traffic on King Street from Bathurst to Jarvis. Transit ridership is up, but some businesses complain of big drops in customers. Now, after three months, the year-long project is entering a pivotalAi??period.
The worst of winter should end soon, likely bringing more people outside to use the street. The financial district’s business improvement area (BIA) has been surveying its members before it takes a public position on the pilot. A coalition of civic and residents’ groups has begun promoting KingAi??Street.
The popular musical Come From Away returns to a King Street theatre next week, and is expected to draw thousands. Around the same time, the city is planning to release credit card sales data that will help show whether businesses are, in fact,Ai??suffering.
The Globe and Mail canvassed more than 140 businesses throughout the pilot area and the responses did not suggest the street is deserted, as some opponents insist. But impacts vary widely. While most respondents said business dropped after the pilot launched, around one-third reported it being flat orAi??improved.
Dublin’s LUAS 55 Metre Tram
It has been said that longer trams are cheaper to operate than a coupled set and with the Dublin LUAS 55 metre long trams, sets a new standard in the British Isles and Eire. Whether the ancient streets and bridges can handle the beasts is another issue altogether.
Teething problems abound, but a quick comparison with the Canada Line proves interesting. The new trams will increase capacity on heavily used routes to over 7,600 persons per hour per direction, with the trams capacity of 380 persons at 3 minute headway’s.
The best, the much more expensive Canada Line can manage to do is 6,520 pphpd in the peak hour at 3 minute headway’s and unlike the LUAS LRT, one cannot just add another body module on the non articulated metro cars on the Canada Line!
Imagine one traveling down Broadway……..
Election Season Is Near – Abbotsford Mayor Proposes LRT For The Fraser Valley
In BC, when election time nears, politicians are looking for issues to garner votes.
In the Fraser Valley, traffic chaos grows with population, with the obvious results – gridlock.
Rail for the Valley has an affordable plan, yet it fell on deaf ears and still does. The key word is “affordable” because if a plan is affordable it is doable and BC politicians do not like that at all, as they prefer to sit moribund in their taxpayer paid offices and council chambers, traveling to and fro on the taxpayers dime and do absolutely as little as possible, except at election time!
The old saw about LRT in the median of Highway 1, is being used as an election gimmick, but the promoters of the scheme forget one important fact, the cost and by going “greenfield’s” construction is hugely expensive proposition, with costs almost on the same scale as SkyTrain light-metro construction.
The LRT in the median plan also means it will be very hard to utilize and the vast majority of customers will have to transfer at least two times to use it.
Estimated cost for a 65 km Vancouver to Abbotsford Calgary style LRT @ at a very conservative $100 million/km to build – $6.5 billion!
The Rail for the Valley plan is the superior plan because it is affordable and services far more destinations for transit customers.
Today’s cost for a 130 km Vancouver to Chilliwack diesel LRT or light DMU,Ai?? service (a train every 60 minutes each direction), serving, downtown Chilliwack, Sardis, Huntington (for the Abbotsford Airport), Abbotsford, Langley. Cloverdale, North Delta and Vancouver with many destinations within easy walking distance of the line, is under $1 billion.
The real reason is revealed for the Abbotsford Mayor’s LRT pitchAi?? is; “At the very least, Braun said congestion is bad enough to the valley that the highway should be widened.”
The mayor of Abbotsford as shown no “great conversion on the road to Damascus” for LRT, rather a pitch to get Hwy. 1 widened, so more traffic can use it, creating even more congestion and gridlock.
The Alstom RegioTram, would make for an excellent transit servcie for a Vancouver to Chilliwack rail servcie.
Light rail to the Fraser Valley? Abbotsford mayor says itai??i??s not ai???pie in the skyai??i??
By Janet Brown Senior Reporter Ai??CKNW
Abbotsfordai??i??s mayor is floating the idea of building light rail transit (LRT) down the middle of Highway 1 between Surrey and the Fraser Valley to alleviate congestion.
ai???No I donai??i??t think itai??i??s pie in the sky, I said that 20 years ago,ai??? Henry Braun told Global News.
Braun says traffic is so bad on the stretch of highway between the two areas that it is actually faster to travel using the back roads.
ai???Itai??i??s taken me as long as two hours to get from [Abbotsford] city hall to downtown Vancouver.ai???
With the region talking transit mega projects, Braun is now arguing his city should be included. Heai??i??s proposing the LRT line be constructed using the space between east and westbound lanes.
ai???The median should be an LRT surface-based transit system like Calgary and Edmonton,ai??? Braun said.
