Quote:
Originally Posted by Hourglass
Imagine what kind of transportation network Vancouver would've had if they hadn't ripped out all the tracks and got rid of the streetcars...
|
Based on the total inability to dodge left turns and change lanes (an important aspect of our modern day transit system).... slower and far less reliable
I mean, sure, they must've been fine back then, and awesome, but the rails would have become a major problem heading into the 70s and 80s and even today. Sure, we could potentially now have higher-capacity articulated trams, but at what major benefits.... how do we know they'd even gather more ridership now to justify the capacity, given the inevitably, incredibly slower service.
The loss of the interurbans was probably the most inexcusable. But, you know, today, where we don't have SkyTrain there's adequate service on the previous line with buses. The 410 does 7 minute frequencies in peak hours (the Steveston interurban never used to do that). The 100 is FTN and is definitely outperforming what used to be single-track service. Heck, if you want to head out to Abbotsford, your choices are better today then they were with the previous interurban. BC Transit's 21 Aldergove Connector makes 11 trips a day, better than the 3 per day of back then. And, there are new plans out to have RapidBus service scale Highway 1 from Carvolth into Abbotsford and Chiliwack.
Transportation-wise, we don't really have any reasons to miss the interurbans and the streetcars. They may have looked nice, but their replacements, while perhaps had stagnated due to rising modern standards, didn't fail at replicating what used to be there.