Millennium Line - Evergreen Extension | Completed

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by SOSS

The settling near the pit is apparently the result of groundwater pumped out by Seattle Tunnel Partners as it digs a 120-foot access pit to reach and replace the damaged head of the boring machine.

Wow, they're really hosed. And of course all that groundwater is exactly the reason why the whole area is going to be a disaster when the earthquake strikes.

You've really gotta wonder if it might not be cheaper just to abandon the boring machine and start over.

[Olden Retreiver]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

From Tri Cities Now...

http://www.thenownews.com/news/traffic-t...-around-evergreen-construction-1.1651411



Any chance they can start service by labour day of 2015?

Labour Day 2016 more likely, which would still count as "Summer 2016."

Unlikely the tunnel will be completed by Labour day 2015, let alone all the work that has to go on after that milestone. The tunnel problems have never (yet?) been acknowledged as causing delay to the overall schedule, so far as I know. There are probably lots of schedule workarounds and readjustments that are possible.

[adrianroam95]

New images from the Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/evergreenline

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Originally Posted by Olden Retreiver

Labour Day 2016 more likely, which would still count as "Summer 2016."

Unlikely the tunnel will be completed by Labour day 2015, let alone all the work that has to go on after that milestone. The tunnel problems have never (yet?) been acknowledged as causing delay to the overall schedule, so far as I know. There are probably lots of schedule workarounds and readjustments that are possible.

Unless there are major setbacks in the tunneling, I believe it is still better to test out the line and make adjustments/improvements during the summer months (May to July - I'll take back my April prediction given the provincial election happening in 2017) with lesser crowds.

What happens if there are major issues occurring on or several days after the busiest commuting day of the year, aka the day after Labour Day? We know what happened to SkyTrain a few months earlier and what a communication/PR disaster it was.

[officedweller]

They opened Canada Line in August 2009 - a month before the Labour Day schedule changes and crowds.
The same may happen for Evergreen - that would give time to work out the bugs.

[BCPhil]

Yeah, August is the quietest month on Transit. And it is easier to work out the bugs when the weather is nice. But I'm betting on a July 1st opening day, if not sooner. This thing is going up fast. At this speed it would take them what? 1.5 years to build Skytrain to 168 Street in Surrey?

Could you imagine if a system wide shutdown occurred on a day like today? With thousands of people stranded in the wind and rain in the dark of night? There probably would have been a riot.

[Olden Retreiver]

What aspect of the tunnel "progress' are you people not understanding? The tunnel was supposed to take a year to dig - from March 2014 to March 2015.

From the Provincial Government News release March 7, 2014:
"Advancing an average of eight metres a day, it will take about a year to build the two-kilometre tunnel."

Source:

http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/03/next-step-towards-evergreen-line-completion.html

I'm not saying Evergreen cannot be completed by Summer 2016, but it would seem there has to be some pretty fast juggling to get there.

[Olden Retreiver]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

From Tri Cities Now...

http://www.thenownews.com/news/traffic-t...-around-evergreen-construction-1.1651411



Any chance they can start service by labour day of 2015?

Interesting The Now states Evergreen construction is roughly half complete. We have to expect this just isn't the same half that was originally in the overall project schedule. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn that overhead guideways, track-laying and stations are all on or ahead of schedule. The big question mark is the tunnel.

And the milestone of seeing the "the first trains being tested on the track" by the "second half of 2015" could be met by as little as a train clicking through the switches at Lougheed and reversing at Burquitlam, and/or by a unit lifted onto the tracks in Port Moody or Coquitlam Centre.

[queetz@home]

Originally Posted by Olden Retreiver

And the milestone of seeing the "the first trains being tested on the track" by the "second half of 2015" could be met by as little as a train clicking through the switches at Lougheed and reversing at Burquitlam...

Burquitlam, eh? Well, if the tests are perfect, then perhaps passengers can use it sooner?

[finalcoolman]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

Burquitlam, eh? Well, if the tests are perfect, then perhaps passengers can use it sooner?