Braun is not the first person to float the idea of a light rail service to the Fraser Valley. Transit advocates have previously floated the idea of reviving the old BC Electric Railway Interurban line, which ran from New Westminster to Chilliwack until the 1950s.
Braun didnai??i??t propose how the line would be funded, or say whether he thought it should be administered by TransLink or BC Transit.
But he said while itai??i??s clear that the federal governmentai??i??s transit priority is on the major urban centres, itai??i??s time to get the same discussion going on at the local level.
At the very least, Braun said congestion is bad enough to the valley that the highway should be widened.
ai???The freeway was built when I was 14 years old,ai??? Braun said.
ai???Iai??i??m now 67 and the freeway is still the same.ai???
SkyTrain Ka-Put Again
For a proprietary transit system that is supposed to have a remarkable operational reliability, it is breaking down an awful lot lately.
Could it be that SkyTrain is not as reliable as certain people would have us think?
Sadly, SkyTrain is demonstrating the perils of an aging proprietary railway.
Stalled train creates SkyTrain delays during afternoon rush
Posted Feb 5, 2018 5:02 pm PST
Last Updated Feb 5, 2018
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) ai??i?? A big headache for those trying to take the SkyTrain this afternoon.
Expo Line SkyTrain service has been stopped between Waterfront and Commercial-Broadway St Stations because of a stalled train by Main Street-Science World.
According to TransLink, a bus bridge has being set up to help commuters, but all downtown Vancouver stations are being closed to help alleviate congestion.
Canada Line and Millennium Line service is unaffected.
Transit Police officers and additional staff have been called in and are on the platforms to help manage crowds during during the afternoon rush.
Update
5:36 pm
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) ai??i?? Service is slowly resuming on the Expo Line SkyTrain after a stalled train shut down operations between Waterfront and Commercial-Broadway stations this afternoon.
Stations are still dealing with crowds of people, and TransLink is asking for patience.
Expo Line SkyTrain service had been stopped between Waterfront and Commercial-Broadway St Stations because of a stalled train by Main Street-Science World.
A bus bridge had been set up to help commuters, and all downtown Vancouver stations were closed toAi??help alleviate congestion.
How SkyTrain Zealots Want To Crush Rational Transit Thinking
The End of the Line for SkyTrain?
Recent articles, by the SkyTrain Lobby are nothing more than the old adage; “Repeat a lie often enough and the people will come around to believing it.”
What we call SkyTrain, a combination of three railways of which one is not compatible in operation with the other two, are just simply railways.
To try to give the two unconventional railways some sort of perceived advantage, they are powered by Linear Induction Motors or LIM’s and they are fully automatic (driverless). The problem is, the two railways, built as light-metro’s cost much more to build, more to operate and more to maintain than conventional railways. Sadly for the two unconventional railways, they became museum pieces because there were cheaper and just as good alternatives.
Why spend more for one railway, when the alternative was cheaper and just as good or better?
And here lies the problem for the SkyTrain Lobby, their much cherished ALRT/ART proprietary rapid transit system.
So let us examine what we call SkyTrain, again.
- Only seven such systems built.
- Six name changes in 40 years, starting with; Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS); Advanced Light Rail Transit System (ALRT); Advanced Light Rapid Transit System (ALRT), Automatic Light Metro (ALM), Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) and now Innovia 100, 200,Ai?? 300 series.
- No sales in the past decade.
- Designed to be elevated to mitigate the high cost of subway construction.
- Limited capacity.
- Patents owned by Bombardier Inc. and SNC Lavalin.
- Maintenance intensive.
- hugely expensive constriction costs.
- Higher maintenance and operation costs, due to small cars and ‘4-rail’ operation.
- In comparison, the Expo line cot about 40% more to operate than the Calgary C-Train (both having about the same length at the time), with the C-Train carrying more passengers.
- Only one supplier.
- Not compatible in operation with the Canada Line, which though is called SkyTrain, is not.
- Not compatible in operation with any other transit system.
- Most studied of the light-metro family, with unprecedented exposure during Expo 86, yet no buyers in North America, during an era of unprecedented investment in light rail. Note, both the Detroit ICTS and the JFK/Port Authority were private deals between the operator and the UTDC/Bombardier, with the former used as a single track 4.5 km ‘people mover’ and an airport ‘people mover’ at JFK and parking lots and a subway station and are not used for urban transport.
Until there is honest debate about transit, instead of their constant harangue of SkyTrain myth and wishful thinking, congestion and gridlock will continue unabated in metro Vancouver, until the region and metro mayors enter into rational transit thinking.
