$14 Billion For Transit

[clooless]

Originally Posted by cornholio

I guess only time will tell but I completely agree with you clooless about not getting to excited about this announcement and thinking its a done deal, we took a big step right now in the right direction but theres many more to take to actually get this done.

Thanks.

I am not trying to be a killjoy here, but an awful lot of this plan is contingent on the federal government providing a good chunk of funding, and we've heard nothing in that regard.

Still, I am excited and optimistic.

[cornholio]

Only time will tell, i look back at other announcements in the past few decades and know that something like this is far from being done. Im not sure if the Canada lines price tag has even been included in this 14billion but I guess these being politicians they will sneak its price tag in to everything and anything they can to make it apear as if they keep spending billions more then they really are. The Evergreen line has had only a small percentage of its costs committed by the feds. Anyways im not trying to be a pessimist but you have to understand that this is big and complicated and hisory will show you that its rare for a mega project such as this too actually go through as planed and on schedule is unlikely. But I really hope this all works out and more. Yes im also exited and optimistic, but i just dont want to set my self up for yet another disappointment knowing full well the challenges that lay ahead for all this to go through.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by clooless

Has the federal government committed to providing the 3.1 billion dollars necessary for this plan to actually be implemented?

Firstly, this transit strategy is over the next 12-year period to 2020.

Last November the feds announced that BC would be receiving $2.2 billion in federal infrastructure funding over the next 7 years from the Building Canada Fund.

Additional federal strategic infrastructure programs also exist.

I'd wager that $3.1 billion in federal funding over the next 12 years won't be too hard to come by and those fed decisions are typically made prior to the so-called "first shovel the ground".

[Overground]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

- $3.1 billion to double capacity on the existing
Expo Line, including major improvements to
stations starting in 2009 and a 6 kilometre
extension in Surrey by 2020. Improvements will
include lengthening platforms to handle 6 car
trains, additional storage track, upgrades to the
control system, vehicle storage depots, maintenance
facilities and adjacent transit exchanges.

- $1 billion for new rail cars

I thought current platforms already handle 6-car trains, don't they mean 8+ cars? Either way, doubling Expo's capacity is awesome!

That 6km stretch then will bring the extension to Fleetwood on the Fraser Hwy and 160th. As pointed out, it will be interesting exactly what route they will take to get it there.

[officedweller]

Joining the thread late! but nice to see!

Originally Posted by Overground

I thought current platforms already handle 6-car trains, don't they mean 8+ cars? Either way, doubling Expo's capacity is awesome!

That 6km stretch then will bring the extension to Fleetwood on the Fraser Hwy and 160th. As pointed out, it will be interesting exactly what route they will take to get it there.

I think they mean 6-car MKII trains (hopefully the Main Street renos will accommodate this, as the plans shown in the RFP suggested an escalator very close to the edge of the platform). Hopefully they'll buy some "C" cars since having more trains means you don't need the flexibility of constantly separating all of the trains.

Evergreen Line - interesting that they show the NW allignment - that leaves the door open for Skytrain (esp. with $1.4B allocated to it - i.e. Trnaslink has some allocated already, right?). A SE allignment would probably have started near Braid and eliminated Skytrain in favour of connectivity over the Port Mann Bridge. In the very long run, if Ecervgreen is Skytrain, the SE route could still be built out as an LRT to Braid. With the Skytrain expansions, and the bulk purchase of lots of new vehicles, maybe that would favour the Evergreen as Skytrain.

Agreed that the Surrey route should be interesting. Good news that they are tying in Guildford Town Centre (though I could be wrong looking at the map). Route may be along hydro ROW (tail track is just above the words Fraser Hwy in pic below) then along 100th Ave (north side of Green Timbers Park) to Guildford. It would be a shame if they miss Guildford by a few blocks along 96th (although the LRT is planned to run along 104th to Guildford, but would that be axed?).

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by G-Man

What a scam. Once again Vancouver gets the goods and Victoria gets squat.

Anyone want a bet on the breakdown of the spending?

I am betting 80% on the Lower Mainland, 20% for the rest of the province.

which makes sense given the % in those areas.

[quobobo]

That's a huge amount of money, but at least Vancouver proper is finally seeing more rapid transit. It always kind of irks me that I take the bus while my friends in Burnaby get the Skytrain.

[clooless]

Originally Posted by quobobo

That's a huge amount of money, but at least Vancouver proper is finally seeing more rapid transit. It always kind of irks me that I take the bus while my friends in Burnaby get the Skytrain.

And free ice cream.

[vitc]

Re: Federal Dollars - don't forget an election is coming later this year and the dollars always flow at election time. And even if the Liberals do win a minority ( god help us if Dion wins 8-((( ) I doubt they would kill the dollars in fear of alienating the west and their Kyoto stance.

For the UBC line - any mention which is preferred ( above or below or both )...

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by vitc

For the UBC line - any mention which is preferred ( above or below or both )...

It is pretty well acknowledged that it would be underground - probably under 10th Ave. Not sure what happens west of Blanca @ UBC.

