Eric Chris’s letter to New Transportation Minister, Mary Pollack
Dear Mary Polak, Langley MLA,
Congratulations on being appointed to Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure ai??i?? first order of business ai??i?? a moratorium on any further B-line (rapid bus transit) and SkyTrain expansions along with the sacking of everyone associated with the current SkyTrain and B-Lines not only at the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure but also at TransLink ai??i?? followed by the elimination of the 99 B-line service in Vancouver.Ai?? You might be wondering, who is this person?Ai?? Iai??i??m a chemical engineer living in Vancouver, am quite serious about it and would be happy to discuss it further.Ai?? You will likely agree after reading and considering the following:
Relative to transit use, the rate of vehicle use has exploded since TransLink started on its relentless expansion of B-Line and SkyTrain transit in 1999 (refer to attached chart showing the trends in population, vehicle registrations and transit use).Ai?? For increased density to succeed in the reduction of the number of cars on the roads, it must lead to more people living closer to work and school.Ai?? In other words, it must pull in residents from satellite communities around downtown Vancouver to make the geographical area where people live smaller in size, to reduce commuting distances.Ai?? Transit by TransLink based on B-Lines and SkyTrains has done the opposite of this.
TransLink has targeted long distance commuters interested in taking B-Lines and SkyTrains having distantly spaced stops.Ai?? However, long distance commuters are only a small segment of commuters, and the median distance traveled by commuters in Metro Vancouver is about seven kilometres.Ai?? You were the director of a research-polling firm and surely understand statistics well.Ai?? The statistical distribution for transit is not a normal distribution and is skewed.Ai?? That is, 50% of commuters travel about seven kilometres or less in distance one-way with three-quarters of the commuters travel under 15 kilometres in distance one-way.Ai?? Only one-quarter of the commuters travel over 15 kilometres in distance, one-way.Ai?? Only about 25% of commuters are good candidates for SkyTrain or B-Line transit, yet, TransLink has based its entire transit network on B-Lines and SkyTrains costing twice as much as conventional light rail and tram lines as well as electric bus (trolley or wireless) routes having closely spaced stops and suited for 75% of the commuters.Ai?? This has been a huge and crippling blunder by TransLink.
TransLink by focusing on long distance commuters has alienated most driving commuters and has put more cars on the roads.Ai?? TransLink has teamed up with greedy developers who appear to be the impetus for SkyTrain (you only have to pick up the ai???New Condo Guideai??? to see the over the top advertising of how life near the future Evergreen Line will be better than good, even though few potential condo owners want to use SkyTrain and most potential condo owners just see SkyTrain as a way to increase their property value).Ai?? Perhaps developers building condos along SkyTrain lines have ties to organized crime and are building condos to launder drug money through condo construction in the Lower Mainland.Ai?? Maybe developers are using SkyTrain expansions to obtain permits from municipalities to rezone single family residential areas into high density housing developments along SkyTrain routes.Ai?? Something is amiss because SkyTrain expansion is being paid for by taxpayers and isnai??i??t having the desired effect of reduced traffic on the roads; however, developers seem to be benefiting from access to land development opportunities that wouldnai??i??t normally exist.
While the condo developments along SkyTrain routes are in the microscopic context increasing density, they are in the macroscopic context reducing overall density in the Lower Mainland by connecting far flung municipalities into one mega region to create urban sprawl.Ai?? Because most commuters only travel a short distance, most commuters moving into the new condo developments along SkyTrain routes choose to drive and traffic congestion has ironically worsened as spending by TransLink on B-Line and SkyTrain has escalated.Ai?? Even if the apparent modal share for transit has increased slightly, the sheer magnitude of cars on the roads has increased sharply, and the number of roads and bridges being built cannot meet the demand for the added cars on the roads.Ai?? TransLink with B-Lines (rapid bus transit) and SkyTrains has put Metro Vancouver taxpayers paying for exorbitantly priced transit by TransLink into a tail spin.Ai?? To reverse it, the focus of transit must shift to satisfy the majority of commuters traveling short distances of less than 15 kilometres and to do this requires a switch to economical and community based tram, light rail and electric bus routes.Ai?? More money spent on SkyTrains and B-Lines would be a disaster.
