Taking public transit kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Though Zwei is not a fan of Jarrett Walker, our Ottawa friend, Haveacow, recommended this post from his blog. http://www.humantransit.org/2014/07/california-topples-a-tyrant.html It seems that transit improvements, especially light rail, have been hamstrung by ensuring that traffic flows are not reduced, which is the cornerstone of the light rail Renaissance, emanating from Europe. http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/07/transit-projects-are-about-to-get-much-much-easier-in-california/374049/ So, our American […]

Arbutus corridor told to remove any property on CP land

Just for the record, BC Electric not only ran interurbans on the Arbutus Corridor to Richmond, they also ran inteurbans to New Westminster via the line along the North of the Fraser River. In Theory, the CPR could do the same. One doubts that the CPR would even contemplate operating some sort of passenger rail […]

The Penny Dreadful – The Transit Referendum Saga

The ongoing saga of the Mayor’s Council, TransLink, the Province, and the referendum reads like a ‘Penny Dreadful’. The province has no money, the metro mayors have no money, yet the metro mayors have approved a hugely expensive Vancouver centric rapid transit plan focused on a $2 to $3 billion truncated extension of the Millennium […]

The Whalley, King George, White Rock Light Rail line Revisited – Again

  It has has been three years year since I entertained the idea f the Whalley – King George – White Rock LRT Line and in 2014 the WKW Line is still superior to what TransLink is planning for Surrey. TransLink’s LRT plans for Surrey are three ai???poormanai??i??sai??? SkyTrain type designed light rail lines feeding […]

Metro Vancouver Sleepwalks Into a Financial and Transportation Disaster.

There is so much wrong with this announcement that it boggles the mind, but it is suffice to say, this plan will not go anywhere. Let’s look at the basics of this announcement. A SkyTrain subway to Arbutus has nothing to do about transit ridership, it has everything to do about property development and ensuring […]

Gridlock Is Endemic In Vancouver and Will Be For Years To Come

Nothing new here. As the provincial government keeps building new highways and bridges, car use will increase, simple. As the provincial government, the City of Vancouver, TransLink, and Metro Vancouver, keep planning for and building hugely expensive mini-metro’s like SkyTrain and the Canada Line, for strictly political prestige and not as a convenient transit mode, […]

TramTrain in action

Probably the best visual that explains TramTrain around! Steam, passenger, freight, and trams all using the same line.     Ersingen heavy / light rail contrasts    

Urban rail news in brief – April 2014

From the “Railway Gazette”, urban news for April 2014 Tokyo Metro has signed a technical assistance memorandum of understanding with Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has announced R$3Ai??8bn of public transport investment. The projects include tramways in the city of Natal and state of ParaAi??ba. China Railway Group has been awarded […]

Bus or Light Rail, the Evidence Is Clear

Public transit is a necessity in today’s congested cities, yet politicians and their planners tend to ignore the importance of public transit in the 21st century city and either invest in the “cheap and nasty” rapid or express buses, or overly expensive gadgetbahnen like our Skytrain and Canada Line mini-metros. There is also the disturbing […]

Stop fighting Massey bridge, Delta mayor doesn’t get it

Some politicians ‘get it’ and many other don’t; the same goes with regional transportation planning. Delta’s Mayor, Lois Jackson clearly doesn’t get it. The proposed Massey Tunnel replacement bridge will not solve congestion, only move it a few kilometres from Delta, across the river into Richmond. Someone must explain to Mayor Jackson, that unless a […]