Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[xd_1771]

^ It's just TransLink mobile on the browser.

I don't really use the site as Android-specific apps LiveTransLink Vancouver and NextTransit have better experiences.

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

prepare some clean shorts .... AMAZING VIDEO TIME

• Video Link

Compare the above video to:

• Video Link

For anyone that argues SkyTrain shouldn't be extended to other places like Langley because "there isn't enough people out there." compare the density even along Broadway and in Metrotown in the first video to the today. Heck even New Westminster or Edmonds... and Surrey where only 1 or 2 of the towers today were there when SkyTrain was first extended to KGB...

[Rico]

Originally Posted by jhausner

Compare the above video to:

• Video Link

For anyone that argues SkyTrain shouldn't be extended to other places like Langley because "there isn't enough people out there." compare the density even along Broadway and in Metrotown in the first video to the today. Heck even New Westminster or Edmonds... and Surrey where only 1 or 2 of the towers today were there when SkyTrain was first extended to KGB...

I think the problem is Langley is too far for a Skytrain type system to be time competitive to Vancouver (Its a long way and with stops every 1 or 1.5km it will take a long time). If most of the traffic is Surrey oriented it may be OK but....
Personally I think a combination of LRT (for intra Surrey travel and transfer to Skytrain) plus a S-bahn type commuter rail system (direct to Vancouver with limited stops) would be best.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by xd_1771

^ It's just TransLink mobile on the browser.

I don't really use the site as Android-specific apps LiveTransLink Vancouver and NextTransit have better experiences.

What does anyone use for Translink iOS apps? I typically have just used Google Maps Transit.

(No Android vs. iOS, please)

[Millennium2002]

Originally Posted by whatnext

If anything the trollies are a part of the problem in weather like this. I posted a pic in the Canada weather forum of one stuck on the slight grade at Main and 15th. They get stuck then a huge back up develops behind them and transit users are stranded.

Just saying, the trolley buses are NOT the only ones suffering from the snowfall. I mean, you can already see the diesel 106s getting stuck, and yesterday the artics on the SFU runs also got stuck.

To further the point, the 22 I was in this morning was already slipping around on the flat stretch of Knight Street between 49th and 41st, and then got "parked" behind some vehicles that didn't want to slide down the Kensington hill.

In comparison, there was the 7 trolley bus at Nanaimo Station and the driver I was with steered pretty well with it... I think I also heard some clutch-like clicking every time we had trouble taking off, which suggests they have some electronic traction control.

Finally, I cannot see how people cannot appreciate the trolley buses... the TransLink audit report wanted to turf them, and every now and then some bizarrely negative comment like this comes up when it's not even their fault. Geez.

[trofirhen]

http://frenchtraveltips.com/Photos/rer.jpg

The newer, double decker trains found on certain RER
("regional express network") lines in Paris. Something like this this might be good for growing Valley commuter rail. Faster than skytrain. Cruises on long stretches at 110/k, normally does 70 to 90/k in closer-spaced regions. Heavier-rail than skytrain, yes, yet not really "heavy rail." Just an idea.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

What does anyone use for Translink iOS apps? I typically have just used Google Maps Transit.

(No Android vs. iOS, please)

I just go directly to nb.translink.ca on my browser to see where buses are and Google Maps for directions. There was one app I liked, but I think it took scheduled times rather than real times. Forgot what it was called...

[xd_1771]

^ ^ ^ Well, you're forgetting about the potential of Surrey City Centre as a regional business centre - in addition to what's beyond that and what will be unlocked through a fast SkyTrain service that makes the entire region accessible.
By the way - no surprise, downtown Vancouver was smaller back then!!! o_O

Those double decker trains could make for an interesting 110km/h rail service on the Interurban or perhaps the median ROW of Highway 1. Just, they'd have to run decently frequent enough.

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

Just saying, the trolley buses are NOT the only ones suffering from the snowfall. I mean, you can already see the diesel 106s getting stuck, and yesterday the artics on the SFU runs also got stuck.

To further the point, the 22 I was in this morning was already slipping around on the flat stretch of Knight Street between 49th and 41st, and then got "parked" behind some vehicles that didn't want to slide down the Kensington hill.

In comparison, there was the 7 trolley bus at Nanaimo Station and the driver I was with steered pretty well with it... I think I also heard some clutch-like clicking every time we had trouble taking off, which suggests they have some electronic traction control.

Finally, I cannot see how people cannot appreciate the trolley buses... the TransLink audit report wanted to turf them, and every now and then some bizarrely negative comment like this comes up when it's not even their fault. Geez.

The problem with the trollies is when one bus gets stuck the rest of them get stuck behind. Unless the front bus is able to remove the poles of the wires and the other buses can get by.

We have to keep in mind though that snow in Vancouver is a rare event. That does not happen all winter. So while the conditions can make things extremely poor and difficult to get anywhere. We don't have to deal with this every day. Or as I like to think have fun and have a laugh.

[squeezied]

Originally Posted by jhausner

Compare the above video to:

• Video Link

For anyone that argues SkyTrain shouldn't be extended to other places like Langley because "there isn't enough people out there." compare the density even along Broadway and in Metrotown in the first video to the today. Heck even New Westminster or Edmonds... and Surrey where only 1 or 2 of the towers today were there when SkyTrain was first extended to KGB...

