Millennium Line - Evergreen Extension | Completed

[DKaz]

Forgot to add in that yea the trains have the potential to block up one or two intersections. Calgary limits train lengths to 4-car (100m) due to the downtown district although only 3-cars are being used right now. Edmonton doesn't have short blocks along the LRT so they could go with longer trains if they wanted to.

Anything over 100m would be problematic down Broadway unless they blocked off every second intersections as a right in-right out intersection, but 100m = about 650 passengers per train = 7,200 ppphd @ 5 minute frequencies.

[golog]

there definitely isn't the money to splurge on at grade LRT, which offers virtually no benefit over existing bus lines, and grade separated rail

the only real question is when the money and politics can come together to do what must be done

given that Translink is so short on money, the operational cost savings of substituting the lower Skytrain operational costs for the costs of the buses should be taken into account. plus, there should be enough double bendy buses available to furnish Surrey with some pilot lines to develop and test transit lines for future upgrades

[SpongeG]

whatever they do for eline most people will be forced to transfer at lougheed anyway - people heading downtown will continue to use the west coast express

i think most are usually heading towards new west and onto surrey rather than west on m line

[Mininari]

I mentioned to my wife the latest news about Translink buying up properties and that "construction will begin soon" ... despite the missing $400M. She suggested, why don't they just build the entire guideway and NO stations, except for Coquitlam town Centre, and Ioco... the other stations could be built as per development by translink, or development permit premiums on high-density sites near the stations...

This may sound ridiculous, but it would get the guideway built and operational, and it would serve the highest demand stations.

Besides what is Translink going to do with all that excess land they're buying?

And how much business tax revenue is Port Moody going to lose over this???
(Less Dough for Joe?).

[GeeCee]

I don't think that building without stations will save $400m.

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by Mininari

I mentioned to my wife the latest news about Translink buying up properties and that "construction will begin soon" ... despite the missing $400M. She suggested, why don't they just build the entire guideway and NO stations, except for Coquitlam town Centre, and Ioco... the other stations could be built as per development by translink, or development permit premiums on high-density sites near the stations...

This may sound ridiculous, but it would get the guideway built and operational, and it would serve the highest demand stations.

Besides what is Translink going to do with all that excess land they're buying?

And how much business tax revenue is Port Moody going to lose over this???
(Less Dough for Joe?).

Is there such a thing as a business tax revenue that is paid to a city? I could be wrong though.


If you mean property tax then it should not affect anything as Translink would have to pay property tax on those properties whether they are using them or not. How much they pay though should depend on the zone type of those properties.

[Mininari]

Originally Posted by cabotp

Is there such a thing as a business tax revenue that is paid to a city? I could be wrong though.


If you mean property tax then it should not affect anything as Translink would have to pay property tax on those properties whether they are using them or not. How much they pay though should depend on the zone type of those properties.

Hmm, good points. I honestly don't know what kind of tax revenue the city collects off of businesses, aside from property tax. I was spouting off again.

But considering Port Moody is going to be losing several business-oriented buildings in the short term, this has to have an impact... albeit to be considerably mitigated in the future by the benefits of having the Evergreen Line running.

[SpongeG]

Let's get Evergreen Line moving, PoMo mayor tells public


BY JENNIFER MCFEE, POSTMEDIA NEWS; COQUITLAM NOW APRIL 25, 2011


Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini wants the public to lobby TransLink to get to work on the long-delayed Evergreen Line.

The promised line remains in limbo because TransLink has not found a way to come up with the $400 million it needs to contribute to the project. Trasolini is urging residents, business owners and commuters to contact TransLink and the transportation minister with their concerns.

He travelled to Victoria last week to meet with Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom.

"The message is clear. The provincial government and the minister, they are committed to building the Evergreen Line," Trasolini said.

"The issue that's in front of us is that without the regional money -and that is the $400 million from TransLink -there is an impasse, in essence. There is no extra money that's on the table from the province, nor is it forthcoming. So what it needs to happen is the $400 million from TransLink."

Currently, TransLink operates on a base plan approved in late 2009.

...

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Evergree...+public/4668780/story.html#ixzz1KbjQg4wl

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

whatever they do for eline most people will be forced to transfer at lougheed anyway - people heading downtown will continue to use the west coast express

i think most are usually heading towards new west and onto surrey rather than west on m line

SFU and Metrotown are also big destinations that wouldn't be served well by the WCE. For that matter, considering the frequency of the WCE (not very) I'd be surprised if the WCE number didn't drop a bit. Especially for people who used to transfer downtown.

Of course, once the M-Line West to the Canada Line is done, we'd see a LOT more people skip the WCE and take SkyTrain all the way.

[DKaz]

What the West Coast Express loses to Evergreen Line from riders in the Tri Cities, they will gain with additional riders from Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Mission who now have a quick way of commuting to Surrey, Metrotown, SFU, etc. A majority of West Coast Express passengers work downtown and the West Coast Express will continue to be the preferred method of commuting. I personally loathe the thought of being packed in Skytrain like sardines.

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by DKaz

What the West Coast Express loses to Evergreen Line from riders in the Tri Cities, they will gain with additional riders from Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Mission who now have a quick way of commuting to Surrey, Metrotown, SFU, etc. A majority of West Coast Express passengers work downtown and the West Coast Express will continue to be the preferred method of commuting. I personally loathe the thought of being packed in Skytrain like sardines.

I think in the grand scheme of things, it is much more likely that Evergreen will increase WCE usage. There must be some riders who board in PoCo or PM or MR that don't take the WCE and instead drive because the train arrives pretty full in the morning and it is hard to find a seat in the evening if you don't show up early. So by having some people in the Coquitlam and PoMo area who don't have a downtown destination change to Skytrain, it will free up seats for others who currently avoid the WCE because they feel it is too busy. So in the worst case scenario, I think the WCE will at least maintain ridership by losing some riders but gaining others. The trains do basically operate at capacity, and I think that that will always be the case.

