Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

I guess we know why Kevin Falcon cancelled his BC Young Liberals meet-and-greet for this Friday afternoon!

well, he could've had the announcement there.

[SFUVancouver]

Here is the map from the Province's business case document.

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Some key items from the business plan.


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I don't know if it is anything but I have noticed something consistent in the Province's maps of the extension of the Expo Line, and it is that the route doesn't go down 152 to get to Fleetwood/Fraser Hwy. I know it is just a dotted line on the map I posted above but there have been several iterations of it and its routing is pretty consistent. The maps are not random hand-drawn affairs either. They're GIS maps with buffers around specific routes/roads. The dotted line heads dead east from King George along 100th. For what it is worth, the dotted Millennium Line extension does not go exactly down Broadway either but rather a hair south along 10th. Thoughts?

[Dave2]

> For what it is worth, the dotted Millennium Line extension does not go exactly down Broadway either but rather a hair south along 10th. Thoughts?

Might be the wrong thread for this, but here's the video of the debate over c&c on the UBC line...

http://cityofvan-as1.insinc.com/ibc/mp/md/open/c/317/1198/200801291345wv150en,014

Hmm, w/b under the lane north of Brodway, e/b under the lane south of Broadway? That would probably make for more expensive stations... I think what's his name missed the point; it doesn't really matter if the lines are shallow, or stacked.... so long as the road isn't chewed up for too long. I do know that the 18 years I lived in Kits, W 7th Ave was dug up twice, for weeks at a time, for sewer works and later water works, and there is no back lane access in that part of Kits; we just sucked it up and abandoned the use of our driveways until the work was done. Yeah, it —, but how many peope remember that the 600 block of Seymour was ripped to shreds back in the mid 80s to build Granville Station? It's 23 years or so later, and nobody cares.

[officedweller]

I do remember when Seymour was bridged over for the station - didn't know what was going on at the time - I remember big huge wooden beams in the street.

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

... The dotted line heads dead east from King George along 100th. Thoughts?

100th would be the easiest route through Green Timbers - and goes close enough to Guildford Town Centre to serve the regional centre, though not "at" the mall.

My post in the $14B thread:

Agreed that the Surrey route should be interesting. Good news that they are tying in Guildford Town Centre (though I could be wrong looking at the map). Route may be along the Hydro ROW (tail track is just above the words Fraser Hwy in pic below) then along 100th Ave (north side of Green Timbers Park) to Guildford. It would be a shame if they miss Guildford by a few blocks along 96th (although the LRT is planned to run along 104th to Guildford, but would that be axed?).

If along 104th (as mentioned by a forummer), my thoughts are any of these allignments which could preserve a branch south to Newton:

[Dave2]

>Almost all of the buses on the 25 i've been on for the past month have been the new recently shipped Nova Buses (you've gotta love that fresh new bus smell).

After 3 years of living at Brentwood, i finally had an excuse to use the #25 on Sunday (that was the half snow/half sun Sunday).... buses were not running east of Brentwood (my condolences to the Transit dude trying to explain that it was too dangerouse to run buses down certain hills) but the #25 was running west. It was a fairly old rattly bus , the kind with the green dot matix destination signs; the "Buzzers" were dated Oct 17 indicating the bus had not seen service in months. Either these were old heavier buses better able to run on the snow, or they didn't want to risk the new buses on the hills....

Dave 2 (who remebers when #25 meant "Victoria")

[deasine]

Hate the interrupt all this exciting discussion, but todays edition of the Buzzer:

Welcome to the fleet!

All about the new Nova and New Flyer buses rolling around your communities

We’re happy to introduce two types of new buses to the streets of Metro Vancouver over the past few months. First, say hello to the new 40 ft. low-fl oor Nova buses, which have started on routes like the #43 since July 2007. You’ll know
these buses by the rear-facing seats in the back, the single seat located right behind the driver, and the wide door frames for better wheelchair access.

These Novas are the cleanest non-electric buses in the fleet, thanks to low-sulfur diesel and a particulate fiter. They’re also
about 10 per cent lighter than the New Flyers, providing better fuel economy and lower emissions.

TransLink bought 124 Nova buses in total, but just 123 of them drove all the way to the Lower Mainland from their factory in
Saint-Eustache, Quebec last winter. The last Nova bus hit a moose en route to Metro Vancouver, and had to go back to the factory for major repairs. (Never fear: it will join up with the rest of the buses in a few weeks.)

There are 35 seats in the new Novas, and they feature rear-facing wheelchair positions that don’t require restraints. As well, the Novas feature stainless steel frames and fibre glass body panels that don’t rust, and removable plastic lower panels that allow easy access for repairs.

And TransLink has also made a huge effort to ensure the 2006 and 2007 buses are much quieter than their predecessors, which is very noticeable with the Novas.


