The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree – TransLink’s Regional Transit Planning

Fruit of the poisonous tree is a legal metaphor in the United States used to describe evidence that is obtained illegally.The logic of the terminology is that if the source of the evidence (the “tree”) is tainted, then anything gained from it (the “fruit”) is as well. TransLink’s planning officials still maintain that modern light […]

If One Build Metro On Routes That Do Not Have The Ridership That Would Justify Contruction……

…..Then One Will Have To Pay Large Subsidies To Build And Operate It! Large Subsidies Translates Into Higher Taxes! Of course those high subsidies will have to be borne by the taxpayer, either in gas taxes, car levies, or road pricing (or all three), and or increased property taxes. The current belief by TransLink’s highly […]

BRT to Chilliwack & SkyTrain to Langley? Just Business as Usual in BC!

The following article by Brian Lewis should forewarn us that the transit decision for the Fraser Valley has been already made. Like all transit studies done in the region in the past 30 years, the decision on transit mode is made beforehand and thenAi??Ai??a study is commissioned to confirm the decision. This is howAi??Ai??transit planning […]

The 10,000 PPHPD Question – TransLink is Hoisted on its Own Petard

At the recent streetcar symposium in Vancouver, TransLink officials contend that streetcars have very little capacity, almost less than a busAi??Ai??and that light rail can carry only 10,000 persons per hour per direction. This,Ai??Ai??despite the fact that the Light Rail Transit Association has, since the 1980’s, defined LRT “as a mode that can carry 2,000 […]

Spain’s FEVE Regional Light Railway – A Model For The Valley TramTrain?

The following came via the Light Rail Transit Association’s members group. The FEVE is a Spanish narrow or metre gauge railway, what could be termed a ‘light’ railway, operating light rail style articulated electrical multiple units, diesel articulated multiple units as well as freight or goods trains. It is this type of operation that is […]

Mr. Campbell Responds to the Rail For The Valley/Leewood Report With Deciet

Gordon Campbell has a very bad reputation for not telling the truth, in fact he is a habitual teller of very tall tales. The Premier’s statement in the following article, ” But you know the operating costs of the SkyTrain are about 50 per cent a year less than with light rail. And the ridership […]

As Predicted – "Mayors consider raising taxes to pay for TransLink"

Ai??Ai??As predicted yesterday: TransLink is in a conundrum; there is no money for new metro expansion and the bureaucracy refuses to plan for much cheaper light rail. There is no way out, either taxes must increase to pay for metro constructionAi??Ai??or the transit system stagnates and becomes even more unattractive product for customers. It seems […]

Mayors, Premier and Transportation Minister to meet next week – The Blind Leading the Blind

Talk about the blind leading the blind. BC Transportation Minister, Shirley Bond (who knows little or nothing about transit), the besieged premier (who knows that building glitzy metro lines buys votes), and regional mayors (who are equally unread on transit) are going to have a private meeting regarding TransLink’s ongoing financial crisis. The first hing […]

Off The Rails – From the Abby Times

An interesting tome in the Abbotsford Times. Anyone wanting to put ‘rail’ transit down the median of the number 1 highway forgets that it would be hugely expensive and the curvature and gradients along the route would mean very expensive engineering would have to be done. Going ‘greenfields’ construction is always an expensive propositionAi??Ai??which knowledgeable […]

The SkyTrain Lobby – Just The Usual Suspects!

Transit again is making front page news in the dailies and regional newspapers, with TransLink claiming that the next big rapid transit (read SkyTrain) line will be in Surrey, not Broadway. A few international transit blogs have picked up the storyAi??Ai??with the usual suspects singing hosannas about SkyTrain, while in the same breathe libeling anyone […]