In a best case scenario, the WCE can gain hundreds, if not thousands of riders who aren't traveling downtown. Most Mission, MR, PM, and PoCo commuters that are not going downtown avoid the WCE. Transferring to the 97B line or downtown to head to points in Central Vancouver or Burnaby don't take the WCE. Even in the worst traffic, if you can afford to drive it is much faster.

By having that transfer point at PoMo, riders from out east can take the WCE to PoMo and take the Evergreen line to:

• The growing Lougheed area
• SFU
• the offices/industries in the Production Way/Lake City area
• offices in the growing Brentwood/Gilmore/Still Creek area and BCIT
• Broadway Tech Center on Broadway and other offices/schools in that area

And that is all on opening day of the Evergreen line, without the Broadway line, and I didn't even mention any other destinations along the Expo Line in Burnaby or New West. Those are all trips right now that are difficult and long on WCE, so most of those trips are done by car.

The Evergreen line in conjunction with the WCE will open up all kinds of commuting options to travelers from east of the Tri-Cities. The Evergreen line will have a region wide impact, and not limited to just the Tri Cities.

So I agree with Joe Trasolini there. Pressure should be put on government to get this built. He should have been saying this all along instead of squabbing for the past 5+ years over extra stations or the Murray st connector. Maybe if we didn't have to deal with his pessimism, Translink wouldn't be in the financial shape it is in. It is pretty his direct fault that Translink doesn't have the sources of income required to build the Evergreen line.

But I am surprised that I haven't heard about this at all on any campaign at any level. Why are the federal NDP candidates in the region not trying to get themselves some extra votes by bringing up the Evergreen line? This is an important issue to the people of Metro Vancouver, and it's funding is directly dependent on contributions from the federal government, so why is this not on any party's radar?

[Zassk]

I have always wondered, why was it important for the Evergreen Line to connect to WCE at two locations less than 5 minutes apart (Coq Centre and Port Moody)? Surely one of those two Evergreen Stations could be relocated to a more useful spot away from the WCE platform? Or, conversely, couldn't the case be made that one of those WCE stations is obsolete now that they will be connected to each other by SkyTrain?

[golog]

Originally Posted by Zassk

I have always wondered, why was it important for the Evergreen Line to connect to WCE at two locations less than 5 minutes apart (Coq Centre and Port Moody)? Surely one of those two Evergreen Stations could be relocated to a more useful spot away from the WCE platform? Or, conversely, couldn't the case be made that one of those WCE stations is obsolete now that they will be connected to each other by SkyTrain?

existing park & ride or bus terminus?

[queetz@home]

New hope for TransLink funding

Premier say she's open to using carbon tax to support transit

By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
May 18, 2011

Premier Christy Clark has opened the door to allowing the carbon tax to be used for transit projects, giving Metro Vancouver mayors new hope for a resolution of TransLink's longterm funding woes.

In an open letter to British Columbians released by Clark's office earlier this month, the premier said she is "open to considering using the carbon tax to support regional initiatives, such as public transit."

But she stipulated the allocation of the tax should not subsidize one region over another.

The statement was lauded by Metro mayors, who in 2009 were firmly rebuffed when they asked for $300 million per year for transit from the provincial carbon tax. Then-premier Gordon Campbell rejected any use of the tax for regional transportation.

"We certainly saw it [Clark's statement] as a handout in terms of goodwill," said North Vancouver District Mayor Richard Walton, chairman of the mayors' council on regional transportation. "We're optimistic. Everyone wants to move forward and see the Evergreen Line [between Burnaby and Coquitlam] move ahead."

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/hope+TransLink+funding/4801866/story.html

[CLC]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

whatever they do for eline most people will be forced to transfer at lougheed anyway - people heading downtown will continue to use the west coast express

People makes different choices.
I do personally know someone who earns close to 8000/month, lives in Port Coq, currently choose to take all three skytrain lines (to Yaletown), not west coast express.

Of course, once the M-Line West to the Canada Line is done, we'd see a LOT more people skip the WCE and take SkyTrain all the way.

There will be mass of people doing that for sure!

[Metro-One]

just.....build......it.

I swear, we better see actual construction commenced before January 1st, 2012.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/hope+TransLink+funding/4801866/story.html

Did anyone actually believe that the Carbon Tax was actually 'revenue neutral' or it would stay 'revenue neutral' ?

This appears to be her version of the 'Chretien compromise'
(he campaigned against Mulroney by promising to abolish the hated 'revenue neutral' GST, but after getting elected Chretien discovered he needed to keep that cash flowing in to the government coffers. His compromise? Blend the GST with the provincial tax (briefly called the "Blended Sales Tax" aka "the BS Tax", now the Harmonized Sales Tax) instead of replacing the GST with something else.

Twenty years later, its still a sore spot for many people - Libs and Tories alike.

[WarrenC12]

Well, there are a lot of individuals out there getting rebate checks from the carbon tax, and didn't they lower the income tax the same time the carbon tax was implemented? That's how things start as "revenue neutral" but they are quickly forgotten and the math can be complex to unravel later.

Either way, I don't mind a sales tax on polluting energy, given some of the other options.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by CLC

People makes different choices.
I do personally know someone who earns close to 8000/month, lives in Port Coq, currently choose to take all three skytrain lines (to Yaletown), not west coast express.




There will be mass of people doing that for sure!

he needs his ipod fillled with lady gaga or a slap upside the head - i don't know which one is worse

[Metro-One]

Yeah, but what are his hours? Again, WCE is great, but only if your hours are extremely rigid and regular.