Therefore, the Evergreen Line for Coquitlam must be cancelled and the planned rapid bus transit for Langley must be shelved.Ai?? Furthermore, the current 99 B-Line service in Vancouver has to be ended due to the health impacts to residents who are being exposed to elevated sound pressure and particulate matter levels described in the attachment.Ai?? It will take courage and integrity to do it.Ai?? Mary, your mission if you choose to accept it, is to save transit; this email will self destruct on May 14, 2013.
cease and desist 99 b-line august 28-2012
Regards,
Eric Chris
As I have read in previous posts, the total cost for light-metro has surpassed $8 billion in the Vancouver region, then it has not been a good investment at all. If such a graph were to show the same results in Europe after equal investment, it would mean immediate dismissal for all those concerned.
In Vancouver, transit planning is mediocre in the extreme, the very poor results show very bad planning, by very bad planners.
Why do politicians in the region stand for this – have they been duped in a “Yes Minister” fashion by Sir Humphrey Appleby himself.
Dear Mary Polak, Langley MLA,
DEAR MINISTER:
Congratulations on being appointed to Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure – first order of business – a moratorium on any further B-line (rapid bus transit) and SkyTrain expansions along with the sacking of everyone associated with the current SkyTrain and B-Lines not only at the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure but also at TransLink – followed by the elimination of the 99 B-line service in Vancouver.
THIS TYPE OF DEMAND – A MORATORIUM, TERMINATION OF SERVICE OF PEOPLE AND THE ELIMINATION OF SERVICE – FROM ONE INDIVIDUAL WHO IS VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN AND HAS NO POLITICAL WEIGHT WHATSOEVER IS TANTAMOUNT TO SHOUTING AT THE WIND. THIS LETTER WILL BE READ BY A MINISTERIAL OFFICE EMPLOYEE, SUMMARIZED AND FILED. THE MINISTER MAY NEVER EVEN READ IT. THE WRITER MAY GET A POLITE EVASIVE RESPONSE SIGNED BY THE MINISTER WHO MAY NOT HAVE READ IT THOROUGHLY….AND THAT IS ABOUT IT. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO “DEMAND” THAT ANYTHING HAPPEN. IT IS A WASTE OF THE WRITER’S TIME, AND I CAN GUARANTEE THAT ANY FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE FROM THIS WRITER WILL RECEIVE THE SAME TREATMENT.
You might be wondering, who is this person? I’m a chemical engineer living in Vancouver, am quite serious about it and would be happy to discuss it further. You will likely agree after reading and considering the following:
DOES THIS WRITER HAVE ANY POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR CLOUT? IS THIS WRITER A MEMBER OF VANCOUVER COUNCIL? OR A MEMBER OF THE B.C. LIBERAL PARTY VANCOUVER RIDINGS? REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE WRITER IS SERIOUS ABOUT THE ISSUES, IF THE PERSON HAS NO POLITICAL WEIGHT THEN THAT IS THE END OF DISCUSSION. NEVER PRESUME WHAT A MINISTER WILL AGREE WITH….HOPE THAT THE MINISTER WILL AGREE BUT NEVER PRESUME.
Relative to transit use, the rate of vehicle use has exploded since TransLink started on its relentless expansion of B-Line and SkyTrain transit in 1999 (refer to attached chart showing the trends in population, vehicle registrations and transit use). For increased density to succeed in the reduction of the number of cars on the roads, it must lead to more people living closer to work and school. In other words, it must pull in residents from satellite communities around downtown Vancouver to make the geographical area where people live smaller in size, to reduce commuting distances. Transit by TransLink based on B-Lines and SkyTrains has done the opposite of this.