What is your obsession with this? First you had an obsession with the launching truss reaching Gatineau...fine...mission accomplished...you'd think you'd relax...now this...

[queetz@home]

Originally Posted by finalcoolman

What is your obsession with this? First you had an obsession with the launching truss reaching Gatineau...fine...mission accomplished...you'd think you'd relax...now this...

Nothing nefarious I can assure you. Is it wrong to hope that the people of Burquitlam or those that can transit to it can have access to Skytrain a year early?

I would think not....any opportunity to grant access to rapid transit, encouraging a new group of people to get out of their cars, and even have easy transfer for 97-B Line users to Skytrain is a good thing...

[finalcoolman]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

Nothing nefarious I can assure you. Is it wrong to hope that the people of Burquitlam or those that can transit to it can have access to Skytrain a year early?

I would think not....any opportunity to grant access to rapid transit, encouraging a new group of people to get out of their cars, and even have easy transfer for 97-B Line users to Skytrain is a good thing...

Have you seen how busy the intersection of Clarke & Como Lake is? This is my issue with opening up Burquitlam on its own early (you would make it the new 'Braid' station of 2002). It would be a gong show, because you are moving alot of ridership traffic & bus traffic from Lougheed, Production & Braid Station bound for not just SFU and the Burquitlam area as originally envisioned but also all of Port Moody, Coquitlam, PoCo, an to an extent Pitt Meadows & Maple Ridge (via the 97). All to a station and a location never designed or envisioned for this much SkyTrain -> bus transfer traffic. It doesn't really solve anything, 97 B-Line still has to go up Clarke Hill etc... Thus as a Port Moody resident, I am firmly against opening up Burquitlam early on its own.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by finalcoolman

Have you seen how busy the intersection of Clarke & Como Lake is? This is my issue with opening up Burquitlam on its own early (you would make it the new 'Braid' station of 2002). It would be a gong show, because you are moving alot of ridership traffic & bus traffic from Lougheed, Production & Braid Station bound for not just SFU and the Burquitlam area as originally envisioned but also all of Port Moody, Coquitlam, PoCo, an to an extent Pitt Meadows & Maple Ridge (via the 97). All to a station and a location never designed or envisioned for this much traffic. It doesn't really solve anything, 97 B-Line still has to go up Clarke Hill etc...

Opening the line up to Burquitlam doesn't mean you need to move the bus routes there. It would be beneficial to have service there just for people who live in the neighborhood or who connect with existing bus routes that pass through the intersection.

That's probably why he's anxious to see service get started. My relatives live in that area so I too think it would be nice to have early service there. But I don't really expect it to happen.

[finalcoolman]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

Opening the line up to Burquitlam doesn't mean you need to move the bus routes there. It would be beneficial to have service there just for people who live in the neighborhood or who connect with existing bus routes that pass through the intersection.

That's probably why he's anxious to see service get started. My relatives live in that area so I too think it would be nice to have early service there. But I don't really expect it to happen.

Yes but I guarantee you, if they did open up Burquitlam Station early, they WOULD move all the bus traffic there. Hence why I am very against doing it. Bottom line, its just not worth it.

[queetz@home]

Originally Posted by finalcoolman

Have you seen how busy the intersection of Clarke & Como Lake is? This is my issue with opening up Burquitlam on its own early (you would make it the new 'Braid' station of 2002). It would be a gong show, because you are moving alot of ridership traffic & bus traffic from Lougheed, Production & Braid Station bound for not just SFU and the Burquitlam area as originally envisioned but also all of Port Moody, Coquitlam, PoCo, an to an extent Pitt Meadows & Maple Ridge (via the 97). All to a station and a location never designed or envisioned for this much SkyTrain -> bus transfer traffic. It doesn't really solve anything, 97 B-Line still has to go up Clarke Hill etc... Thus as a Port Moody resident, I am firmly against opening up Burquitlam early on its own.

