SpongeG
05-23-2007, 10:22 PM
sounds like a start
If you turned the train around and made it commuter-friendly, would people take it to work?
Although the concept has been kicked around for years without success, the group behind Communities for Commuter Rail are preparing to put it to the test.
Communities for Commuter Rail — a coalition of politicians from Langford, View Royal, Esquimalt and Victoria, representatives from CFB Esquimalt, Southern Rail, community groups, Capital Regional District planners, business representatives and developers — have been meeting for the past five or six months to explore the feasibility of a commuter rail service from Langford to downtown Victoria.
Billed as the GreE&Nways train, two cars will leave Langford May 30 at 7 a.m. and travel along the E&N rail line through View Royal and Esquimalt before arriving at the downtown Victoria station at 7:25.
Communities for Commuter Rail chair Geoff Pearce said the group is hiring a consultant to prepare a business case to assess the feasibility of providing a regular service.
“We’re not looking for a huge amount for the initial study,” said Pearce, pointing out the funding would come from the municipalities involved.
“We’d like to see more involvement from the City of Colwood,” he added.
The plan would involve improving existing stations and building a new station at the Westhills development.
“We’re not necessarily looking at using the existing rail cars,” said Pearce, who retired as Langford’s clerk-administrator in 2005. “The plan would be to get more commuter-friendly cars where people can have a coffee or a bagel and read the paper or a book on the way to town.”
Langford Mayor Stew Young believes the business community will buy into the plan because they’ll see the results, especially with the way the cost of gas is skyrocketing and the heightened awareness to reduce emissions from vehicles.
Pearce stressed Communities for Commuter Rail isn’t looking at a high-speed LRT system, but is focusing on self-propelled cars or diesel-powered puller trains.
“We have the Island Corridor Foundation’s blessing to do that,” he said regarding the partnership of local governments and First Nations that controls the 234-kilometre stretch of E&N line between Victoria and Courtenay.
The group is looking at two or three trips in the mornings and evenings that would be focused on the rush hour commute.
Some of the issues to be dealt with include safety improvements, upgrading the rail line and rail bed and catching up with the existing backlog of maintenance required to make it viable, Pearce said.
“Operating at a higher speed would be relatively costly,” he admitted. “We’re looking at funding alternatives.”
But the concept of commuter rail is a formula that’s been used with much success in cities all over North America, Pearce pointed out, listing Vancouver’s Sky Train, and systems in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary and Ottawa as examples.
He cites the recent study on upgrading the Malahat as an example of how commuter rail could be part of the solution to address congestion along that route.
“The question is what will it take to generate commuter rail,” Pearce said. “We need to identify how many people would park their car and take the train.”
In addition to downtown commuters, Pearce believes enough DND employees working at CFB Esquimalt would consider it a viable option that would help alleviate parking concerns at the base.
Co-ordinating service with BC Transit to get people where they have to go after they get off the train and providing park and ride options are other key elements of the plan.
With the population growth projected for the region, it’s also important to look at planning higher density near stations that will help build the customer base.
Jim Hartshorne, prime consultant for Westhills, said commuter rail is good for the environment, and an important part of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project that will be the first of its kind in Canada.
Westhills is a mix of green-space, residential, commercial, recreational, cultural and educational components within 500 acres on the south side of Langford Lake.
Tickets for the test run May 30 cost $10 and include free newspapers, a Starbucks coffee and a transit day pass.
There’s a limited number available at Langford City Hall. Call 478-7882 for more information.
http://www.goldstreamgazette.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=12&cat=23&id=990274&more=
If you turned the train around and made it commuter-friendly, would people take it to work?
Although the concept has been kicked around for years without success, the group behind Communities for Commuter Rail are preparing to put it to the test.
Communities for Commuter Rail — a coalition of politicians from Langford, View Royal, Esquimalt and Victoria, representatives from CFB Esquimalt, Southern Rail, community groups, Capital Regional District planners, business representatives and developers — have been meeting for the past five or six months to explore the feasibility of a commuter rail service from Langford to downtown Victoria.
Billed as the GreE&Nways train, two cars will leave Langford May 30 at 7 a.m. and travel along the E&N rail line through View Royal and Esquimalt before arriving at the downtown Victoria station at 7:25.
Communities for Commuter Rail chair Geoff Pearce said the group is hiring a consultant to prepare a business case to assess the feasibility of providing a regular service.
“We’re not looking for a huge amount for the initial study,” said Pearce, pointing out the funding would come from the municipalities involved.
“We’d like to see more involvement from the City of Colwood,” he added.
The plan would involve improving existing stations and building a new station at the Westhills development.
“We’re not necessarily looking at using the existing rail cars,” said Pearce, who retired as Langford’s clerk-administrator in 2005. “The plan would be to get more commuter-friendly cars where people can have a coffee or a bagel and read the paper or a book on the way to town.”
Langford Mayor Stew Young believes the business community will buy into the plan because they’ll see the results, especially with the way the cost of gas is skyrocketing and the heightened awareness to reduce emissions from vehicles.
Pearce stressed Communities for Commuter Rail isn’t looking at a high-speed LRT system, but is focusing on self-propelled cars or diesel-powered puller trains.
“We have the Island Corridor Foundation’s blessing to do that,” he said regarding the partnership of local governments and First Nations that controls the 234-kilometre stretch of E&N line between Victoria and Courtenay.
The group is looking at two or three trips in the mornings and evenings that would be focused on the rush hour commute.
Some of the issues to be dealt with include safety improvements, upgrading the rail line and rail bed and catching up with the existing backlog of maintenance required to make it viable, Pearce said.
“Operating at a higher speed would be relatively costly,” he admitted. “We’re looking at funding alternatives.”
But the concept of commuter rail is a formula that’s been used with much success in cities all over North America, Pearce pointed out, listing Vancouver’s Sky Train, and systems in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary and Ottawa as examples.
He cites the recent study on upgrading the Malahat as an example of how commuter rail could be part of the solution to address congestion along that route.
“The question is what will it take to generate commuter rail,” Pearce said. “We need to identify how many people would park their car and take the train.”
In addition to downtown commuters, Pearce believes enough DND employees working at CFB Esquimalt would consider it a viable option that would help alleviate parking concerns at the base.
Co-ordinating service with BC Transit to get people where they have to go after they get off the train and providing park and ride options are other key elements of the plan.
With the population growth projected for the region, it’s also important to look at planning higher density near stations that will help build the customer base.
Jim Hartshorne, prime consultant for Westhills, said commuter rail is good for the environment, and an important part of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project that will be the first of its kind in Canada.
Westhills is a mix of green-space, residential, commercial, recreational, cultural and educational components within 500 acres on the south side of Langford Lake.
Tickets for the test run May 30 cost $10 and include free newspapers, a Starbucks coffee and a transit day pass.
There’s a limited number available at Langford City Hall. Call 478-7882 for more information.
http://www.goldstreamgazette.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=12&cat=23&id=990274&more=
