Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[logicbomb]

http://www.cknw.com/2016/03/03/frustrati...w-westminster-skytrain-station/#comments

Another embarrassment for Translink.

Someone forgot to open the outer doors at the New Westminster SkyTrain station first thing this morning, so for a few minutes commuters on the outside were unable to get on the trains they watched arriving, leaving them angry.

And people getting off the trains weren’t happy because they couldn’t get out of the station.

The delay was only 2-3 minutes but you should see all the morons sounding off about this seemingly non-issue. ...This is why we will never see Translink secure additional funding...thanks to a smear campaign from the CTF and the media. The media here is the worst as they continue to pile on Translink.

[whatnext]

Surprised nobody posted this:

The province has told Canada’s federal Infrastructure Minister that British Columbia absolutely will not contribute more than a third of the money needed for major transit projects, even though Ottawa has hinted that it may increase its traditional one-third share.

And, says B.C. Community Minister Peter Fassbender, the province expects Lower Mainland cities to come up with whatever is needed to cover the remaining cost for big rapid-transit projects proposed in Surrey and Vancouver...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/brit...astructure-at-one-third/article29027345/

[Rico]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Surprised nobody posted this:

The province has told Canada’s federal Infrastructure Minister that British Columbia absolutely will not contribute more than a third of the money needed for major transit projects, even though Ottawa has hinted that it may increase its traditional one-third share.

And, says B.C. Community Minister Peter Fassbender, the province expects Lower Mainland cities to come up with whatever is needed to cover the remaining cost for big rapid-transit projects proposed in Surrey and Vancouver...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/brit...astructure-at-one-third/article29027345/

I never thought any government would be able to challenge the Glen Clark government for worst government of our time but Christy is a scrapper and it sure looks like we should not rule her out. What a potential wasted opportunity.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by Rico

I never thought any government would be able to challenge the Glen Clark government for worst government of our time but Christy is a scrapper and it sure looks like we should not rule her out. What a potential wasted opportunity.

It's truly remarkable, isn't it?

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by Rico

I never thought any government would be able to challenge the Glen Clark government for worst government of our time but Christy is a scrapper and it sure looks like we should not rule her out. What a potential wasted opportunity.

Government is a cyclical thing. In BC we only throw out the current premier when the previous one is caught in a scandal. We only throw the current government under the bus when a pet project costs more than it should.

The Glen Clark era was disastrously bad for BC, because Glen Clark was a Union-boy, and policy of the day drove business out of BC. Then when Gordon Campbell came in, it was a breath of fresh air... until the HST debacle.

Thus we are in a state of few over the age of 30 would ever want to vote for the old-guard NDP, and only the people younger than 30, or who never lived under the Glen Clark NDP not being able to see what was so bad about it. (When we threw the NDP out, the NDP actually lost official party status.)

To which I'll point to this:
http://news.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/NDP-vs-Liberal-Performance.pdf

(Remember, "lies, damned lies, and statistics", the PDF in question tries to deflate the argument that the NDP was truely worse than the Liberals)
To which Page 3 of that PDF is the part that needs to be highlighted:

Which NDP matters. The Harcourt government was dramatically more fiscally responsible than the subsquent Glen Clark, Miller, and Dosanjh governments, and better controlled the provincial debt and expenditures compared to the GDP than thave the BC Liberals. In turn the BC Liberals outperformed the Glen Clark, Miller, and Dosanjh NDP governments.

That said, I'm still firmly in the "I'd never vote NDP camp" and the current NDP is only making that inertia harder to get over when they blame the government for it's actions instead of presenting solutions. But I don't see any viable third party in the wings either.

[jbrizzy]

So I was reading about the 49 optimization (taking out the Champlain Heights detour), where a reworking of the 26 to Metrotown was also suggested, and it got me thinking..

I've been thinking of a route along E57th and E54th for a while. It's one of the only E/W routes in the COV without bus service (along with E1st and W33rd), and goes right through the Champlain area. It's mostly residential along the route, but I could see it being non-FTN.

Now, if the 49 detour is removed, this line could be introduced to give E/W access to Champlain, and turn up Tyne to follow the existing route of the 26 to Joyce. The 26 could then be rerouted to Metrotown. This would ensure service around that square that the 49 served, and provide better connections all around.



As for the other end of the route, it would have to detour to 59th to get around Langara golf course. This may be a bit of an issue given the current width of the street. But this would importantly provide an E/W connection for the future station at 57th, the redeveloped lands surrounding it, and Churchill Secondary. The route could end at the loop where the 16 currently ends, at Granville and 63rd.