Has Metro Vancouver Past The Point of No Return With Transit Planning?
Metro Vancouver is approaching a critical decision on transit, but has the region already past the “point of no return” with regional transit?
The Metro Vancouver region has been able to afford one light-metro line every decade; the 80’s saw the the Expo Line; the late 90’s the Millennium Line; the 2000’nds the Canada line and the 20 teens the Evergreen Line. We are ready for one more light metro line in the 2020’s.
But is it enough to offer an attractive alternative to the car?
By comparison, for the same money invested, the region could have had a tram/light rail network three times as large.
Are the huge investments made (over $10 million to date) for light metro and future huge investments in the next decades to come, almost $10 billion for a subway and rebuilding the Expo/Millennium and Canada Lines to allow higher capacity, be cost effective?
Has the past decisions to not build with modern light rail, hamstrung sensible transit planning?
Those who want SkyTrain and subways, ignore the huge costs associated with the mode remain blind to the fact that transit to date has not reduced congestion.
The tried and true practice of inflating light rail’s costs to match SkyTrain, just makes TransLink look silly internationally.
If we continue doing the same thing, over and over again, ever hoping for different results, currently a problem endemic with regional transit planning, will the region be just wasting money on just more bad transit decisions?
Has the region already past the point of no return for good transit planning? Has the region now, forever ignoring the need for a user friendly regional public transit servcie and will continue with its present “Balkanization” of transit planning, where some regions get multi billion dollar transit solutions, leaving other regions wanting, to suit political needs?
Is “Road pricing” or “Congestion Charging”, the last desperate attempt to hide current transit planning malpractice and/or malfeasance from the public?
And now just in; has ICBC’s massive deficit which will lead to huge insurance increases, in part, the result of TransLink’s utterly poor transit planning, by not providing an attractive alternative to the car?
Who is in charge of the clattering TransLink train?
SkyTrain creaks, and the buses strain.
The planning is hot, and decisions are near,
And ignorance hath deadened the plannerai??i??s ear:
And congestion increases, but solutions in vain.
Political incompetence is in charge of the clattering TransLink train!With apologies to Edwin James Milliken
Reality Can Be A Bitch – Two FastFerry Fiascos For Metro Vancouver
As of yet, there is no real cost estimate for the Broadway Subway and reality is setting in that it will be in excess of $3 billion, unless the scope of the project is reduced, as was done to the Canada line.
One persistent rumour I hear is that the Millennium Line subway extension to Arbutus will sport stations with 50 metre long platforms; long enough to be able to accommodate three car trains of MK 2 & 3 stock, but would limited capacity to about 9,000 to 10,000 persons per hour per direction. This also happens to be 5,000 to 6,000 less than the established minimum capacity that would rate a subway.
The item of the Evergreen Line’s disappearing act, lends credence to this rumour.
The problem with this is future generations will have to buck up big time to increase capacity, but Vision Vancouver’s developer friends will be happy that those expensive underground concourses built for a subway with their new buildings, will be put to use. “Pay to Play” at its best.
One wonders what sweet nothings, former Vision Vancouver Councillor and now adviser to the premier, Geoff Meggs, is whispering into Horgan’s and Minister of Transportation Trevena’s ear?
Could it be, that Meggs is gung-ho for mobility pricing to fund Vancouver’s Subway, even though both projects have all the makings of FastFerry fiascos number 2 and 3?
The NDP, do not read history and are doomed to reap the whirlwind of electoral consequences.
The NDP, always out of tune with the public may finally sign their political death warrant with the subway and mobility pricing to fund it, much to the glee of Green Party Leader Weaver and the future Liberal leader.
Memo to Derek Corrigan: Lean back and wait for the crushing financial numbers for the Broadway Subway and Surrey’s LRT and then wait a little longer until Bombardier abandons SkyTrain production, then tell the financial facts of life to municipal politicians.
The Mayor’s Council on Transit, the epicentre of TransLink dysfunctional operation, will be forced to take a more realistic view of regional transit planning and application.
New Mayors’ Council chair raises concerns over funding for transport projects
But Derek Corrigan says Metro Vancouver mayors ‘will see their projects go ahead’
CBC News Ai?? Posted: January 22nd 2018
Derek CorriganAi??says his fellow Metro Vancouver mayors shouldn’t worry about the future of transportation projects in the area under his tenure as Mayors’ Council chair.
