good point. still, for me, operation is key, with maintenance being somewhat less of a priority... the p3 structure that i see as problematic (and which invariably is) being the design/build/operate. under any normal circumstance, a private operator would be designing and building these things.

The rest is a bit like highway maintenance contracts.

Nope, not really. From King George Station up the Hydro row to 104th is about 1600m, which is about the distance between most stations.

In fact, it would be ideal. The line is away from people's back yards and the station's where the people are. Put a station at around 104th and 140th. I believe that area is slated for low-rise condos. Or if want to build to existing density, a station at 102nd Ave where there already is an established development.

Looks like it would be a little tricky with tonnes of hydro wire in the area, not impossible.

There's also a pedestrian path would could then have the opportunity of being enhanced.

As long as it can make the curve from King george Hwy North up the ROW, I think this route makes the most sense.

After consulting google maps again, it seems you are correct up to 104 street. But what about when it actually hits 104th street. If you want it at-grade, hows it going to go down that route? Its a pretty narrow street and the sides are all either residential or small businesses, not to mention the odd apartments and fire department or park. I'm just really curious about this since given these problems suggesting something such as at-grade light-rail seems ludicrous to me. If someone could please enlighten me. Thanks.

Why use the Hydro ROW? If it goes along 104th to King George, then there would be a more direct transfer from Guildford to the Expo line westbound. The LRT stop would be just south of 103rd on King George, and the transfer would be a 150-m walk to Surrey Central through what will eventually be Surrey's pedestrian-friendly centre. The Hydro ROW bypasses Surrey's core-to-be by 800 m, and never comes within walking distance.

Light rail would likely go straight down the middle of the street. 104th has a suicide lane/left turn lane down the middle that you could expect would disappear. The street might also be widened a few feet, or it might be reduced to two lanes in one direction, and one lane in the other. I'm not sure if that's necessary, though.

arghhh, LRT is going down 104 from kgh to 152, its already been in the works through road aquisition.

i think they should look at the fleetwood extension as a regional thing and than the langley leg could be designed separately as a municapal system that serves langley/surrey but is tied into via transfers to the expo line etc

that way they can change the technology needed

Uh, I go down 104th at least twice a week and the turning lane is just that, a turning lane, one car's width. Hardly, I'd say, enough space for two tracks, let alone a station. But yeah, unless they will change their mind on the stated route, I don't see anything at-grade/Light rail happening and so skytrain, although more expensive, seems the way to go.

I took a closer look on Surrey's version of VanMap (it's better, btw). The suicide lanes on 104th are wider than a regular lane width, at about 14.5 ft. The regular lanes are about 11.5 ft. The sidewalks are about 7.5 ft. The entire ROW including the sidewalks is a minimum of about 78 ft wide, enough for a 20-ft wide light rail ROW, four 11-ft wide traffic lanes, and two 7-ft wide sidewalks.

There are other a few places where the property line doesn't extend to the street. It does look they'd need to acquire some property to make the ROW wide enough for stations without reducing the number of lanes.

so, uh, here's my question...

when the SkyTrain arrives at Guildford Mall along 104 Avenue, what exactly is going to happen. i mean, there is that part of the mall that actually spans across the street connecting the Sears (north) to The Bay and WalMart (south)?

at risk of sounding like a moron, are we looking at the train going above the mall, underneath the mall, even perhaps through the mall? seems to me that would be the best spot to put the station, but then again i'm no transit planner.

^Perhaps they would have the guideway go over top that elevated part of the mall that is on top of 104th, and it would then curve(like the Main Stn curve) through the northeast part of the property and then arrive at a station on 152nd(halfway between 104 and 102a) so it could tie in with the proposed mall extension and "Village" plans if they're still doing that.

Like the Las Vegas Monorail:

http://www.monorails.org/webpix%202/LVO36.jpg

Correct, sorry I was unclear. If they chose Skytrain Technology and wanted to go down 104th, this would be a Skytrain extension which goes up the Hydro ROW. It would be at-grade along the ROW to save money, but obviously elevated or cut n' cover along 104th.

Obviously if it was LRT along 104th, it would make more sense to connect at Surrey Central, or as near as possible and then continue south to Newton in big "L" reserving the Skytrain for a future "possible" extension down Fraser Hwy terminating around 168th unless density at that time warrants anything more.

This would give Surrey a two tiered transit route, a rapid route that cuts diagonal and a feeder LRT line that runs along 104th and King George Hwy.

Yep, this makes sense. Due to Surrey's large block size, LRT may be a very practical choice. A few key intersections could be fly-unders. Definitely the major arterials (KGH and 152nd) and perhaps 140th and 148th.
Left turns only permitted on major blocks roads (140, 144, 148, 150?, 152) which are approximately every 800m. (officially blocks were built to ~1/2 mi.)

Also, an LRT to Newton has a MUCH better chance of getting extended to White Rock, given that you have a large swath of agricultural land perfect for LRT south of 56th Ave. (or even south of 62nd, really)

That's consistent with feeder streetcar/LRT lines into Skytrain.
The question just appears to be whether Guildford is a big enough destination that warrants a kink in the diagonal line to Langley (and therefore replaces the 104th LRT line). At one time, Guildford was BC's largest shopping centre. That question also depends on how committed Surrey is to concentrating growth at Surrey Central since a dispersion of development between nodes would occur.
But if it's on par with Brentwood or Lougheed town centres, it may warrant a Skytrain station.

I would venture to say that Guildford is more populated and will be used more than a station like Lake City Way Station or Holdom Station on the M-Line. in fact, one would assume that it would be as busy as Metrotown or Lougheed

Well, the 320 buses are always packed during most times of the day between Surrey Central and Guilford. Also, don't know if this is being overlooked, but it's also pretty close to highway one. Could put a giant park and ride in the area next to the potential skytrain station or something.

Still kind of against using a whole new system like LRT for such a small line. Also, I assume with your measurements on 104th that there would be no stations? Unless they bought out some properties they can't fit. Fitting the track down the middle is already a stretch, if possible at all. That and the understated hassle of having to switch at the skytrain station.

so its for sure going along 104th?

i thought it was going to be south of guildford mall nearer to the movie theatre... and run along that street

Falcon's proposal is on 100th, not 104th. I think it's more of an idea that rapid transit should be extended to Guildford to Fleetwood than a proposal. It's just one possible solution to consider (and not the best one, I think).




I'm hoping for an eventual three-tiered rail transit system in Surrey and Langley, with Langley on a very-limited-stop system to Scott Road along the interurban ROW. Surrey's grid (they weren't metric back then, it's a half-mile grid just like most of Metro Vancouver) is basically perfect for light rail with stations every mile or half mile. There are few intersections, so the difference in speed between light rail and skytrain is negligible, while the cost isn't.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ne...3-febebd3b0ada
http://www.canada.com/surreynow/news...89c9c7&k=84732
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1058911
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/van...911/story.html

100th, is it?

thats waht i thought - i was wondering why everyone is going on about 104th