However, this proposal doesn't take into account the development of River District, which I posted some route optimizations for earlier.

These suggestions don't include the 57 route, but include a new route from either Joyce or 29th, to partially replace a rerouted 26 and provide access to the River District.

The route could start at Joyce, following the existing route of the 26, then continuing to 54th and turning to Kerr, where the 49 currently runs. It would then head down Kerr to Marine, and terminate in the River District.



Or, it could follow the other current arm of the 26, and become a route straight down Rupert/Kerr. The 26 could turn back towards the Joyce routing at Kerr/54th.



Both of these would give the River District direct access to the Expo line in Vancouver, something it wouldn't get from a rerouting of the 100 or 116. It would also shorten the 49 and provide better connections for Champlain Heights.

Let me know what you think and if we should send these to Translink.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by jbrizzy

So I was reading about the 49 optimization (taking out the Champlain Heights detour), where a reworking of the 26 to Metrotown was also suggested, and it got me thinking..


Let me know what you think and if we should send these to Translink.

I like the first option you have for the 26 - it's far less confusing than your second option (as well as the route as it is now). Taking 'the other side' of the route and dropping it down to service the new River District is a good idea, but I think that route needs a bit more fleshing out.

I suggested possibly rerouting the 430 down the 54th / 57th over to Knight and then continuing on with it's regular route to Richmond. I don't know the bus so I don't know if that would work or not. That section of the city is missing an east / west route.

The 116 route south of Metrotown gets on my nerves. It's needlessly indirect *and* it overlaps the C6 and the C7. TransLink certainly knows my opinion (and suggested solution) for that area.

[jbrizzy]

Originally Posted by Sheba

I like the first option you have for the 26 - it's far less confusing than your second option (as well as the route as it is now). Taking 'the other side' of the route and dropping it down to service the new River District is a good idea, but I think that route needs a bit more fleshing out.

I suggested possibly rerouting the 430 down the 54th / 57th over to Knight and then continuing on with it's regular route to Richmond. I don't know the bus so I don't know if that would work or not. That section of the city is missing an east / west route.

The 116 route south of Metrotown gets on my nerves. It's needlessly indirect *and* it overlaps the C6 and the C7. TransLink certainly knows my opinion (and suggested solution) for that area.

Yeah, I agree about the River District route, but it's a start.

The problem with the 430 as it is is it's an express route, and even if you did that, having the route only between Tyne and Knight wouldn't provide a lot of benefit. I really think a route along that corridor at least needs to connect to the Canada Line.

And yeah, the 116 is so wild that I don't even want to begin trying to figure it out, along with the other routes in South Burnaby.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by jbrizzy

And yeah, the 116 is so wild that I don't even want to begin trying to figure it out, along with the other routes in South Burnaby.

The best part is that Translink knows not to do routes like this. Here's a graphic they did about their best and worst-performing lines.

I'm guessing that either they just want it to feed as many people in South Slope as possible and shuttle them to the Expo Line, or there's a few special interests that want the bus to stop right next to their house/workplace/business. Either way, it's a horribly messed up line.

[jbrizzy]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

The best part is that Translink knows not to do routes like this. Here's a graphic they did about their best and worst-performing lines.

I'm guessing that either they just want it to feed as many people in South Slope as possible and shuttle them to the Expo Line, or there's a few special interests that want the bus to stop right next to their house/workplace/business. Either way, it's a horribly messed up line.

It's mostly about connecting to the office parks down on North Fraser Way, but the stops are really spread out, especially to the east. The connection to Edmonds is fair enough. But the connection up to Metrotown is, yeah, convoluted, especially when consider the route of the C6.

There could be an opportunity to connect the new route above coming down from Joyce/29th to a reworked Burnaby route connecting to Metrotown, and reworking the other Burnaby routes in the area to be more efficient. But that might be too long of a route itself.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

The best part is that Translink knows not to do routes like this. Here's a graphic they did about their best and worst-performing lines.

TransLink seems to like shoehorning in a new route instead of adjusting an existing one. Then we get stuck with those stupidly designed worst-performing routes.

Originally Posted by jbrizzy

It's mostly about connecting to the office parks down on North Fraser Way, but the stops are really spread out, especially to the east. The connection to Edmonds is fair enough. But the connection up to Metrotown is, yeah, convoluted, especially when consider the route of the C6.