Look out for the new New Flyers
The second new vehicle on the roads is the articulated 60 ft. low floor New Flyer bus, found on high-capacity routes like the #99 B-Line since January. “Articulated” means the bus has a bendy, accordion-like joint in the middle, and on these New Flyers, the middle joint features custom-made leaning pads to help passengers get to the back more easily.

Sixteen New Flyers were ordered from the company’s head office in Winnipeg, but they were made in New Flyer factories in
Minnesota and driven up to Vancouver. (Luckily, none of these hit any wildlife on the way.)

Just like the Novas, the New Flyers feature cleaner exhaust due to a diesel particulate filter, and rear-facing wheelchair positions that don’t require restraints.

And to make it as accessible as possible for those with mobility concerns, the entire New Flyer bus can kneel down to curb-level on its door side.


More buses on the horizon
This isn’t the last of the new buses this year. We’re expecting nine new Orion Highways buses in February, and 66 more of the low floor 40 ft. Nova buses later this year. And watch out in 2009, as 141 diesel-electric hybrids are scheduled to join the fleet. (See the story above for more information.) Keep your eye on The Buzzer for the latest news as that story unfolds!
What’s your take?


Hybrid buses debut in 2009
Our bus fleet will get even greener in 2009, as we’ve bought 141 new diesel-electric Nova hybrid buses that will arrive next
spring. The new buses run on electricity generated by a small diesel engine, and hybrid operation drops emissions by up to 90 per cent compared to conventional combustion engines. When launched, they’ll be the cleanest, most fuel efficient nontrolley
buses in the history of the fleet! Even compared to the newest generation diesel buses (like our low-emission 2007 Novas), the new hybrids will cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel effi ciency by 20 per cent. It helps that they’re about 800 kilograms lighter than the latest diesel buses, which aids in lowering fuel
consumption.

Of the 141 hybrids arriving in 2009, 109 will replace older buses, cutting emissions across the whole bus fl eet. In fact,
in some cases, the hybrids will produce 97 per cent fewer emissions than the buses they’re replacing. The remaining 32 hybrids will expand the fl eet to improve service in the Lower Mainland. And that’s only the beginning: we’re looking to buy even more hybrids by the end of 2009.

Have you been on a new Nova or New Flyer? We want to know what you think of riding the new buses. Send your feedback to [email protected], and we’ll publish the best responses in the next Buzzer.

Source: TransLink - http://translink.bc.ca/files/buzzer/2008/Buzzer_Feb1.pdf

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First Page of this topic is updated with the latest news.

[deasine]

This would probably be my last map for a while now:



I have no idea why Ts are so off center when the image is exported.... got to fix that somehow.

And I should've left more space for downtown.

[Nutterbug]

They should renumber the B-Lines from the 90's series to those that begin with B (B1, B2, B3, ...) like the Community Shuttles begin with C. That way, they don't run out of possible numbers after 10, and the 90's numbers can be reassigned and used consistently with the other two-digit routes in the City of Vancouver.

[deasine]

^ agreed.

[officedweller]

Nice.

[SFUVancouver]

^ Very nice map. That's professional-grade.

I appreciate the Production Way-SFU detail.

[paradigm4]

Awesome deasine!

[mr.x]

nice work deasine.....btw, please look at your inbox.

[Nutterbug]

Good work, deasine.

Wouldn't you add one more station between Alma and UBC, somewhere around Blanca?

[mr.x]

^ more precisely, Sasamat. My 99 B-Line stop.

[Rusty Gull]

^Agreed. A stop along the Point Grey 10th Street Village would be prudent.. perhaps even more practical than a station at Alma.

[zivan56]

Nice!
Shouldn't it be Production Way - Univercity? I would just rename it Univercity/SFU just because a street name doesn't exactly describe the surrounding areas properly.

[j4893k]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

^ more precisely, Sasamat. My 99 B-Line stop.

Me too!

[deasine]

Originally Posted by zivan56

Nice!
Shouldn't it be Production Way - Univercity? I would just rename it Univercity/SFU just because a street name doesn't exactly describe the surrounding areas properly.

Not UniverCITY it's University. We don't want people to be confused with the UniverCITY on SFU Mountain - that area isn't UniverCITY.

I don't think we should keep the name University because there are two in the region (we need more!!!!). I was originally thinking of Production Way - Burnaby Mountain, but then SFU is a shorter name =P

There's ur Sasamat station Mr.X. I also updated the map with the Transfer Station logos... just to match TransLink.

[mr.x]

I don't think University/Univercity should be attached to the Production Station name in anyway...as you guys said, it's nowhere near SFU. If they want to make a reference to the station's proximity to SFU and the lone bus that goes up there from that station, make special train announcements "Production Way - interchange station for the ## bus route to Simon Fraser University"