Quote:
Originally Posted by Metro-One
Although this is really good for Seattle, I am really happy that Vancouver adopted a more true metro style transit system (automated, grade separate). it seems that we are the only city in this corner of the continent to have such a system. i guess San Fran is the closest city to Vancouver that has a grade separated metro. I think in the long run having the skytrain system (and by that i mean the C-line as well) as a backbone will allow Vancouver to have a much stronger and varied rail network in the future when feeder at grade LRT/trams are added.
Is Vancouver the last city in North America to build their metro grade separated? I have a feeling many of these cities deciding to go with at grade LRT for their primary network are going to have to convert them in the decades to come. this is already happening in some cities where they are burying sections near the downtown areas.
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We certainly have gone down the right direction, with developing a high capacity and frequent transit backbone that everything else can feed off from (or onto). There will be a time when ground level LRT/trams should be added to our system, to replace the trolley bus, but that's in the distant future....the downtown loop, Arbutus, 41st Avenue, Kingsway, Hastings, Main, and perhaps even Dunbar and Granville.
SkyTrain perhaps isn't as fitting into the urban fabric as a tram, but being a backbone speed, frequency, convenience, and reliability should be the first priorities.
IMO, what LRT junkies in this city and what many other North American transit planners don't understand is that every transit system needs a big backbone for transit to be a true alternative.
The advantages of our automated grade separated system allows us to adjust capacity with ease while still maintaining a relatively high frequency. Frequency is important for getting riders onboard, nobody likes to plan their trip around the train's tight schedule...but with a train every 2-3 minutes, it's absolutely convenient. It's eexpensive to do this with LRT, being that it's manually driven.
The grade separation of SkyTrain also makes it more reliable....rather, with trams if it crashes into a car or runs over a pedestrian or if it breaks down the whole system halts. Granted, SkyTrain does have problems too - but more than often, it seems they are more related to crime related incidents or suicides (which happen on LRT too).
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Well that is what i am saying, Vancouver did a good job deciding to build a system that is more akin (in my mind it is) to a true Metro, compared to all these surface LRT cities. 
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