I redrew it with the C7 going to Patterson instead of Metrotown (and taking over a tweaked version of the 129 up to the Millennium Line), with the C6 taking over local coverage (and looking like two staggered boxes). Then the only problem is figuring out where exactly to put the 116 between Marine Way and Metrotown (some route overlap is inevitable).

[Large Cat]

So I rode the 96 B-Line yesterday on one of the new Xcelsior Artic buses. It indeed smells absolutely terrible and nauseating throughout most parts of the bus. I got a chance to talk with two Surrey drivers, however, and they informed me that the smell comes from miniscule plastic particles leftover in the heating system from the manufacturing process. Apparently the supplier failed to properly clean out the system before delivering the buses. The good news is that apparently the plastic will all eventually blow out of the system and the buses will be fine, in other words it is just a really bad case of new bus smell for the moment. That said, it really was quite unsettlingly bad sitting in the back, night and day from the Xcelsior artics on he 480 and the 620.

[Express691]

The yellow bars by the back corner make the ride rather uncomfortable. They are said to act as something to hold on to in case the bus has to decelerate quickly.

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by Large Cat

So I rode the 96 B-Line yesterday on one of the new Xcelsior Artic buses. It indeed smells absolutely terrible and nauseating throughout most parts of the bus. I got a chance to talk with two Surrey drivers, however, and they informed me that the smell comes from miniscule plastic particles leftover in the heating system from the manufacturing process. Apparently the supplier failed to properly clean out the system before delivering the buses. The good news is that apparently the plastic will all eventually blow out of the system and the buses will be fine, in other words it is just a really bad case of new bus smell for the moment. That said, it really was quite unsettlingly bad sitting in the back, night and day from the Xcelsior artics on he 480 and the 620.

I call BS. It can take over 3 weeks for the outgassing from a "new" manufactured item to completely go undetectable (it will never be gone.) If for some reason there is more than usual, it means they (the bus manufacturer) installed defective parts and should recall those parts. We don't want a situation like with the Community Shuttles where a defect just gets ignored until people are sick.

[AForce]

People keep complaining that skytrain is old tech...they freaking drive themselves. Russia jumping on the bandwagon

http://cleantechnica.com/2016/03/05/russian-autonomous-trains-arrive-in-moscow/

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by AForce

People keep complaining that skytrain is old tech...they freaking drive themselves. Russia jumping on the bandwagon

http://cleantechnica.com/2016/03/05/russian-autonomous-trains-arrive-in-moscow/

I think it's just clueless old baby boomers who still believe public transit is for the poor and millennials who grew up with the mindset that if it is not regularly upgraded or X years old it's obsolete and must be replaced.

Given North America's track record for rail transit and the reliability of thereof the lower mainland is probably the most spoiled region on the continent. Took three years to build based on then still prototype technology and took 29 years before suffering its first crippling breakdown. That kind of reliability is unheard of. What the hell level of perfection do these people demand to write it off like that??

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by MIPS

I think it's just clueless old baby boomers who still believe public transit is for the poor and millennials who grew up with the mindset that if it is not regularly upgraded or X years old it's obsolete and must be replaced.

Given North America's track record for rail transit and the reliability of thereof the lower mainland is probably the most spoiled region on the continent. Took three years to build based on then still prototype technology and took 29 years before suffering its first crippling breakdown. That kind of reliability is unheard of. What the hell level of perfection do these people demand to write it off like that??

There you go, believing people are capable of rational thought... I was on the Skytrain one night during track maintenance and the young woman on the train next to me said that because she pays money for it, she expects the train to run perfectly 100% of the time. I kid you not. The concept of maintenance (or that it was scheduled) didn't seem to occur to her.

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by AForce

People keep complaining that skytrain is old tech...they freaking drive themselves. Russia jumping on the bandwagon

http://cleantechnica.com/2016/03/05/russian-autonomous-trains-arrive-in-moscow/

As far as I can tell they are just automated Metros which are used all over the world. Nothing new there at all.

The Mill & Expo SkyTrains are different due to their linear induction power supply not because they are automated.

As far as these people who demand 100% reliability..........tell them to get a life.

[Reecemartin]

Has there been any progress in terms of Surrey LRT or Broadway Subway?

It seems that vs. Ontario, BC is now the one investing far more in highways and unnecessarily large bridges.

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by Reecemartin

Has there been any progress in terms of Surrey LRT or Broadway Subway?

It seems that vs. Ontario, BC is now the one investing far more in highways and unnecessarily large bridges.

http://www.collegehumor.com/post/6888857/15-gifs-that-drop-the-mic-and-are-out