Arbutus: Greenway & Future Streetcar | Proposed

[SpikePhanta]

What are they going to do with the former railtracks on Arbutus?

I personally would like to see a streetcar go to Kerrisdale neighborhood!

[agrant]

No decision has been made yet. The following link is the latest info I could find regarding this, but I didn't really try hard. I doubt much has changed since.

http://www.6717000.com/newsArticle-1925.html

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by SpikePhanta

What are they going to do with the former railtracks on Arbutus?

I personally would like to see a streetcar go to Kerrisdale neighborhood!

Ya know, I think I agree with you on that! It would be awesome to see a street car run down there.

[Zassk]

It seems to me that if Kerrisdale residents had wanted this, then it would have existed by now.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Zassk

It seems to me that if Kerrisdale residents had wanted this, then it would have existed by now.

Maybe they did, but thought it was out of the question, so never pushed for it. Now that rapid rail is coming onstream big-time in Vancouver, neighbourhoods are going to start making requests for rail transit, be it skytrain metro, or streetcars.

[tybuilding]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Maybe they did, but thought it was out of the question, so never pushed for it. Now that rapid rail is coming onstream big-time in Vancouver, neighbourhoods are going to start making requests for rail transit, be it skytrain metro, or streetcars.

The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition is pushing to turn this into a greenway cycling path, this has been done in Victoria with the very popular Galloping Goose and Lochside trails.

[officedweller]

The problem is that once an "interim" use takes hold - you won't be able to convert it back to rail.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by Zassk

It seems to me that if Kerrisdale residents had wanted this, then it would have existed by now.

If Granville Island wanted a Streetcar, it would have existed by now...

Besides, it would serve anyone visiting Kerrisdale as well, not just its residents.

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Maybe they did, but thought it was out of the question, so never pushed for it. Now that rapid rail is coming onstream big-time in Vancouver, neighbourhoods are going to start making requests for rail transit, be it skytrain metro, or streetcars.

That area won't want trains unless gas prices are over 2.00 for years. And maybe not even then.

West Van and Shaughnessy will always oppose trains IMO.

[CBeats]

^^^ I don't know if West Van opposes them, it's just that the community's geography doesn't encourage a train except along Marine Drive, and even then, only until Dundarave.

[jsbertram]

Quick. Let's ask the Creme de la Creme if they've changed their minds since 2004.

Les Twarog News Articles
quoting The Vancouver Sun
"CPR to appeal Arbutus ruling"
Thursday, April, 08, 2004
http://www.6717000.com/newsArticle-432.html

...

At a city hall hearing, local resident Pamela Sauder spoke in opposition to rapid transit through Kerrisdale and her quote became a flashpoint in the debate:

"We are the people that live in your neighbourhood. We are dentists, doctors, lawyers, professionals, CEOs of companies. We are the creme de la creme in Vancouver. We live in a very expensive neighbourhood and we're well educated and well informed. And that's what we intend to be."

The Tyee:
http://thetyee.ca/Views/2005/11/28/RAVReward/

The Province:
http://www.theprovince.com/travel/st...830/story.html


They probably think since RAV (better known as Canada Line) was sent down Cambie, the Arbutus corridor is forgotten.

Maybe it has been for a while, but the City didn't fight the CPR all the way to the Supreme Court (and win) to keep the zoning of the lands as railway/ industrial (instead of rezoning the land into 50 blocks of condos that the CPR wanted to build) until the City decides how to make it a transit corridor.

I think the Creme de la Creme would be more upset with a string of Olympic Athletes Villages (including the 25-30% social housing) built from Granville Island to Arbutus and then down Arbutus to the Fraser River.

[Millennium2002]

I find it somewhat selfish to see people not willing to have projects built that may benefit the greater community. Yes, most of these people have earned their wealth through hard work, and I respect that. However, that doesn't automatically mean you can and should be so completely picky about what happens in your backyard. Your viewpoint is not much more important than those with less money.

[SpikePhanta]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

I find it somewhat selfish to see people not willing to have projects built that may benefit the greater community. Yes, most of these people have earned their wealth through hard work, and I respect that. However, that doesn't automatically mean you can and should be so completely picky about what happens in your backyard. Your viewpoint is not much more important than those with less money.

I find it funny since a streetcar would help bring more people in, I mean I only visit some times in the summer but I would go to Kerrisdale a lot more if a streetcar was built. And wouldn't they want more of a boost in Tourism?
Heck I go to Kits area every weekday!

[Vonny]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

[...]

The Tyee:
http://thetyee.ca/Views/2005/11/28/RAVReward/

[...]

Quote from the Tyee link above regarding the canada line and worth to repeat:

"That the decision to construct this line was utter stupidity goes without saying, and such will be demonstrated as the costs skyrocket (to be borne in part by public servants' pension funds) and it becomes clear that the predicted ridership has been grossly inflated. In days to come Malcolm Johnston of the Light Rail Committee will be saying "I told you so" so often that he will appear to be otherwise mute"

it could be interesting to see if the Tyee editors have made their Mea Culpa, for their then "utter stupidity"...

[Zassk]

Originally Posted by SpikePhanta

I find it funny since a streetcar would help bring more people in, I mean I only visit some times in the summer but I would go to Kerrisdale a lot more if a streetcar was built. And wouldn't they want more of a boost in Tourism?

No... no, they don't. They specifically want to block this.

[SpongeG]

it runs awfully close to the Rich People's houses and they don't like common type folk in their enclave

[twoNeurons]

I doubt the city would be able to put anything BUT a railway corridor without CPR suing the city. But I'm no lawyer.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

I doubt the city would be able to put anything BUT a railway corridor without CPR suing the city. But I'm no lawyer.

CPR sued and lost already. The Arbutus Corridor was not used, owned by CPR, and so CPR, naturally, wanted to build condos and urban development. CoV wanted it for future streetcar. Case went to court, and CPR lost.

[geoff's two cents]

One thing that has always bothered me about the Arbutus corridor is the fact that it bypasses the shopping center and hospital. My hunch is that if the line actually went straight through, and if there were thus more in the way of development potential to be leveraged, there might actually be a more concerted city effort to get a permanent line up and running from Kerrisdale through False Creek to downtown. As it is, the current track configuration leaves quite the distance between Kerrisdale and Broadway/Arbutus. Ironically, a route that actually went straight down Arbutus would also need to cross fewer intersections.

I imagine this will emerge as a topic of considerable debate once the UBC line is finished or nearly so.

[BCPhil]

I don't think missing that hospital is a terrible thing, and it's only a block walk from the mall. And that section of Arbutus is rather steep, has a few sharp turns, and is narrow (it's only single lane northbound). Streetcars going around that choke point would outweigh the stuff it misses. And through Kerrisdale it's single lane as well, it would be great to get the bus off that and use the ROW for streetcar.

I also think that attitudes are changing in that area. Streetcars are cool again for the upper middle class. It's not the skytrain being proposed through there like RAV was, it's a nicer, quieter, comfortabler bus. And the ROW sort of misses the real snooty places, afterall, they wouldn't have lowered themselves to live that close to the old freight ROW in the first place.