SkyTrain Station Renovations

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

[I][/what is the point of these renovations? it seems pointless to me really since they aren't making the platforms longer. so many other systems have stations many years older that haven't been renovated. this just seems like a pointless waste of money to me.

They're renovating the stations with the highest passenger volumes to provide more capacity to get people in and out of the stations. In most cases these involve additional entrances, such as the east station house at Main Street and Joyce stations. At Broadway they're adding an additional platform.

But I do agree that if they're going to spend money on renovation then it would make a lot more sense to extend the platform as well, as a first step towards a system-wide project to extend all platforms in order to be able to handle longer trains.

Main Street seems particularly egregious to me because the new station is longer but it seems like they carelessly plopped an escalator right into the space where the platform needs to be, a design that can't easily be remedied. Putting the escalator in the centre of the platform instead of at the edge beside the tracks seems like it would have made so much more sense.

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by BCPhil

Many of the original stations were built back when the population of Metro Vancouver was about 1.2 million. Also, building stations to be accessible to people with disabilities was a bit of an afterthought. Also, Main Street was built before they fully planned the rest of the line. So there were a lot of design issues with the station.

Also, things get old and need fixing and repairs. Even New York operates on the assumption that their stations are going to need a major repair every 35 years.

There are three basic situations:

Downtown Underground:
The downtown stations (Waterfront, Burrard, Grandville, Stadium) are built around the CPR tunnel. So renovating/upgrading the platforms here is trivial. However when they added the faregates, they didn't add additional ways to get into or out of the station. Since they are underground they also can't reasonably be renovated without shutting down the entire station.

Broadway and Main street station, were arguably built in the wrong place.
Both stations straddle a transportation corridor, with Main street not linking up with Pacific Central's building, and Broadway being too far south to be a reasonable distance from Commercial Drive station.

Metrotown was the only station fare gates were never installed at, because due to redevelopment of Station Square, the passerelle that links Metropolis is going to be moved to a space that is between Metropolis and Station Square. The Metrotown Skytrain station actually predates Metropolis (1989 Eaton center, Sears 1986) and Station Square(1988, Save-on). So it was inevitable that a higher capacity station has to be built.

All the other Expo station renovations are to increase the space, Joyce station already had exits at both sides of the street, but the east section was literately nothing but an escalator to the platform.

[Spork]

It is somewhat odd to me that they are expanding Joyce Station again, since it was expanded already about 2-3 years ago for the fare gates. The transportation up to the platform was not expanded, mind you, so perhaps that is the capacity problem. I wonder why they didn't do that back then?

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by Kisai

Broadway and Main street station, were arguably built in the wrong place.
Both stations straddle a transportation corridor, with Main street not linking up with Pacific Central's building...

My observation is that even with the new east station house at the Main Street Station there are still far more people using the west entrances than the east. So I think the station is in the best place to serve the majority of the people who use it.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

My observation is that even with the new east station house at the Main Street Station there are still far more people using the west entrances than the east. So I think the station is in the best place to serve the majority of the people who use it.

There is a ton of traffic from the buses on Main St. I would imagine the east station house being used extensively by people travelling North on Main and getting on/off the bus.

That intersection is very bad for accidents and pedestrian fatalities. The less crossing the street, the better.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by Spork

It is somewhat odd to me that they are expanding Joyce Station again, since it was expanded already about 2-3 years ago for the fare gates. The transportation up to the platform was not expanded, mind you, so perhaps that is the capacity problem. I wonder why they didn't do that back then?

The same reason New Westminster is being worked on right now for the second time in half a decade. Awful planning.

[Waders]

Originally Posted by Spork

It is somewhat odd to me that they are expanding Joyce Station again, since it was expanded already about 2-3 years ago for the fare gates. The transportation up to the platform was not expanded, mind you, so perhaps that is the capacity problem. I wonder why they didn't do that back then?

The whole budget to install fare gates for all stations was estimated at about $100 million in 2011. The current Joyce station expansion budget is $26 million.
So there was not enough money to install fare gate, rebuild the stair, add up/down escalators and a elevator at the same time 4 years ago.
Also since the fare gate project was partially funded by federal government($30 million), the project scope had to be relevant.

[Spork]

Originally Posted by Waders

The whole budget to install fare gates for all stations was estimated at about $100 million in 2011. The current Joyce station expansion budget is $26 million.
So there was not enough money to install fare gate, rebuild the stair, add up/down escalators and a elevator at the same time 4 years ago.
Also since the fare gate project was partially funded by federal government($30 million), the project scope had to be relevant.

That's fair. So by underfunding our system in the first place, we (taxpayers) have spent $5m+ doing things twice. Awesome.

[Waders]

Originally Posted by Spork

That's fair. So by underfunding our system in the first place, we (taxpayers) have spent $5m+ doing things twice. Awesome.

I feel the same way too.
When the Joyce east station expansion is completed in Fall 2017, there is still more work left to be done in a future project.
At present there is no funding to implement the "Long Tern Vision". A road will be built on the north and east side of the east station house. That will also serve as the bus lay over area. Also bus stops for #41/43 and 28 will be moved to the east station house.

[WBC]

Originally Posted by Sheba

If you mean the bright white mesh, that's old (but not original, which is why it doesn't look like the rest of the station). Some of the other stations have it too. You can see it on Google maps before the reno began.

Thanks! I see it now - just the 2 trusses are new...

[officedweller]

The white mesh panels were safety retrofit - to prevent passengers from falling from the guideway in case a train door opened on the wrong side of the car.

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The white mesh panels were safety retrofit - to prevent passengers from falling from the guideway in case a train door opened on the wrong side of the car.

I think I'd rather fall off the guideway that have to look at those panels.

I'm so glad they're going to be replaced.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Jebby

I think I'd rather fall off the guideway that have to look at those panels.

I'm so glad they're going to be replaced.

Only at Metrotown and Joyce - Royal Oak and Patterson will still have them...

[finalcoolman]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Only at Metrotown and Joyce - Royal Oak and Patterson will still have them...

Then they should replace the mesh in those panels with glass at Royal Oak and Patterson...They are hideous.

I can't believe how cheap they were with regards to this. If they were really concerned about people falling off, they should have just spent the money to install the additional hoop trusses rather than the money wasted on these ugly contraptions.

[Waders]

Joyce station today afternoon. The green zone and tree have been bulldozed.

Photo by me

[Spork]

I hope that they replant the cherry blossoms that were just to the north - somewhere around the area. That little patch with path was a pleasure to walk through the 2-3 times that I did.

[Spork]

Just passed by Commerial-Broadway. Second platform is going well. They now have the concrete poured for the full back wall and far support. Columns for the overpass are nearly finished on the South side of Broadway and the South side of the cut. Bus stops have been moved to start work on the column on the North side of Broadway. Won't be long until we see the first beams for it going up (within 2 months would be my bet).

[officedweller]

Thanks for the update!

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The white mesh panels were safety retrofit - to prevent passengers from falling from the guideway in case a train door opened on the wrong side of the car.

Here's a relatively older photo of Patterson before the panels were installed. I do believe that's a MK II if that helps to set a timeframe.


Original Photographer unknown.

[Waders]

Construction at Joyce station seems to be moving quite fast. The 'green' zone is now a big hole. Looks like this is where the temporary staircase will be built.