YOU CANNOT PUSH AN ELEPHANT BY ITS ‘POSTERIOR’ TO THE RIVER TO GET SOME WATER; YOU CAN ONLY LEAD IT. NOT ENOUGH HAS BEEN DONE, WORLD-WIDE, LET ALONE IN CANADA, TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR CARS. EVEN IN COUNTRIES WHERE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE IS $3.50 A LITRE, PEOPLE ARE STILL DRIVING BECAUSE IT IS IN INGRAINED SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE, CONVENIENCE AND FULFILLS A NEED TO BE SINGULAR AND NOT HAVING TO SIT BESIDE SOMEONE AND LISTEN TO SOME JERK PLAYING HIS I-POD OR WHATEVER SO LOUDLY THAT OTHER PASSENGERS CAN HEAR IT. JUST LOOK AT THE ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE NEWSPAPERS…..A GOODLY PERCENTAGE IS AUTOMOBILE DEALERS SELLING THEIR WARES. YOU HAVE TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CARS PER FAMILY BEFORE YOU CAN GET MORE PEOPLE USING MASS TRANSIT. ALTERING THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOCAL POLITICIANS IS ANOTHER MATTER. AGAIN, THE INFLUENCE OF DEVELOPERS IS OVERWHELMING. TRY RUNNING ON AN ANTI-DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM, OR, FOR THAT MATTER, A SLOW-GROWTH PLATFORM, OR EVEN A RESTRUCTURING PLATFORM. IT IS NOT GOING TO WORK FOR ONE REASON. GREED. A SECOND IS PROFIT. HOW MANY COMPANIES HAVE MOVED OUT OF DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER IN THE PAST DECADE? TWO DECADES. ONLY CATASTROPHIC EVENTS WILL LEAD TO PEOPLE GETTING OUT OF THEIR CARS – GASOLINE COSTING $10.00 A LITRE, INSURANCE COSTS SKYROCKETING, 90% CONGESTION EVERYWHERE….BUT THERE HAS TO BE AN EFFICIENT TRANSIT SYSTEM IN PLACE BEFORE PEOPLE WILL CHANGE…AND THERE ISN’T SUCH A SYSTEM IN B.C…..ANYWHERE.
TransLink has targeted long distance commuters interested in taking B-Lines and SkyTrains having distantly spaced stops. However, long distance commuters are only a small segment of commuters, and the median distance traveled by commuters in Metro Vancouver is about seven kilometres.
SO IS THE TRANSIT SYSTEM FULLY INTEGRATED? ME THINKS NOT.
You were the director of a research-polling firm and surely understand statistics well.
AGAIN, DON’T ASSUME A LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE HERE AND ANY UNDERSTANDING OF POINTS OF VIEW OTHER THAN TALKING POINTS DEVELOPED BY THE PREMIER’S OFFICE.
The statistical distribution for transit is not a normal distribution and is skewed. That is, 50% of commuters travel about seven kilometres or less in distance one-way with three-quarters of the commuters travel under 15 kilometres in distance one-way. Only one-quarter of the commuters travel over 15 kilometres in distance, one-way. Only about 25% of commuters are good candidates for SkyTrain or B-Line transit, yet, TransLink has based its entire transit network on B-Lines and SkyTrains costing twice as much as conventional light rail and tram lines as well as electric bus (trolley or wireless) routes having closely spaced stops and suited for 75% of the commuters. This has been a huge and crippling blunder by TransLink.
SO WHAT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES ARE NECESSARY TO ALTER THE GOVERNANCE OF TRANSLINK AND BRING ABOUT A MORE SENSIBLE ATTITUDE? AND DO YOU THINK POLAK WILL INSTIGATE THAT? FIRING EVERYONE WON’T DO IT. WHAT CHANGES TO MANAGEMENT CAN POLAK BRING ABOUT…ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF AN ELECTION NEXT YEAR. THIS IS A MATTER FOR THE METRO VANCOUVER CITIES, DISTRICTS AND MUNICIPALITIES TO WORK OUT. SHE WON’T TOUCH IT WITH A TEN FOOT POLE.
TransLink by focusing on long distance commuters has alienated most driving commuters and has put more cars on the roads. TransLink has teamed up with greedy developers who appear to be the impetus for SkyTrain (you only have to pick up the “New Condo Guide” to see the over the top advertising of how life near the future Evergreen Line will be better than good, even though few potential condo owners want to use SkyTrain and most potential condo owners just see SkyTrain as a way to increase their property value).
NOW YOU ARE CATCHING ON…THE POWER OF DEVELOPERS…LIKE KEVIN FALCON…WHO USED TO BE A DEVELOPER…AND WHO IS SYMPATHETIC TO THE ‘DEVELOPMENT’ INDUSTRY.