But the mayor of BurnabyAi??remains concerned about how huge infrastructure projects like theAi??SkyTrainAi??Broadway extensionAi??and theAi??Surrey-Newton-GuildfordAi??LRT line will be funded.
ai??i??Some Lower Mainland politicians expressed concern whenAi??CorriganAi??was elected chair of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation chair in December, with New WestminsterAi??Coun. PatrickAi??JohnstoneAi??calling him “transit regressive.”
CorriganAi??has been critical of many of the Mayors’ Council’s plans, saying they were “very ambitious”Ai??and predicting a “slow down”.
However, Corrigan told the CBC’s Early Edition host Steven Quinn that the mayors have nothing to worry about.
“I think the mayors will see their projects go aheadAi??and I think they’ll be done in a timely manner,” he said.
But Corrigan saidAi??there still exists a problem of funding the projects.
While the federal government has committed $2.2 billion for local transportation projectsAi??and the province has committed to fund 40 per cent of the capital projects, the municipalities have yet to fund the remaining portion, he said.
“We’ve got to find a way out of what is a very difficult situation before we can move wholeheartedly into the plan. And I’m being realistic about that,”Ai??said Corrigan.
He says the mayors have said over and over they do not want to seek money from property taxes, so they are discussing alternative funding sources from the province.
“I believe there areAi??solutions that we may be able to find, but at this stage we’re not able to discuss any of the alternatives that are being proposed,”Ai??Corrigan said.
Mobility pricing
Last week, the independent commission on mobility pricing released its report on the first phase of its mission to research how to change the way transportation is priced in Metro Vancouver.
It suggested possibilities includingAi??a fee to enter downtown VancouverAi??and charging drivers for distances travelled, with increased fees for some locations.
TransLink says mobility pricing ai??i??Ai??which refers to charging people for the use of roads, bridges and transit ai??i??Ai??would be used to reduce congestion, promote fairnessAi??and support investment in the transportation system.
Corrigan says since the public rejected the 2015 referendum on a $7.5-billion transportation plan from the Mayors’ Council, this alternative way to add taxes in order to finance the transit system will not be attractive to them.
“I don’t know if the government’s going to be interested in going into the next election proposing that there be a comprehensive tolling system around the Lower Mainland as a result of the mobility pricing commission,”Ai??said Corrigan.
“It sounds to me and it looks to me that this may be a significant way off. It’s not going to become a way to solve the immediate funding problems that we’ve got.”
The commission’s final report is due in April.
Light Rail For Surrey Fights Back
After the CBC’s fawning over the largely discredited SkyTrain for Surrey lot, Light Rail For Surrey fights back.
Just a reminder, in 2016, CKNW outed SkyTrain for Surrey for fudging the truth and now, they are at it again with the CBC.
The questions I would like answered is: “Who is really behind the SkyTrain to Surrey folks?” “Who is pulling the strings?”
Renewed push for Surrey LRT after new Mayors’ Council chair elected
Monika Gul
Posted Jan 23, 2018
SURREY (NEWS 1130) ai??i??Ai??With a new Mayorsai??i?? Council chair in Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, the Surrey Board of Trade is renewing itsAi??campaign for the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT.
The organization has written to Corrigan to make sure the project goes ahead.
The project, divided into two lanes, including one that would connect city centre to Langley on the Fraser Highway, would see 27 kilometres of light rail with about 19 stops.
While some have called for a SkyTrain for the area instead, Board CEO Anita Huberman argues that would only disconnect the city.
ai???The ability to grow our town centre, expand the system in terms of our community plan, is the opposite of what SkyTrain will do.ai???
ai???Increasing buses will very quickly increase congestion. Having SkyTrain on Fraser highway is four times the cost.ai???
HubermanAi??wants construction to begin in early 2019.
A grassroots group called ai???Skytrain for Surreyai??? has written its own letter to Corrigan, asking him to remove the project from the Mayorsai??i?? 10-Year Vision.
Road Pricing Farce
From Bob Mackin and the Breaker.
From July 2017
Zwei has studied “Road Pricing” and “Congestion Charging” for over 20 years and………………
the very first rule for a successful road pricing scheme is that the region have a user friendly and affordable public transit alternative.
With TransLink we don’t…….. not even close and TransLink is so incompetent at what it does, will insure the public’s wholesale rejection of the scheme, the politicians who supported it, and even the political parties that endorse it.
You do not need a committee to look at “Road pricing” , it’s not going to work….oh sorry; for many, it is the last slurp at the “pork barrel” for a while.
Remember the NDP rump, with 2 seats in opposition after their switch from LRT to SkyTrain for the Broadway Lougheed R/T Project?
