Surrey to display light rail model during Canada Day celebrations
The City of Surrey wants modern light rail and planning is now ongoing for several LRT lines in Surrey.
The mistake I feel that is being made is that TransLink, who are unfortunately involved with the planning process, are planning Surrey’s proposed LRT as a poorman’s SkyTrain, forcing it to act solely as a feeder to the SkyTrain light-metro line and not as an independent transit mode.
The Siemen’s Combino and a Alstolm Citadis modular trams would also make fine companions to the Bombardier Flexity being displayed. Let the public compare three modern trams, which are defining how people travel in large urban areas in the 21st century.
The City of Surrey is years ahead of Vancouver in transit planning and while Vancouver is pretending to be green, the City of Surrey is planning for sustainable transit for today and tomorrow by planning for modern light rail.
A Siemens Combino tram or streetcar in Melbourne
An Alstolm Citadis tram in France
Surrey to display light rail model during Canada Day celebrations
By ELAINE O’CONNOR, The Province June 29, 2012
The sleek Bombardier Flexity Freedom Light Rail Vehicle model will be on display at the cityai??i??s Canada Day celebrations this Sunday.The city is pushing for three light rail lines in the community: one along 104 Avenue from City Centre to Highway 1, one along King George Boulevard to Newton,and one on Fraser Highway connecting Surreyai??i??s downtown to Langley.Photograph by: Handout Photo, City of Surrey
Surrey has succeeded in bringing light rail transit to the city.
Well, sort of.
Mayor Dianne Wattai??i??s quest to have TransLink help fund the service in her municipality has been well-publicized. Sheai??i??s adamant itai??i??s the best option for the sprawling suburb, rather than costlier SkyTrain service.
And this weekend, residents will be able to get on board ai??i?? literally with her vision ai??i?? touring a state-of-the-art light rail car.
Too bad itai??i??s not going anywhere just yet.
The sleek Bombardier Flexity Freedom Light Rail Vehicle model will be on display at the cityai??i??s Canada Day celebrations this Sunday. The 60-foot long model is a marvel of green energy, another of the cityai??i??s priorities. It makes no noxious emissions and creates virtually no noise.
ai???Surreyai??i??s population is expected to increase by 50 per cent over the next 30 years, so we need efficient transit service now in order to help shape and connect our growing communities,ai??? Watts said in a statement.
ai???Light rail is cost-effective and will allow us to create billions of dollars in new economic activity.ai???
The city is pushing for three light rail lines in the community: one along 104 Avenue from City Centre to Highway 1, one along King George Boulevard to Newton, and one on Fraser Highway connecting Surreyai??i??s downtown to Langley.
To learn more about Surreyai??i??s light rail proposal visit: www.surrey.ca/RapidTransitNow.
the idea that Surrey is pushing forth with LRT without Translink will hopefully force Translink to think about their options. I doubt that Translink will change their course. I do want to applaud Surrey for being the first city in the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley area to allow the idea of having LRT in the city … maybe other cities will follow Surrey down the road …. here’s hoping.
the display is in cloverdale at
millenium park
at 176 street and 64 ave.
Surrey and Delta would be most wise to ditch TransLink. Transit passes on the Surrey-Delta transit system could be honoured by TransLink and TransLink could honour the Surrey-Delta transit passes. Transit users wouldn’t know the difference and Surrey-Delta could operate an efficient transit network.
Today, is July 1st and UBC is closed over the summer. No matter to TransLink. From my living room window, I can see the #4 and #14 trolley buses with nothing but empty seats – operating about every 15 minutes to UBC.
In addition, TransLink is operating “express” articulated 99 B-Line diesel buses every eight minutes to UBC, as well, and the 99 B-Lines are virtually empty, too! This is because the 99 B-Lines in Vancouver stop at the very important SkyTrain station at Commercial Drive and equally important Canada Line station at Cambie Street.
Rather than just operate trolley buses which have plenty of empty seats, TransLink is operating articulated “express” 99 B-Lines polluting the air with toxic particulate matter and harassing residents with harrowing noise levels until 2:20 am, followed by articulated diesel bus night owl service until 3:36 am!
In the meantime, Surrey and Delta transit users are suffering from not enough transit service so that anyone who might want to take transit in Vancouver has unencumbered access to the SkyTrain-Canada lines.
Outstanding!
i hope surrey manages to get this system. vancouver and the province have proven that their best intrest is in making large companies more money from taxpayers in either toll bridges, (success?) or an expensive skytrain system. the expo line was and still is a great line for the lower mainland. with the cost to build now, cost of fuel and better decisions by consumers, the best option is light rail street cars. there is no other reason to build a skytrain with the layout of the lower mainland and fraser valley except making large companies more money. no other reason whatsoever!!
I keep holding my btareh hoping Translink will offer a City Hall Shuttle, leaves King George Station at 8:00 a.m. each weekday and goes straight down King George to 60th, turns left, and hangs a right on 142nd dropping all passengers off at the existing bus stop adjacent to the parking lot across from the Bylaws building arriving at 8:25 a.m. No stops along the way just a straight shuttle.Then at 4:40 p.m. giving people 10 minutes to exit the building, an evening shuttle picks everyone up at the stop outside the Bylaws building and drives the reverse route straight back to the skytrain. The current option is a local bus that takes a minumum of 45 minutes to make the trip and even parks for a few minutes at Newton Exchange before proceeding down its convoluted backroads route. Normally I wouldn’t suggest it except that between the courthouse, RCMP, School Board offices, and City Hall, there is enough employment happening in a 2 block radius of the Bylaws Building to warrant such a suggestion. There’s enough people at City Hall who live along skytrain they would use transit if only it didn’t take so long to travel by bus halfway across town at the Surrey end. I would but currently don’t.