Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[vangirl3]

Originally Posted by nname

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/FraserValleyTransit/


I think its mainly for commuter rail..

Okay, taken from your link the most salient point:

The Fraser Valley Transit Study is largely funded by the Province and is being developed in partnership with the Fraser Valley Regional District, BC Transit and TransLink. The $400,000 study was awarded to Urban Systems. An initial assessment of transit demand will be completed by April 2009 with stakeholder and public consultation to follow. A final report is expected in May 2010.

What's the scoop w/Urban Systems and this study? Is the final report still coming out in May 2010?

I think commuter rail (a la WCE) would be fab starting in Hope, and the going to: Chilliwack/Abbotsford/Langley/Fort Langley/Surrey1/Surrey2/New West/Vancouver Central. What do you think? Currently, not enough demand in the Hope/Chilliwack area? Why not market them as places for young families to live, own a home, and only an hour by train from their mid-level jobs in Surrey/Burnaby/Vancouver?

I'm not advocating sprawl, but do think that we need to offer people who want families more than a condo in the City. Or conversely, we have to start building bigger condos. But that's another discussion.

If WCE is seeing 10k passengers/day, surely this kind of route would see at least 15k/day.

[jlousa]

I don't even think it should go to Chilliwack, Abbostford sure as there is current demand. We shouldn't encourage sprawl via transit or freeways.

[vangirl3]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I don't even think it should go to Chilliwack, Abbostford sure as there is current demand. We shouldn't encourage sprawl via transit or freeways.

Jlousa, there's already a highway to 'encourage sprawl' -- it's called HWY #1.

I'm encouraging sprawl via rail... is that the same thing? I'm saying let's create bedroom communities (ie east coast US/Canada) where young families can have a patch of lawn, get on the train, and go to work.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by vangirl3

Jlousa, there's already a highway to 'encourage sprawl' -- it's called HWY #1.

I'm encouraging sprawl via rail... is that the same thing? I'm saying let's create bedroom communities (ie east coast US/Canada) where young families can have a patch of lawn, get on the train, and go to work.

It is the same thing. The goal of the region is to create a more compact, dense region and not to continue "negative" sprawl. Yes, rapid transit generally encourages TODs, but doesn't necessarily mean it will lead to the development of TODs, especially commuter rail.

I think it's about time to think developing transit in terms of a business perspective. There certainly is a demand for commuter rail to Abbotsford: many WCE commuters arriving at Mission are actually from Abbotsford, so I think an extension can and should be looked at.

[Waders]

Has anyone seem the MKII car #307-308 back in service? That is the SkyTrain car named in honour of Vanoc's CEO John Furlong.
Photo posted by Translink's Ken Hardie at http://twitpic.com/1mzlrq

I just hope the plague would last for a long time without becoming a victum of vandalism.

[vangirl3]

Originally Posted by deasine

It is the same thing. The goal of the region is to create a more compact, dense region and not to continue "negative" sprawl. Yes, rapid transit generally encourages TODs, but doesn't necessarily mean it will lead to the development of TODs, especially commuter rail.

I think it's about time to think developing transit in terms of a business perspective. There certainly is a demand for commuter rail to Abbotsford: many WCE commuters arriving at Mission are actually from Abbotsford, so I think an extension can and should be looked at.

Deasine, sorry, but you're not convincing me...

Europe, too, is filled with little bedroom towns an hour away from ...say London (Harlow, Saffron Walden, Wenden's Ambo etc etc etc). They're villages but basically built up town centres with some detatched homes and surrounded by agricultural land (sounds a lot like ALR Fraser Valley imho).

Until CoV builds condos of at least 1200 sq feet, you're going to find families moving to the burbs... and the burbs move further out because of the high price of real estate. By building a commuter rail line, you have some conrol over that sprawl. I guess that's my point. Let's try and control the sprawl by creating compact exburbs serviced by rail lines...

Thoughts?

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by vangirl3

Until CoV builds condos of at least 1200 sq feet, you're going to find families moving to the burbs...

I think we need to be looking at ways to get 1200sq feet condos built somewhere closer than Hope or even Abbotsford...

[vangirl3]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

I think we need to be looking at ways to get 1200sq feet condos built somewhere closer than Hope or even Abbotsford...

I totally agree. My point being that we need that kind of sq ftge in CoV and the immediate burbs in order to have 'long-term' density.

Otherwise it becomes a cycle of young people buying 400 sq ft apartments and moving out to the burbs when they have kids...

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I don't even think it should go to Chilliwack, Abbostford sure as there is current demand. We shouldn't encourage sprawl via transit or freeways.

If that's the case, haven't we done nothing BUT encourage sprawl by having multiple town centres? Brentwood, Metrotown, Downtown...

