SkyTrain Station Renovations

[Kisai]

http://www.translink.ca/en/About-Us/Doin...ing-Opportunities/Open-Bids/Q15-012.aspx

Title: Surrey Central SkyTrain Station Upgrades – Design Services
Issue Date: February 5, 2015

http://www.translink.ca/~/media/document...s/q15%20012/q15012_rfp_final_4feb15.ashx

2.2 Station Upgrades
(a) Surrey Central Station, similar to many other Expo Line stations, requires significant
upgrades. Station deficiencies and projected upgrades are identified in the Expo Line
Upgrade Business Case prepared for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
The main issue at Surrey Central Station concerns the integration of the station and bus
exchange with the surrounding community. There is poor pedestrian access to the station
due to the position of the bus exchange and surface car park. The primary problem with
the station currently is that the entrances to the station are on the south side only. The
focus of the proposed upgrades to the station is for the design of a new ‘north’ station
house, with additional circulation elements (elevator, escalators, and stairs) that will
integrate with the proposed modified bus exchange and the evolving site context and
proposed adjacent development.
(b) The scope of this project is outlined as “Component 1: North Station House”, “Design
Option C”, in the “Conceptual Design Report – Reduced Scope", dated February 5, 2014
(Refer to Appendix 5, “Reference Documents”). The report describes a comprehensive
renovation/upgrade strategy and identifies the work in both near term components
necessary for construction of the new north entrance building (Component 1), which
forms the scope of work for this project, and long term components (Component 2,
System Wide Upgrades and Component 3, South Station House), which are not part of
the scope of work for this project. Under Component 1, the proposed “North” Station
House “Design Option C” is the preferred design option. It is expected that the long term
components will be completed at a later date and will coincide with final re-configuration
of the bus loop and offsite bus layover facility. The project scope and the scope of
services are further detailed below.
(c) It is expected that the implementation work for Component 1 – New North Station
House, will be tendered in February 2016, with award of the Construction Contract in
March, 2016. Construction site work must be completed by September 2017.

4.0 DETAILED DESIGN SERVICES
4.1 The Contractor shall perform engineering analysis and prepare engineering design (including
electrical, mechanical, structural, civil, geotechnical, code review, quantity survey, lighting
design, and construction management (pre-construction management) work, as required) for the
following modifications and/or improvements (collectively referred to as the “Work”):
(a) New north station house to provide for station access to reconfigured on-street bus
exchange and to accommodate new vertical circulation elements, including fare gates,
and ticket equipment;
(b) Addition of a new elevator to the north end of the platform with fully glazed enclosure
(c) Addition of new stairs and escalators (up and down) from concourse to mezzanine;
(d) New stairs and new down-escalator from platform to mezzanine;
(e) New portion of mezzanine (and associated structure) to be constructed to support
additional circulation elements;
(f) Addition of a 2.5 meter platform extension at new elevator (to accommodate surge area);
(g) fare gates and gating / ticketing equipment / coiling grille at two new entrances of the
New north station house;
(h) New commercial retail unit to be integrated with station house; new secured bike storage
facility to be integrated within station house;
(i) Provisions for public washrooms;
(j) Relocation of existing services chase-way to accommodate new vertical circulation at
platform;
(k) Additional ancillary space for additional electrical/power/systems components;
(l) new lighting, CCTV, systems, and alarm components;
(m) New emergency exit staircase;
(n) New wayfinding and customer information signage for balance of signage not already
implemented during Compass Card Fare Gates contract work;
(o) Reconfiguration of station apron, curb and plaza at ground level;
(p) Demolition of portions of existing platform and mezzanine, including north exit stair and
vertical service chase way to accommodate new circulation elements and north station
house; and
(q) New furniture islands at platform level.

[Sheba]

Don't forget to look at the information boards and fill out the online survey for New West Station (going to the open house was optional) by Weds Feb 11.

http://www.translink.ca/en/Plans-and-Pro...es/New-Westminster-Station-Upgrades.aspx

[MIPS]

Gateway station is hilariously badly built. Was there some reason when it was built that they couldn't install anything, even an elevator, on the west side of a street? I mean, right now at least it's just hanging over an empty lot.

