Quote:
Originally Posted by Whalleyboy
I'm still sticking with my original thought that skytrain should extend out to newton to about 72 ave first. From there it still possible to extend out to follow the old interurban route to Langley via cloverdale. It would may be a bit longer then right along fraser(about 5km) but more connections and more people would be hit then the other route along fraser.
then a LRT could connected guildford and fleetwood with central
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I disagree. While there are a lot of people in downtown Cloverdale, it does not compare at all to what has happened and is happening in Clayton. The interurban is sooooooo farrrrrr awwwwaaaaaay from Clayton that it may as well not exist for them. You would have to take a bus 15 minutes south first, just to get to Skytrain; it would be faster to take current buses into City Center directly than making that trip. By going down Fraser you cut the length of feeder routes in half, thus increasing frequency and encouraging riders.
And then there is zero chance of growth to the South of Skytrain stations (ALR land) so the catchment area of any station is now half of what it could be if located on the Fraser Highway.
Plus the cost per km would be about the same (there is very little space where it could be at grade because it risks cutting farm land apart plus it could be prone to flooding). So why not build the shorter line that passes closer to the most people?
If you want to use the interurban it would have to be commuter style rail. The capital cost would be a fraction of Skytrain (or LRT) and much easier to service the debt with a lower number of riders.