Quote:
Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth
Yup I fully agree. As the crazy anti LRT guy Malcolm so and so calls it....
its a MINI METRO  Its deff not LRT....its closer to a Heavy Rail Metro that it is a LRT.
and if you wanna get even more fickle  its technically an.....ART...not LRT at all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombard..._Rapid_Transit |
Mini-metro? lol, it's a metro. Perhaps nothing like New York or London or HK, but it's hardly a mini system especially with the expansions and extensions over the next few decades. With the Expo, Millennium, Canada Lines and in the future the
SkyTrain extensions to UBC, Coquitlam, and further into Surrey that's a pretty massive system. That's nearly 100-kms of rail, larger than Toronto's subway.
It may have relatively short trains, but the high frequency - much higher than many other metro systems - makes up for it as we all know.
And then, there's also the ridership:
And this doesn't even include the UBC extension (2002 pre-UPASS study with SkyTrain and rapid bus combo estimated 150,000 passengers daily) and the Surrey Extension. The Surrey extension could probably rake in 25,000-40,000 while the UBC extension has the sky being as the limit as the figures (possibly as much as 200,000?). Personally, I'm quite surprised that the projection for the Evergreen Line in 2014 will carry nearly as much as the projection for the Canada Line in 2009.
The fact is that speed is a HUGE factor in getting ridership, and before ssiguy2 starts mentioning about how Calgary can rake in more ridership well note that Calgary's urban fabric is radial with everything feeding into an inner core. Vancouver is simply different and you can do nothing about it but build on that, and it requires something that is high speed.
LRT to UBC is a complete waste of money, and I can assure you that you would not see the same high ridership levels as a SkyTrain line. Speed is a huge factor, and there's only so much traffic signal priority could do. There is absolutely no way that LRT can beat SkyTrain in terms of speed. And with SkyTrain, you also have high frequencies - and that can be done quite cheaply in comparison to LRT, which prefers to use longer trains rather than higher frequencies which require more man power. High frequencies, an unplanned trip, is extremely attractive.
Once Vancouver is done building its metro backbone (which every city has, and is high of capacity and frequency), the UBC and Surrey extensions (including one down King George Hwy to Newton) and the Evergreen Line we are done with building SkyTrain forever.....except for maybe one other extension to Lonsdale/North Shore in the very distant future.
Surrey is quite suitable for a streetcar/LRT network of its own from that point that branches and feeds off from SkyTrain. As well, an LRT system from Braid or Lougheed via the Southeastern route along Lougheed Highway to Coquitlam would be nice, and it'll complement the Evergreen Line....we could densify the area around Lougheed including going ahead with the Riverview plans. This LRT line could branch off across the Fraser via the new Port Mann crossing and connect with the Surrey LRT network...complementing SkyTrain. And a DMU or electric overhead LRT line from New Westminster Station to Marine Drive Station along the north shore of the Fraser would be quite suitable.
Anyhow, the West Coast Express needs to see its service improved. Double-tracked, bi-directional regular service all day and during weekends as well, all the way to Chilliwack and a spur into Surrey. Some may say that it will only encourage more sprawl, but the fact is the sprawl is already there and will happen regardless....the least we can do is provide these people with an alternative to driving their car down the No.1.
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Thats how i feel too, as i have said many times my friends from around the world (UK, Japan, China, Taiwan etc..) all refer to skytrain as the "metro" and not "LRT".
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