**********

WRT routing in Surrey, this is interesting from CKNW:

Transportation minister Kevin Falcon is looking southeast
Jan, 14 2008 - 8:50 AM

VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - Never mind that anything has been sorted out fully for the expansion of rapid transit with the Evergreen Line to Coquitlam, transportation minister Kevin Falcon is looking southeast.
While answering caller's questions on CKNW’s Bill Good show this morning, Falcon defended the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge as a means improving transportation flow.

He says that includes buses, possibly rapid transit later, but first

"What would make a lot more sense is actually taking the existing Skytrain in Surrey and extending that down to pickup Langley and the balance of Surrey, particularly the southern part and also maybe running a line up into Guildford, but running a line across the Port Mann at this point in time doesn't make sense"

Falcon says Skytrain could be extended to Langley by going right along the Fraser Highway.

He says his personal goal is to do that within ten years.

[Canadian Mind]

hmm, for the Slurrey (:p) extension, it could run along 96th and then turn north towards Guilford once it passes that park. That would keep it near the more dense parts of Surrey and areas that can be really densified, rather than just sprawl along 104th. I also think it would be curious to see how they integrate the station with Guilford Mall, if they choose to go there. Would be kinda neat to have the station built into the mall.

At the same time, running along 96th they miss the giant Superstore, which while not that big of a deal, is still slightly saddening. I don't have a problem with big box stores as long as they are served by transit, this is a BIG big-box store, and as such should be served by large volume transit, in addition to the parking lot it has.

As for the UBC run, keep it underground until you get to the university.

[Overground]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I think they mean 6-car MKII trains.

Agreed that the Surrey route should be interesting. Good news that they are tying in Guildford Town Centre (though I could be wrong looking at the map). Route may be along hydro ROW (tail track is just above the words Fraser Hwy in pic below) then along 100th Ave (north side of Green Timbers Park) to Guildford. It would be a shame if they miss Guildford by a few blocks along 96th (although the LRT is planned to run along 104th to Guildford, but would that be axed?).

Doh...I wasn't thinking MKII cars...I have a cold...lol.

I was thinking that too that it could swing up where the hydro lines are and along 100th with some expropriations along the way. And how would it route through 100th and 152nd to head south? Definitely a shame if Skytrain got left out of Guildford since it goes to every other major shopping mall. Exciting times ahead to see how this will pan out!

[The Geographer]

Originally Posted by G-Man

Skewed is to put it mildly. A cursory glance at the news release puts it close to 90% in the Lower mainland.

6 billion on RT in Vancouver.
10 million on a BRT line in Victoria.

Yup seems fair.

Bus systems have much lower capital costs, but much higher future variable costs that I doubt are being factored into this equation. Thus the spending on all the bus systems are underestimated.

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by officedweller

It is pretty well acknowledged that it would be underground - probably under 10th Ave.

Does anyone else think this is going to be very strange between, say Arbutus and UBC? It's a really quiet residential area that's still mainly quaint freestanding homes. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of NIMBYs opposed it, especially in Point Grey.

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by quobobo

Does anyone else think this is going to be very strange between, say Arbutus and UBC? It's a really quiet residential area that's still mainly quaint freestanding homes. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of NIMBYs opposed it, especially in Point Grey.

Fuck em.



Anyways, if the conservatives pledge to help funding these transit initiatives, they'd win alot of green and student votes in this city, which they desperately need if they want more seats in this city.

[bils]

Originally Posted by quobobo

Does anyone else think this is going to be very strange between, say Arbutus and UBC? It's a really quiet residential area that's still mainly quaint freestanding homes. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of NIMBYs opposed it, especially in Point Grey.

they'd have to go underground there. as much as we're against NIMBYism, we still have to respect the livability of a neighborhood. don't get me wrong, i live nowhere near point grey - but i still respect the impact of an overhead track on pedestrian life in the area

[twoNeurons]

a lot of those quaint free-standing homes have up to 10 people in them.

[mr.x]

Rethinking about what has been announced today, a lot of these are already in the works...really, a lot of it is nothing new: we've known about the M-Line extension to UBC for ages, same with the Evergreen Line. The only thing that's remotely new is the Surrey SkyTrain extension, the rapid bus fleet, etc.

What's welcoming i guess is it's "official, or rather "officially announced", with a timeline and a budget.

[twoNeurons]

Yeah... what's new is that it's the government that is behind this.

[clooless]

Originally Posted by bils

they'd have to go underground there. as much as we're against NIMBYism, we still have to respect the livability of a neighborhood. don't get me wrong, i live nowhere near point grey - but i still respect the impact of an overhead track on pedestrian life in the area

I agree. They're going to have to bury the line along that section, depending on the route, of course.

Originally Posted by mr.x2

Rethinking about what has been announced today, a lot of these are already in the works...really, a lot of it is nothing new: we've known about the M-Line extension to UBC for ages, same with the Evergreen Line. The only thing that's remotely new is the Surrey SkyTrain extension, the rapid bus fleet, etc.

What's welcoming i guess is it's "official, or rather "officially announced", with a timeline and a budget.

I thought we also knew about the Victoria Rapidbus project.