Perhaps developers building condos along SkyTrain lines have ties to organized crime and are building condos to launder drug money through condo construction in the Lower Mainland.
NOW YOU ARE STRETCHING IT…AND GETTING WAY OUT OF LINE…MAKING YOUR LETTER FIT FOR THE CIRCULAR FILE.
Maybe developers are using SkyTrain expansions to obtain permits from municipalities to rezone single family residential areas into high density housing developments along SkyTrain routes. Something is amiss because SkyTrain expansion is being paid for by taxpayers and isn’t having the desired effect of reduced traffic on the roads; however, developers seem to be benefiting from access to land development opportunities that wouldn’t normally exist.
YOU ARE CATCHING ON FAST. SO HOW DO YOU STOP THAT WHEN SKYTRAIN COSTS SO MUCH AND PLANNERS WON’T CONSIDER NEW CORRIDORS UNLESS THEY HAVE HIGH DENSITY.
While the condo developments along SkyTrain routes are in the microscopic context increasing density, they are in the macroscopic context reducing overall density in the Lower Mainland by connecting far flung municipalities into one mega region to create urban sprawl.
HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT LAND IN VANCOUVER? OR FOR THAT MATTER IN GREATER VANCOUVER? OBVIOUSLY NO DEVELOPER IS GOING TO INCREASE THE COST OF HIS DEVELOPMENT BY PURCHASING EXPENSIVE LAND….THEY WILL MOVE OUT TO THE SUBURBS…AND THE TRANSIT PLANNERS HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE THAN TO PROVIDE FAST, EXCLUSIVE TRANSPORTATION….ALRT.
Because most commuters only travel a short distance, most commuters moving into the new condo developments along SkyTrain routes choose to drive and traffic congestion has ironically worsened as spending by TransLink on B-Line and SkyTrain has escalated. Even if the apparent modal share for transit has increased slightly, the sheer magnitude of cars on the roads has increased sharply, and the number of roads and bridges being built cannot meet the demand for the added cars on the roads. TransLink with B-Lines (rapid bus transit) and SkyTrains has put Metro Vancouver taxpayers paying for exorbitantly priced transit by TransLink into a tail spin. To reverse it, the focus of transit must shift to satisfy the majority of commuters traveling short distances of less than 15 kilometres and to do this requires a switch to economical and community based tram, light rail and electric bus routes. More money spent on SkyTrains and B-Lines would be a disaster.
YOU WILL NOT SEE THIS PREFERRED TYPE OF CHANGE IN YOUR LIFETIME. PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE TRAVELLING WITH OTHER PEOPLE NOR HAVING THEIR TRAVELLING DICTATED TO BY A TIMETABLE SET BY SOME TRANSIT SYSTEM PLANNER. GRANTED SHORT DISTANCE COMMUTER TRAVELLING IS PREFERRED….AS I ONCE TRAVELLED FROM VEDDER CROSSING TO DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER ON A DAILY BASIS…A TOTAL OF 125 MILES ROUND TRIP PER DAY…BUT I HAVE GIVEN UP TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY BASED TRAM SYSTEMS, LIGHT RAIL AND ELECTRIC TROLLEY BUSES. LET THEM FIND OUT THE HARD WAY.
Therefore, the Evergreen Line for Coquitlam must be cancelled and the planned rapid bus transit for Langley must be shelved. Furthermore, the current 99 B-Line service in Vancouver has to be ended due to the health impacts to residents who are being exposed to elevated sound pressure and particulate matter levels described in the attachment. It will take courage and integrity to do it. Mary, your mission if you choose to accept it, is to save transit; this email will self destruct on May 14, 2013.
THE END TONE OF THIS MESSAGE TO THE MINISTER IS LUDICROUS AND RELEGATES THE WRITER TO THE “TWO PERCENT” FRINGE GROUP. BUT THEN, HE GOT IT OFF HIS CHEST…NOTHING WILL HAPPEN ON HIS SUGGESTIONS AS HE DOES NOT HAVE THE CREDENTIALS TO GARNER POLITICAL ATTENTION…REMEMBER, IT IS NOT WHAT IS SAID BUT WHO SAYS IT THAT COUNTS.