Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion II

[mcj]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Dec 2024

Station Street alignment to the hospital?



https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2025-020-release.pdf

If ABC makes this happen, this single thing would turn my opinion on them around significantly. Kind of been crickets for nearly a year, guess no proponent came forward?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by mcj

If ABC makes this happen, this single thing would turn my opinion on them around significantly. Kind of been crickets for nearly a year, guess no proponent came forward?

TDI said they would submit a proposal in Feb 2025 so I guess it could show up in some form by the end of the year.

[officedweller]

Station St. makes sense as Main would be too crowded and impact reliability and Quebec will be a zoo when/if the viaducts come down.
Maybe veer over the Gore St. to get to Cordova / Water for the one way couplets.
That also provides Strathcona with a bit better transit access.
The Pacific Blvd part wouldn't be built until after the roads there are realligned after the viaducts come down, so that will have to wait.

[RedArbutus]

Reading through that FOI release.....some guy in East Vancouver proposed a pod hotel using an old train carriage, situated on the existing platform near OV station?

Wild!

[jollyburger]

I assume this would be part of any innovation district plan to realign Station Street through that stretch. The property endowment fund owns 1688 Main (the Midas) so it makes that alignment a lot easier. And close off that segment of Industrial going to Main.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

I assume this would be part of any innovation district plan to realign Station Street through that stretch. The property endowment fund owns 1688 Main (the Midas) so it makes that alignment a lot easier. And close off that segment of Industrial going to Main.

Current active plans have Station aligning with Lorne for any new developments with a Road Dedication.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Most of the argument against trams in Vancouver is the disproportionately-high cost per rider; if VLRT can be built for the same price as a BRT or RapidBus, I can see it catching on.

That said, at last check its tracks it ran on the street, not in it, and there's a lot of intersections there.

[logan5]

A street car trial between the Granville Bridge and Cambie is completely pointless, though as the Broadway Corridor becomes more densely populated, a more extensive system that runs into the downtown peninsula would get good ridership.

If the City allows mixed use residential/industrial in the Mt. Pleasant Industrial area, a light rail line becomes even more feasible.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

From the surveys



https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metrotow...ns-burnaby-translink-public-consultation

How is that station alignment going to work along 104th? It's a lot narrower than KGB, so the only option there is to buy up property around the stations so the road can be widened.

That goes the same for other proposed BRT corridors.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by logan5

How is that station alignment going to work along 104th? It's a lot narrower than KGB, so the only option there is to buy up property around the stations so the road can be widened.

That goes the same for other proposed BRT corridors.

This, nor any of the other planned BRT lines, won't run on 104th.

As for the other corridors, most have curb parking that can be removed in the station areas.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by logan5

A street car trial between the Granville Bridge and Cambie is completely pointless, though as the Broadway Corridor becomes more densely populated, a more extensive system that runs into the downtown peninsula would get good ridership.

If the City allows mixed use residential/industrial in the Mt. Pleasant Industrial area, a light rail line becomes even more feasible.

It will be decades before there's enough additional density as a result of the Broadway Plan to make any difference to the viability of a Very Light Rail track running between Granville and Cambie. It stands, or falls, on the basis of there being enough potential riders to get to Granville Island, Fairview, and the Olympic Village. In a few years (maybe) there should be more residents at the eastern end, once McDonald's and the City parking lot get built.

Adding residents to the Mount Pleasant industrial area could reduce the viability of light rail, because you get a lot more jobs in the same space than you get residents, so if you displace potential employees with residents, you get fewer potential riders.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Most of the argument against trams in Vancouver is the disproportionately-high cost per rider; if VLRT can be built for the same price as a BRT or RapidBus, I can see it catching on.

That said, at last check its tracks it ran on the street, not in it, and there's a lot of intersections there.

Another significant barrier is the payment system. A private operator, (assuming TransLink doesn't object to them setting up), wouldn't be integrated with the Compass card.

[jollyburger]

Would there be any displacement if you stack residential on top of a few floors of light industrial/offices?

The report is supposed to be presented by the end of the month.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Changing City

It will be decades before there's enough additional density as a result of the Broadway Plan to make any difference to the viability of a Very Light Rail track running between Granville and Cambie. It stands, or falls, on the basis of there being enough potential riders to get to Granville Island, Fairview, and the Olympic Village. In a few years (maybe) there should be more residents at the eastern end, once McDonald's and the City parking lot get built.

