I've been thinking about a North Shore rapid transit line, and I think I've come up with a solution:
Replace one of the Lions Gate's vehicle lanes with a single Skytrain track, with alternating directions!
The North Shore desperately needs rapid transit - it suffers from horrible traffic problems.
Tunnelling or bridging a new line over the Burrard Inlet is a very expensive proposition - an existing crossing must be used for rapid transit to be feasible. The Second Narrows alignment is not ideal due to its distance from downtown.
An alignment over the Lions Gate bridge would be the best - however, the bridge cannot support more weight - it cannot add another deck to support rapid transit.
Solution: replace one of the existing vehicle lanes with a single track Skytrain line. This should keep things within the weight allowed, cost much less then building a new crossing, and reduce vehicle traffic (which the City of Vancouver wants) while simultaneously creating an attractive alternative.
Would a single track over the bridge work?
The span, including the South, Central, and North spans is 847m. (a separate two track guide-way could be built next to the viaduct portion).
The Bombardier Innovia Metro 300 (the newest Skytrain car being bought for the Evergreen line) has a top speed of 100km/h. Let's assume it will not be travelling at that top speed.
847m
at 60km/h = 51s
at 70km/h = 44s
at 80km/h = 38s
Let's assume 60km/h, and add a 10s buffer. That means the crossing is passable in 1m in each direction, in other words supporting a 2 minute headway (every two minutes, both directions can cross)! Even with more buffer room or slower speeds, this is still more frequent than most of the system's other lines.
How it would work:
Thankfully the Skytrain system is automated - this would be difficult with a human driver.
Simply, the system would be timed so that only one train in one direction uses the single track portion at a time. First, a train would travel north across the single track, and then go back on the double track guide-way next to the viaduct. At this time (after a safety buffer time), a south-bound train would enter the single track, and then exit south of the bridge onto a two track guide-way.
Would it be able to fit?
The current lane widths are 3.6m
The Bombardier Innovia Metro 300 is 2.65m wide
If 3.6m is not enough, the other lanes could be narrowed down to 3m (their original width was 2.9m) for a maximum total right of way of 4.8m.
Would it be too heavy?
One Bombardier car weighs 20,500kg. Compare to one 60 foot bus that Translink currently uses at 19,000kg. Currently, one lane of the bridge could be entirely filled with motor vehicles, totalling in the hundreds of thousands of kilograms - while in our case, only a single train with 2 to 4 cars would be on the "lane" at a time.
Why this alignment?
Here is a concept alignment:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?m...o.kyJD1KKTdMd4)
The North Shore rapid transit project could directly connect Downtown with Coal Harbour (and the undeserved West End), Stanley Park and the Aquarium, with North Shore destinations such as Park Royal (and the Park Royal bus exchange), Capilano Mall, and Lonsdale (and the Lonsdale bus loop). Park Royal could house a park and ride for commuters throughout the area.
Construction downtime?
The time between the closure of the third vehicle travel lane, and the opening of the rapid transit line, will be critical for traffic. Thus, it would make sense to do this part last, so that as soon as it is completed the entire line can open.
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