[officedweller]

Probably because in Intracorp's master plan the west side was to be all residential development. They built 3 of the 4 planned condo towers. The majority of passengers would be to and from the east side which was to be multiple office towers with a big plaza and fountain in the middle. The Gateway Tower is already linked to the existing tower at the mezzanine level - so focussing on the office space would have been the emphasis.

There would probably have been an effort to keep the "crime train" away from the residences, too.


http://www.bing.com/local?lid=YN1226x963...way+SkyTrain+Station+Surrey+BC&FORM=LARE

[logicbomb]

Someone finally mentions Gateway Station.

It's absolute insanity how the stations north mezzanine was built 1-1.5 meters below grade. So going down, you go down the stairs to the ticket platform, go down another set of stairs and have to climb up a small set of stairs to street level. I have seen people trip over the small set of stairs when running to catch the C73/335. The stairs facing west seem so unnecessary.


http://www.doublevconstruction.com/index.php?id=142&jn=D51

[officedweller]

Is it because of the grade of the street?
In that pic, it looks like the elevator is in the background at the higher elevation.
Could the elevation have been determined to make wheelchair access to the elevator at-grade without steps?
[and the level plaza required steps around the remaining periphery rather than having a sloping plaza?]

[deasine]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Is it because of the grade of the street?
In that pic, it looks like the elevator is in the background at the higher elevation.
Could the elevation have been determined to make wheelchair access to the elevator at-grade without steps?
[and the level plaza required steps around the remaining periphery rather than having a sloping plaza?]

There is a slight grade, but if I remember correctly, elevator users still require to backtrack using a ramp up to street-level.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Probably because in Intracorp's master plan the west side was to be all residential development. They built 3 of the 4 planned condo towers. The majority of passengers would be to and from the east side which was to be multiple office towers with a big plaza and fountain in the middle. The Gateway Tower is already linked to the existing tower at the mezzanine level - so focussing on the office space would have been the emphasis.

There would probably have been an effort to keep the "crime train" away from the residences, too.

For a suburban station that's still a terrible design. It's like building Joyce or Patterson with only one entrance. Passengers will always take the path of least resistance and if you're building over a road you have at least a reason to rough in a west entrance. Every time I go through Gateway there's people taking the emergency exit because they don't want to waste their time walking back to the east entrance, going down two flights of stairs, crossing the street and being basically 50 feet blow where they were a minute or two ago. You take the emerg and you're there immediately.


Image courtesy of Jeremiah Cox-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/\

[paradigm4]

Are you referring to a southern entrance? Because there used to be one. It was closed in the early 2000's, I imagine due to crime and safety concerns. That's why if you look closely, where you would expect stairs to be, there's lighter coloured bricks on the platform from the infill.

[MIPS]

Looking through my photos I'll be damned, you're right.
My bad. I overlooked that. So there is at least a roughed in west/south/whatever entrance.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Looking through my photos I'll be damned, you're right.
My bad. I overlooked that. So there is at least a roughed in west/south/whatever entrance.

care to post a pic? I vaguely remember said southern entrance.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Looking through my photos I'll be damned, you're right.
My bad. I overlooked that. So there is at least a roughed in west/south/whatever entrance.

Ahh, south - now your comment makes more sense!

Maybe they'll re-install it when that parcel is redeveloped?

[Mac Write]

Ok was searching to "BCTel Multimedia Gateway modem" and this came up in Google image search?

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

care to post a pic? I vaguely remember said southern entrance.

Just stroll underneath the station and you can clearly see rectangular knockouts where the stairs used to be. Up on the platform notice how the south end has no seating or anything and two oddly placed hanging signs you'd normally expect to see at the top of a flight of stairs or escalators.