Because there are more urgent priorities in the region than extending SkyTrain to Langley. There are things that are necessary and things that are nice to have. When the busiest bus route in North America is passing up thousands of riders a day along high employment areas, SkyTrain is necessary. When bus routes traverse half-empty through agricultural lands, SkyTrain is nice to have, if not unnecessary.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by squeezied

Because there are more urgent priorities in the region than extending SkyTrain to Langley. There are things that are necessary and things that are nice to have. When the busiest bus route in North America is passing up thousands of riders a day along high employment areas, SkyTrain is necessary. When bus routes traverse half-empty through agricultural lands, SkyTrain is nice to have, if not unnecessary.

Stop, stop. You are making too much sense.


Thanks to everyone who has posted those archival videos of SkyTrain's early years. The difference from opening day to day, from one end to the other (with the exception of Nanimo and 29th Ave stations) is nothing short of remarkable.

[xd_1771]

There's got to be a balance of both. If we don't have a seriously competitive rapid transit expansion in the South of Fraser, there's not going to be anything to offset the booming growth in vehicle registration, outpacing both population, road capacity and gas cost increase. There will be few mobility options and a transportation crisis.
If we didn't build SkyTrain with future readiness in mind.... if we built it as an at-grade LRT, like they were proposing in the 1970s...... think of what bad shape this region would be in.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by xd_1771

There's got to be a balance of both. If we don't have a seriously competitive rapid transit expansion in the South of Fraser, there's not going to be anything to offset the booming growth in vehicle registration, outpacing both population, road capacity and gas cost increase.

I agree, but with limited funds available we won't be able to afford it if we keep spending all our money on new lanes of traffic across the Fraser...

[squeezied]

If the only purpose of SkyTrain is a marketing tool for developers to build condos, then by all means build SkyTrain to underdeveloped areas. SkyTrain's great for spurring high rise developments or shaping growth and that's a valid reason to build SkyTrain. But it equally needs to serve existing demand as well. Like you say, there needs to be a balance. But when the transit situation is so unbearable along Broadway such that riders are either squished in suffocating buses, passed up, or decide to drive instead, it's quite evident that the scale has tipped in favour of serving existing demand.

In addition if we build more SkyTrain to underdeveloped areas to spur condo developments, we're just building a network that just increasingly connects predominantly residential areas to more residential areas. Our rapid transit network isn't useful or efficient if residents aren't connected to their jobs. If the Expo Line stopped just short of downtown at Commercial Station, what good is that? The fact is the second and third employment centres of the region (namely the Broadway corridor and UBC) aren't connected to the rest of the region by rapid transit. (But of course, we're a resort town that caters to offshore immigrants so jobs don't matter, right?)

Again if the only purpose of SkyTrain is to spur high rise condos (and maybe the occasional low rise office building) then building SkyTrain to underdeveloped areas of the region should be a priority. But if meeting high ridership demands and connecting residents to where they work (or in other words letting the region function) are important, then the western extension of the Millennium should be a priority.

[xd_1771]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

I agree, but with limited funds available we won't be able to afford it if we keep spending all our money on new lanes of traffic across the Fraser...

We can at least partly blame the federal government, their disrespect for the environment and their disrespect for infrastructure needs for this...



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I'm underwhelmed by your thought that the only purpose of SkyTrain is to spur high rise condos and meeting existing ridership demands. SkyTrain is also about potential ridership. SkyTrain attracts riders who would otherwise drive onto competitive and highly reliable transit service, shaping both: sustainable local communities; and region-wide future transportation mode-share and productivity, by providing huge benefits to local citizens - especially younger citizens. Did you see any problems on SkyTrain today despite the heavy snowfalls? No. Trains have been operating at full-speed and on-time, as they do for 96% of their annual service hours. SkyTrain also keeps transit operating funds low to allow for the maintenance of a more frequent and more reaching local transit grid, therefore enabling more effective service for everyone over a large area. Both areas need to be a priority for competitive rapid and other transit - and this has to be made clear to our cut-ALL-the-funding federal government and build-moar-roads provincial government. Consider these year-over-year-late, billion-dollar deficits in infrastructure. We have to stop being cynic and give it all of our all.

[squeezied]

I never said the only two purposes of SkyTrain were to spur high rise developments and meet existing demand. Those are just two, I can't list them all. I'm quite aware of SkyTrain's ability to generate potential ridership. My point was about regional priority, not how great SkyTrain is. If you're aware of the limited funding for transit, then realistically you can't suggest both are a priority.

[red-paladin]

Here is a shot of the new signage in the western entrance to Waterfront Station's Expo Line platform. I took it earlier this morning with my ipod, so sorry for the quality.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

..Finally, I cannot see how people cannot appreciate the trolley buses... the TransLink audit report wanted to turf them, and every now and then some bizarrely negative comment like this comes up when it's not even their fault. Geez.

Whoa, chill, I like the trolleys! It just seemed that every bus I saw struggling was one of them, particularly the articulateds. And when snow laden trees came down it was often on trolley wires. Translink didn't come off very well on the news last night and I saw some huge lineups for busses. There needs to be better coordination with the city as to plowing. Virtually every major transit route was allowed to ice and rut up.

[Metro-One]

Plowing is the city's jurisdiction, not Translink, save for roads such as GEW.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by whatnext

There needs to be better coordination with the city as to plowing. Virtually every major transit route was allowed to ice and rut up.

The city already puts transit routes and hills first when it comes to plowing. What happened yesterday was continuous snowfall which required continuous plowing. Vancouver just doesn't have the resources to cover every major road under those kind of circumstances, and given that it only happens one or two days every few years I think that's reasonable.

Sometimes the weather just messes with us. It's not a national emergency, people just have to learn to chill a bit.