A commuter train is merely an extension of the current system we have that builds housing around hubs. Chilliwack is merely a larger hub.

The way I see it, people need a car if they live in an outlying town. I wouldn't call Abby or Chilliwack suburbs of Vancouver. Those stop at Langley. This is more a matter of intercity rail.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by vangirl3

Deasine, sorry, but you're not convincing me...

Europe, too, is filled with little bedroom towns an hour away from ...say London (Harlow, Saffron Walden, Wenden's Ambo etc etc etc). They're villages but basically built up town centres with some detatched homes and surrounded by agricultural land (sounds a lot like ALR Fraser Valley imho).

Until CoV builds condos of at least 1200 sq feet, you're going to find families moving to the burbs... and the burbs move further out because of the high price of real estate. By building a commuter rail line, you have some conrol over that sprawl. I guess that's my point. Let's try and control the sprawl by creating compact exburbs serviced by rail lines...

Thoughts?

I'm not convincing you. I'm not convincing anyone here. I would love to see commuter rail services as well, and those that reach far out. But really, is there enough demand to break even? If there is, go ahead. If there isn't, this needs to be thought out a little more.

[officedweller]

That's the thing about commuter rail services.
They serve self-contained communities that only need access to the downtown during morning and evening rush hours.
The limited service hours keeps the cost of the service down.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

If that's the case, haven't we done nothing BUT encourage sprawl by having multiple town centres? Brentwood, Metrotown, Downtown...

A commuter train is merely an extension of the current system we have that builds housing around hubs. Chilliwack is merely a larger hub.

The way I see it, people need a car if they live in an outlying town. I wouldn't call Abby or Chilliwack suburbs of Vancouver. Those stop at Langley. This is more a matter of intercity rail.

Mission (east end of the WCE) is north of Abbotsford, so if someone can armtwist CN/CP to allow passenger trains to use the Mission Railway Bridge again, it shouldn't be too difficult to add Abbotsford as the 'Southern' end of WCE (leaving Mission as the 'Eastern' end of WCE).

If the run to Waterfront was quick enough, some people living between Abbotsford and Langley, or between Abbotsford and Chilliwack might find that even factoring in the drive to an Abbotsford Park & Ride or 'Kiss & Ride' station for the commute to Vancouver or Coquitlam is faster than driving over Port Mann.

I wonder how many people living South of the Fraser are already driving to Mission Station or other North of the Fraser stations to use WCE?

If there was demand, Chilliwack could be the 'South Eastern' terminus for WCE & use the CPR tracks along the southern edge of Chilliwack Mountain and northern edge of Sumas Mountain to get to the Mission Railway Bridge to cross over to Mission & continue into Vancouver.

[Zassk]

^ A WCE extension from Mission to Abbotsford certainly makes sense, but the line should definitely end there. Chilliwack is a long way beyond Abbotsford, it's not just next door.

It's not so much that Chilliwack lacks population, but it's such a long drive that I can't imagine that people have chosen to live in Chilliwack with the intention of commuting to Vancouver. In this respect Chilliwack is quite different from Abby or Mission.

[SpongeG]

i worked with a woman who lived in chilliwack she commuted to burnaby (near brentwood) for work - thought she was crazy 60 mins was about the quickest i think it would take

[officedweller]

Here's the Canada Line P3 at work:

http://www.thepixeltrain.com/pages.html

[squeezied]

^ that's gonna be pretty awesome! but how are they going to know if the images uploaded are appropiate or not???

[squeezied]

i just read the terms and conditions... it doesn't say, but i'm guessing they'll review every single one..

i'm also guessing there won't be ads on the train? there better not be. it would — so have your picture covered up

[SpongeG]

does anyone know what these are? are they art? future function? old function?
they are inside waterfront station - canada line near the ticket machines

[CLC]

NEWS1130: Bus driver dies a month after crash into Newton Wave Pool building
Andrea Macpherson May 13, 2010 15:30:45 PM

(NEWS1130) - A veteran bus driver with Coast Mountain Bus Company has died from her injuries after crashing her bus into the Newton Wave Pool building last month. The cause of the crash is still not known.

It was a chaotic scene on April 11th, when News1130 first reported on the crash and spoke with eye witnesses. "The front corner of the wall is crushed. The wall just exploded, you could see a hole right through it, and drywall went flying right into the pool deck. You could have definitely been hurt."

It was first thought the driver (with 20 years experience) suffered just a broken leg, but Derek Zabel with the company says news of her death has shaken up employees. "We are respecting the family's privacy at this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they go through this tough time. Our hearts go out to our operators as they go through this difficult situation as well."

[mooks28]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

does anyone know what these are? are they art? future function? old function?
they are inside waterfront station - canada line near the ticket machines

I believe those are orange boxes.