That is extremely selfish. One year IS a long time for people, both existing bus riders who are suffering the long tedious ride both to Lougheed and Braid, and those that would love to take rapid transit but are *FORCED* to use a car due to the Lougheed Station configuration that was a result of delaying Evergreen Line for over a decade, which the BC NDP, BC Liberals and Translink are all to blame.

Even if opening Burquitlam station early captures just the people living in Burquitlam and those that use buses that already route there, that goes a LONG way in alleviating the stress and hardships for so many people. Who cares about how busy Como and Clarke is....frankly, its not THAT busy (I use it almost daily, at rush hour). If ever, it will be just a soft opening so traffic impacts would be minimal (and may even alleviate traffic since Burquitlam residents that would ride Skytrain won't clog up Como Lake and Clarke)

Any new Skytrain Station that opens anywhere, even just one, should be welcomed. I see Burquitlam as another VCC/Clarke as oppose to Braid...and if you were active in the forums when that station was in limbo, lots of peeps want it open even though its impact was so minimal.

[finalcoolman]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

That is extremely selfish. One year IS a long time for people, both existing bus riders who are suffering the long tedious ride both to Lougheed and Braid, and those that would love to take rapid transit but are *FORCED* to use a car due to the Lougheed Station configuration that was a result of delaying Evergreen Line for over a decade, which the BC NDP, BC Liberals and Translink are all to blame.

Even if opening Burquitlam station early captures just the people living in Burquitlam and those that use buses that already route there, that goes a LONG way in alleviating the stress and hardships for so many people. Who cares about how busy Como and Clarke is....frankly, its not THAT busy (I use it almost daily, at rush hour). If ever, it will be just a soft opening so traffic impacts would be minimal (and may even alleviate traffic since Burquitlam residents that would ride Skytrain won't clog up Como Lake and Clarke)

Any new Skytrain Station that opens anywhere, even just one, should be welcomed. I see Burquitlam as another VCC/Clarke as oppose to Braid...and if you were active in the forums when that station was in limbo, lots of peeps want it open even though its impact was so minimal.

It is not selfish. The North Rd section after Clarke on the B-Line is the fastest part, compared to the pathetic climb on Clark Hill and the circuitous route through Port Moody. Opening up Burquitlam early creates more problems than it solves, which is why Translink will NOT open it up early.

VCC was important because it was one station closer to UBC on a line that does not exist. However, the rest of the Evergreen Line is getting built anyways, so your argument there is null.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by finalcoolman

Opening up Burquitlam early creates more problems than it solves...

That's a supposition on your part.

[kylemacmac]

I'm 100% in favor of anything to do with Burquitlam as well. Open up early and give us easier access to Burquitlam plaza already !

[red-paladin]

I wish that there would be a stairway from the Mariner-Johnson overpass above/next to Coquitlam Central Station down to the ground so that people from the south end of the bridge can cut the circuitous walk and crossing the road twice to get to the station.

[Olden Retreiver]

Originally Posted by red-paladin

I wish that there would be a stairway from the Mariner-Johnson overpass above/next to Coquitlam Central Station down to the ground so that people from the south end of the bridge can cut the circuitous walk and crossing the road twice to get to the station.

Interesting. I looked on Google Earth and here:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/evergreen_line/d...ets/130717_Coquitlam_Central_Station.pdf
to see what you mean. It is well more than 200 metres to walk past the station on the Mariner-Johnson overpass, then down the sidewalk on the north side of the vehicle ramp, and then south across the parking lot to the station. Any residents south of the CPR tracks will be relatively poorly served.

This seems somewhat similar to my beef in Port Moody that the WCE/Evergreen station has been effectively moved a full block east, further from my house, from the foot of Hugh Street to the foot of Williams Street. All residents more than a block west of Moody Street are poorly served, and in conjunction with the arrival of Evergreen, TransLink wants to slash our bus service in West Port Moody from #160 Express plus 97B-Line plus C24 to just a short-turn 160 and the C24 Glenayre EACH WITH ONLY 30 MINUTE FREQUENCY.