The Mayors’ Council Vision for Regional Transportation
June 12, 2014
The Mayors’ Council Vision for Regional Transportation
June 12, 2014
Hello readers. There’s big news today. The Mayors’ Council has approved a Vision for Regional Transportation for Metro Vancouver.
To download documents, watch the video and ask questions, you’ll want to check out www.mayorscouncil.ca.
The in-text link is broken. Clicking on the image works.
Thanks for catching that Sungsu! The link has been fixed.
A couple notes…
Extending the Skytrain out to UBC in phases – to be expected. Hopefully a lot of this phase will be above ground (I’ll agree that after Granville it should go underground). The image doesn’t show the line travelling along Great Northern Way as was shown previously.
LRT in Surrey?!? I seriously hope this isn’t at-grade rail as it needs to be separated from traffic. That is going to kill east-west travel at all but the most major intersections (where there would be a stop for the line). It would make far more sense to run more buses than build at-grade rail, and then start adding in grade-separated rapid rail. Phase one of that could be extending the Expo Line out Fraser Hwy to 152nd (all of 3.5km)
I read a local paper today, and saw that Mayor of Surrey had been lobbying for 3 LRT lines. My heart sank, and I have been sad all day. I prayed really hard that all her efforts would amount to nothing. I have nothing against her work or her personally. I just hate the idea of being stuck on rails, while traffic cuts in front of us. It’s ridiculous.
*** NO LRT!!! Please! ***
– trains must stop at traffic lights
– cars cut in front of trains at crossings
– trains crash into cars, causing delays, and we need to feel sorry for all drivers, and not us, even though we are late and could miss out on a new job
– trains can’t detour
– LRT is usually operated by humans, who consistently strike, and who are managed a cold corporate machine, known as Translink; when they strike, we can no longer use LRT
– LRT frequency will probably drop to 20 to 30 minutes in the slow hours
Translink might listen to people sometimes, but the machine often amplifies human error.
Translink makes little effort to test out their ideas. Think about how they asked the public for input on the “new” [i.e.: new at the time] colours. I don’t think that they bothered to ask professionals if any of the suggestions were any good. They seemed to say that it was some important policy or value, where they had to ask the public. Well, guess what? Nobody seems to be crying, now that the newest colours and designs are out. Translink never bothered to ask us what we think of the new colours, if I recall correctly, but somehow, it turned out okay.
As another example of not testing things out, they never got any feedback on whether or not the most important information is in the PDF schedules, or whether or not it is even correct. I found a somewhat serious mistake. I was surprised. I even doubted myself. If they had bothered to observe volunteers using the schedules, then they would have spotted it.
I hate to rant; at least I think I hate it. The important thing here to highlight is that hiring drivers for rail travel is a really bad idea. Translink puts so much pressure on bus drivers, that it makes no sense that we would turn to LRT.
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Let this be the poster child for safe LRT. They can’t exactly railroad through, right?
http://skytrainforsurrey.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/tram-block-in-toronto.jpg?w=800&h=433
Thankfully, LRT can have its own right of way, since drivers are well known for respecting LRT’s right of way.
http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/1LRT080409.bw.jpg
“Witnesses told police that the driver had gone around a crossing arm, Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons said.”
Pedestrians are good at it, too.
http://www.claimsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/bigstock-Balancing-On-Tracks-30044549-300×200.jpg
Imagine running for the train, so that you will not miss your connection, which comes every 30 minutes. Now imagine how frustrated you will be, when the train pulls ahead a few feet to the traffic light, only to stop and not let you on.
http://photos.edmonton.ca/Transportation/Downtown-LRT-Connector/i-7nzn2Kp/0/M/EdmontonChurchillSqupdate-M.jpg
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SkyTrain for sure has its own problems, but much less of these kinds.
I’d rather have no rail in Surrey, than LRT. The money we save can be channeled towards more buses or better rail in Vancouver.
Oh come on Eugene – you love to rant. I’m even going to join you on this rant. Having LRT as at-grade rail in Surrey is absurd. The only way those pictures you posted might not happen here is if they put a physical barrier between the cars and the trains.
I’d much rather seen more buses than at-grade rail. If we’re going to do rail it needs to grade separated just like Skytrain is. If they want to run smaller LRT on those rails then so be it – just don’t try to have it share the road with cars! That’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Speaking of which…