Image courtesy of Jeremiah Cox--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/\
Yesterday 5:08 PM

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

Ok was searching to "BCTel Multimedia Gateway modem" and this came up in Google image search?

https://stephenrees.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/translink-eyes-real-estate-riches/

I would hope that they get some good real estate people in who understand placemaking – which may not be the same thing as maximum revenue generation. Transit Oriented Development does need to happen, but it will not be like the MTR in Hong Kong. No-one is going to allow a high rise office building on the top of 29th Avenue Station. The BCTel “boot” was dropped down next to the anticipated Boundary Road station which never happened. The MTR had to acquire land in order to build its system. Ours is already in place – and as the piece points out, opportunities missed. About the only good example I can think of is Broadway and Commercial. And what is there now on the north side of Broadway is supposed to be just the start


Buying land now is not going to be cheap – and some developers are beginning to see opportunties. There was one developer who tried to do the right thing at Gateway Station in Surrey – but it has taken a long time for that area to take off commercially, for a wide variety of reasons. And more office towers were planned at Metrotown, but Burnaby decided to allow office parks, which killed that idea.

So it is fine for the new improved Translink to exercise its new powers, but talk to the local municipalities first and ensure they understand what is needed to support TOD. It is not something that a developer can do against the tide. And it will need partners with deep pockets and a very long term view of returns on capital employed. This is by no means a quick fix for an $18m revenue shortfall!

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Just stroll underneath the station and you can clearly see rectangular knockouts where the stairs used to be. Up on the platform notice how the south end has no seating or anything and two oddly placed hanging signs you'd normally expect to see at the top of a flight of stairs or escalators.


Image courtesy of Jeremiah Cox--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/\
Yesterday 5:08 PM

^Now I remember! They got rid of that stairway in 2000/2001ish. Probably the dumbest thing they did as you have many people jaywalking across 5 lanes to catch their bus at the EB bus stop.

Guess it wasn't a big deal back then as people rarely boarded at Gateway Station. Frequencies back in the early 2000's -332 ran hourly most of the day. 335 ran hourly till 6:55pm. 328 Grosvenor ran every 120 min.

It is just a very awkwardly built station.

[Millennium2002]

This just basically goes to show... evaluating things that have worked / not worked once they have been done already is easy... but doing it in advance does not guarantee the desired outcome.

e.g. We thought New Westminster would turn out great for station integration, but the developers cheaped out and made it even more of a dark and grey maze than it was originally...

If Gateway were more heavily used, I'd probably rebuild both concourses to a better standard... but alas, it may take awhile for that to happen when the density around the site is not completely filled out yet.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

This just basically goes to show... evaluating things that have worked / not worked once they have been done already is easy... but doing it in advance does not guarantee the desired outcome.

e.g. We thought New Westminster would turn out great for station integration, and now it needs to be upgraded yet again to fix the hodgepodge of a mess that the developers introduced...

I don't know what you mean by "needs to be upgraded yet again". The developers came in and did their work - as in the towers and stores. Now TransLink is going in to work on the station itself. Yes, it's idiotic that the station wasn't at least partly done when the stores were built.

I hope you filled in TransLink's New West station survey that ends today.

[Millennium2002]

Originally Posted by Sheba

I don't know what you mean by "needs to be upgraded yet again". The developers came in and did their work - as in the towers and stores. Now TransLink is going in to work on the station itself. Yes, it's idiotic that the station wasn't at least partly done when the stores were built.

I hope you filled in TransLink's New West station survey that ends today.

Good catch. I've corrected myself.

As for the survey, I don't use the station much and as such felt it was better to leave it up to locals and station users to comment on.

I don't see any flaws with the New West station renos themselves, but the whole grand scheme of things is like a step forwards in one area (density) and backwards in many others (public realm, context, integration, etc). But that is probably best left to the original topic for the development...

[st7860]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

^Now I remember! They got rid of that stairway in 2000/2001ish. Probably the dumbest thing they did as you have many people jaywalking across 5 lanes to catch their bus at the EB bus stop.

Guess it wasn't a big deal back then as people rarely boarded at Gateway Station. Frequencies back in the early 2000's -332 ran hourly most of the day. 335 ran hourly till 6:55pm. 328 Grosvenor ran every 120 min.

It is just a very awkwardly built station.

The unusual tile colouring is one of those 'things' that you would almost never pay attention to unless it was posted here!!