The Nevergreen Line saga continues

Mayor Trasolini adds his two cents worth in the Evergreen line debate. Nowhere in the letter does he admit that SkyTrain is just too expensive to build and/or that the SkyTrain light-metro system is a dated transit mode, made obsolete by much cheaper and just as effective light rail. Until regional and provincial politicians actually […]

SkyTrain justifications are way off track

It seems The North Shore News’s Liz James has scored a direct hit with her most recent article andAi??I hope the rest of the Post Media papers pick this up and print it. BC Transit and now TransLink has made the LRT/SkyTrain debate an idealogicalAi??one and not a debate about what is best for the […]

Around Canada

A column published by The National Post says Toronto has a fetish for streetcars and what the city really needs is more rapid transit subways to make it a world class urban area. The commentary compares Toronto with London and its Tube system:http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/06/10/kelvin-browne-derailed-by-the-spacehog-streetcar/ Every city with aspirations for greatness insists on good transit, and subways […]

A letter about light rail, the Vancouver Sun refuses to print.

It is strange that the pro-SkyTrain Vancouver Sun printed an article about the proposed Victoria LRT project, unless the Sun wanted to cool the anti-Evergreen Line, pro-LRT stance taken by many regional mayors, especially mayor Watts of Surrey. The gist of the Victoria story….. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Opinion+plan+Victoria+mayor+nervously+eyeing+bill/4917237/story.html#ixzz1Oshzwu6NBy …. is that LRT is also very expensive and that […]

LRT plan for Victoria has mayor nervously eyeing bill – From the Vancouver Sun

An interesting item in the Vancouver Sun. It should be noted that BC Transit, who oversaw the Victoria light rail planning, has a vested interest in keeping construction costs for LRT high as BC Transit was also the organization thatAi??oversaw the implementation of the first SkyTrain line in Vancouver and their anti-LRT bias has carried […]

Maybe Evergreen Line just isn’t affordable – From the Vancouver Province

Maybe Evergreen Line just isn’t affordable – you think? 11 km. of transit route for over $1.4 billion seems to be just a tad too much especially when it is compared with other transit modes, but Translink has created a lot of spin for the (N)Evergreen Line and it would be truly embarrassing for them if […]

BC’s TransLink taking taxpayers for a ride – North Shore News

It seems Ms. James now joins  the Georgia Straight's Charlie Smith, with her knowledge on regional transit issues and one hopes other commentators get up to speed on the subject of transit as well. Yes, TransLink and the provincial government are taking taxpayers for a ride and have done so since 1980 when the then Bill Bennett […]

Rail for the Valley

An Interesting video on U-Tube Rail for the Valley well worth watching about rail in the Fraser Valley.

LRT for Dummies – I hope Clark and Dix read this!

From the Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/06/infographic-light-rail-transit-for-dummies/239664/ Infographic: Light Rail Transit for Dummies Jun 2 2011 It's a subject that's sparked quite a bit of heated discussion, both in our own offices here at the Watergate and in homes across America. President Obama and his team have promised millions to transform our country's rail system, but several Republican […]

Sound Transit to invest $2.1M in rail, bus ridership research

Seattle's LRT is grossly overbuilt for what it does. Seattle has built a grossly over-engineered light rail line which has more in common with Vancouver's SkyTrain light metro than LRT and ridership is flagging. Having failed to meet forecast ridership comes as no surprise as the hybrid light rail/metro is trying to be all things to all […]