The SkyTrain Dream Collapsing

So, despite the hype and hoopla of SkyTrain being a driver for increased density, it is now being seen as the harbinger of urban sprawl as affordable housing is demolished and in its place unaffordable condos in towers are built. As rents exceed income and combined incomes of families (one now needs an income of […]

Streets Paved With Gold – Transit Planning is Driven By Politics

Footnotes: The author,  Adrienne Tanner,  was city editor at the Sun, a newspaper that prevented any real reporting of our regional transit issues and took orders from back east to report “SkyTrain” in a positive light. As well, there was little investigative reporting on SNC-Lavalin’s B.C. operations. Detroit’s ALRT system officially called a People Mover […]

Holiday Post – The Modern Tram

Here are some pictures of trams in operation around the world.          

Less Transit For More Money – The Canadain Way

Here we go again. The combined naivete of regional mayors about regional transportation and the abandonment of their fiduciary duty protecting the taxpayer from ill advised “prestige projects” such as the Broadway subway and the Expo Line extension in Surrey, is just simply breathtaking! * Both the ill conceived Broadway subway and the now equally […]

No, It Does Not Make Sense

It is as I predicted, the people in the Fraser Valley are awakening to the realities of TransLink, poor transit and high taxes. Politicians have such poor memories of the 2015 plebiscite. For too long TransLink has done what the City of Vancouver’s wants, continuing the city’s perverse desire to have a gold plated, Edsel […]

A Must Read – Translink’s 10 Year Plan Finances.

A must read. If you want to understand the financial implications with the Mayor’s Council on Transit 10 year plan as it pertains to the light metro system, our resident expert, Mr. Cow’s comments deserve a post of their own. From what I can deduce from this is that Bombardier has telegraphed to TransLink that […]

A Stark Choice

The stark choice for the Fraser Valley. Does one want to spend $1.6 billion for seven or eight kilometres of a now obsolete light metro metro system, ending in  Fleetwood, with vague promises of future funding to go to Langley or a Vancouver to Chilliwack, via North Delta, Cloverdale, Abbotsford, Sardis and Chilliwack regional rail […]

Tax, tax, tax – SkyTrain Needs New And Higher Taxes

From the very beginning, building the SkyTrain network demanded new and higher taxes. As the SkyTrain light-metro network is automatic, it must be grade seperated and grade separation is costly. It is the Achilles heel of light-metro as construction is so costly, compared to other modes, that extending the initial line into areas of low […]

Mr. Cow Pegs It. Expo Line Extension Will Cost $3.2 billion

I am continually amazed that an area like the lower mainland of BC, an area that claims to be so high tech, yet can’t get its head around the simplicity of a regional rail line using already available track. Yet, will spend billions and you guys will be spending billions ($2.9-$3.2 Billion by current estimates) […]

The Best Public Transportation Have Trams. Vancouver Does Not. Why?

Ah yes, if we were to believe TransLink and the Mayor’s Council on Transit, Vancouver’s unprogressive mayor, Vancouver is the envy of the transit world with our SkyTrain rapid transit system. A recent news item listed the top fifteen city transportation systems and twelve of the cities have trams or LRT or both, with some […]