Remember (King) George Puil former head of TransLink?
Remember the 2015 plebiscite?
Remember Fassbender, the Minister rsponcible for TransLink?
The 2015 plebiscite had it right, the public do not like TransLink, its planning, its operation, nor the people who work there and TransLink and the regional mayors has done nothing to improve this, but to punish the taxpayer and transit customer with more incompetence.
Note from Zweisystem Jan. 2018. Road pricing is strictly to pay for TransLink’s very bad planning and continued lack of candor; the now $3 billion plus Broadway subway to Arbutus; the park destroying Surrey LRT; the daft four lane Patullo Bridge replacement, yet no mention of the $3 billion to upgrade the existing ALRT/ART SkyTrain lines.
As the title says, the Road Pricing Commission is a complete farce, terminate it and build transit within our means.
Ex-TransLink boss warned mobility pricing ai???several orders of magnitude more complexai??? than Compass boondoggle
Massey Tunnel Facts – Facts That No One Wanted The Public To Know
The alternative facts and fake news spewed by the BC Liberals, especially sitting MLA and still Delta Councillor, Ian Paton, Delta Mayor, Lois Jackson and the hoi polloi of car and truck drivers wanting a new $3.5 billion to over $5 billion mega bridge to replace the perfectly good George Massey Tunnel, have been shown for what they are: falsehoods or grand economies of the truth.
The bridge was proposed for two reasons:
1) To allow Panama and Cape Max. colliers and tankers to travel up the Fraser River to load, dirty Montana Coal; volatile Braken Oil; and LNG at Fraser Surrey Docks, with the coal and oil delivered directly by the BN&SF.
2) To divert billions of taxpayer’s monies to political friends via multi billion dollar mega projects. This is called “Pay to Play”.
The new American Trump administration doesn’t care for environmental concerns, thus the American coal and oil will be loaded in the USA and LNG; LNG is as dead as a Norwegian Blue parrot; and BC new NDP Government, hopefully will stop “Pay to Play” mega projects.
The proposed Fraser River mega bridge was never about traffic and transportation, it was all about political deals, cut by the BC Liberals with big business.
Meeting with ministry gave former Liberal government tunnel options
Delta Optimist January 10, 2018
Much has been said by the former Liberal government and its representatives about getting the facts for the replacement of the George Massey Tunnel.
Transportation and Tunnel Engineering Consultants (TEC) of the Netherlands to update the ministry on the state of the art of immersed tunneling.
The content of the 60-page presentation included introduction of TEC worldwide tunnel projects both recent and proposed, and cost effective options for the George Massey Tunnel. Special attention was given to tunnel safety, earthquake resistance design and comparison with bridge solutions.
The following are quotes taken from that presentation:
1.Tunnels are more suited for various and poor soil conditions.
2. Tunnels are shorter in length than a bridge and have a smaller footprint.
3.Tunnels can be built parallel and close to existing tunnels.
4.Tunnel construction is capable of dealing with severe seismic conditions.
5.Tunnel construction where 80 to 90 per cent of the work could be done by local contractors.
6.Tunnels can be built safer than an open highway.
The last 14 pages of the presentation dealt with TEC’s selection of appropriate options, possible cross sections, layouts and options for future use of the George Massey Tunnel.
TEC recommended the following:
1. To assess the structural integrity and durability of the present tunnel.
2. Increase river depth by replacing riprap with an asphalt mattress.
3.Introduction of longitudinal ventilation and use current ventilation ducts as escape cell and for passage of pedestrians and cyclists.
4.Move ballast concrete to ventilation ducts and increase internal height of tunnel.
The entire report is available, on request, from me.
The report from TEC was not made available to the public and was not appropriately considered by the former Liberal government. A freedom of information request (FOI) to the Liberals yielded a response of “no records”. A recent FOI request has released the buried report which reveals viable, safe, cost effective options of upgrading the existing tunnel and adding a second tunnel beside it.
This report has now been made available, by the public, to new Transportation Minster Claire Trevena.
So, you see, the former Liberal government never revealed the true facts or alternatives to the public. Instead, it followed the demands of the Port of Vancouver and wrote fear mongering reports that suited its agenda of removing the George Massey Tunnel and deepening the lower Fraser River to suit present and future industrial interests.
This would destroy not only a perfectly good river crossing, but a bog land and a marshland, known the world over as vital component for a continued healthy ecosystem that supports a migratory food source for all marine and wildfowl life from the headwaters of the Fraser River along migratory routes of the Pacific Coast.
May the true facts be known.
Douglas George Massey
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