Adding residents to the Mount Pleasant industrial area could reduce the viability of light rail, because you get a lot more jobs in the same space than you get residents, so if you displace potential employees with residents, you get fewer potential riders.

You completely misread what I wrote on both points.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Would there be any displacement if you stack residential on top of a few floors of light industrial/offices?

The report is supposed to be presented by the end of the month.

We've been seeing some reasonably significant density office/ industrial proposals. The first one that has been suggested with residential (360 W 1st) has less office than they previously indicated.

Adding residential in the past has tended to increase land values so existing tenants in the area face higher property taxes if valuations are higher. That may not be as big an issue these days as land values in the industrial area have risen as greater office density is allowed in the zoning.

Mixing residents into a commercial area can generate conflicts between the operations of business (24 hours, for example, or brewery operations), and some residents (unreasonable) expectations of 'quiet enjoyment' of their home. As the area becomes more office, and less 'industrial' that too becomes less of an issue, but by then it isn't an industrial area anymore.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by logan5

A street car trial between the Granville Bridge and Cambie is completely pointless, though as the Broadway Corridor becomes more densely populated, a more extensive system that runs into the downtown peninsula would get good ridership.

If the City allows mixed use residential/industrial in the Mt. Pleasant Industrial area, a light rail line becomes even more feasible.

Exactly why this proposal showing a connection to the Expo Line is vital. It would provide enough ridership to this initial segment to justify future expansions into Chinatown/Gastown/Downtown.

Originally Posted by Changing City

It will be decades before there's enough additional density as a result of the Broadway Plan to make any difference to the viability of a Very Light Rail track running between Granville and Cambie. It stands, or falls, on the basis of there being enough potential riders to get to Granville Island, Fairview, and the Olympic Village. In a few years (maybe) there should be more residents at the eastern end, once McDonald's and the City parking lot get built.

Adding residents to the Mount Pleasant industrial area could reduce the viability of light rail, because you get a lot more jobs in the same space than you get residents, so if you displace potential employees with residents, you get fewer potential riders.

There's potential riders such as myself that take the Expo Line in to the city that would use this to get to Granville Island and Senakw/Kits Beach area (taking people either off the seawall or the aquabus/fcf system, and probably generating new riders since there's likely plenty of people who would rather not deal with walking or the ferries). Without the connection to the Expo Line there wouldn't be nearly as many potential riders.

In this use case, a streetcar/tram makes sense since it is doing what streetcars/trams should be doing in a urban setting and making walking trips faster and more accessible.

[officedweller]

Yes, the streetcar should be viewed as a collector distributor system, feeding to and from Expo Line and Canada Line to provide last mile connectivity to various destinations such as Vanier Park/Kits Beach/Museums, Granville Island, Chinatown (now Strathcona if on Gore) Gastown and eventually Stanley Park.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by logan5

How is that station alignment going to work along 104th? It's a lot narrower than KGB, so the only option there is to buy up property around the stations so the road can be widened.

That goes the same for other proposed BRT corridors.

The old plan for the cancelled 104 Ave. LRT was to reduce it to one travel car lane in each direction. The City expanded the parallel 105 Ave. corridor as an alternate route to take some traffic including taking some land away from a local park to complete a through route.

Google AI says the plan is still in the design stage.


https://www.surrey.ca/sites/default/file...RoadandHawthorneParkMasterPlanBoards.pdf

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Most of the argument against trams in Vancouver is the disproportionately-high cost per rider; if VLRT can be built for the same price as a BRT or RapidBus, I can see it catching on.

That said, at last check its tracks it ran on the street, not in it, and there's a lot of intersections there.

Just to clarify are you talking about possible issues with the safety of the VLRT cars in case of an accident with a vehicle?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Just to clarify are you talking about possible issues with the safety of the VLRT cars in case of an accident with a vehicle?

That, and I'm wondering how a 1-foot track sitting on top of the road will affect pedestrian and vehicle traffic. It's unlikely that either the hypothetical private contractor or City Hall have the hundreds of millions' worth of roadworks needed to integrate the rail into the street all the way to Senakw and Main Street Station.