Quote:
Originally Posted by DC83
can we send our entire council to greater-Vancouver for a year with no access to a car so they can see just how progressive that city is re: transit! Damn! Thanks for all the great info, MrX!! Definately great stuff. Can't u just imagine Main & Mohawk eventually lined with great new condo towers? Dream dream dreammmmm... haha.
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Well, Vancouver's rapid transit policies are sort of modeled after Hong Kong. Where rapid transit is built, it is usually followed by development. And a new provincial government policy allows even more Hong Kong-like development. Translink, the region's transportation authority that governs and builds transit and road projects, will be allowed to buy and sell land adjacent to transit stations and in turn, sell or develop it into office/condo towers. The revenue from these developments would help pay transit projects, and the increased density around stations would increase ridership. The developers could also foot in the costs of improving/building stations, rather than directly paying the government.
So really, go to Hong Kong. :p
At the Canada Line's Oakridge-41st Avenue Station in Vancouver, Oakridge Shopping Centre is set for a major office and condo tower expansion as well as a major expansion of its mall, a new major public library, and other public amenities.
At one of the existing SkyTrain stations, we are letting condo developers do all the station renovation work for us (including all costs). In exchange, they are given extra density and allowances for their development. This is New Westminster Station:
Vancouver's transit isn't perfect...buses in the suburbs are crowded and packed. People waiting at stops often have to wait for multiple buses before getting on; there are not enough buses. The frequency in the suburbs is also low, and there are many "town centres" that still aren't served by rapid transit/SkyTrain. We also lack decent commuter rail service to the suburbs.
That said, we're getting there.
Last month, the province announced a $14-billion transit initiative by 2020. It calls for:
- $2.8 billion underground SkyTrain extension to the University of British Columbia, 12-kms
- $1.4 billion SkyTrain extension to Coquitlam, 11-kms
- $3.1 billion Expo SkyTrain extension in Surrey, 6 kms, and doubling of the capacity of the Expo Line by extending its platforms to accommodate much longer trains. As well, major station renovations so that it will be architecturally at par with the Canada Line and the recently built Millennium Line.
- fare gates at all stations in time for the Olympics (and all future stations after 2010), and the introduction of distance-traveled fare payment system using smart cards - like Hong Kong
- 1,500 additional buses
- new rapid bus routes, perhaps similar to the TransMilenio in Bogota