Car pool, transit better than twinning Port Mann, group claims

[rt_0891]

Car pool, transit better than twinning Port Mann, group claims
Citizens Concerned with Highway Expansion worried increased traffic will negatively affect their neighbourhood

Krisendra Bisetty Sound Off
Vancouver Sun

Monday, April 11, 2005

More than 60 per cent of motorists using the Port Mann bridge travel alone and steps should be taken to get them into public transit or car pools rather than twinning the bridge and widening the Trans-Canada Highway to ease congestion, says a group opposing the government's multi-million-dollar expansion plan.

The group says while the proposed expansion of the highway and bridge will alleviate congestion in the short term, the experience of other North American metropolitan areas is that congestion will be worse in the long term as more people take to the highways.

Members of the east-Vancouver-based group, called Citizens Concerned with Highway Expansion, are concerned that increased traffic will negatively affect their neighbourhood.

"This community should be vibrant, but when there's so many cars, the noise, the exhaust fumes and pollution, it makes it an unhealthy and unpleasant place to be," David Fields, a spokesman for the group, said in an interview Sunday.

"This is by no means a NIMBY [not in my back yard] issue but a regional issue. Other neighbourhoods stand to experience the same problem."

The provincial government is pushing ahead with the expansion despite lack of public consultation or presentation of its plan, said Fields, adding there's a dearth of information available on the merits of the expansion.

Which is why the group set out to find out just who the majority of road users are, using physical traffic counts on the Surrey side of the Port Mann bridge during peak weekday periods in March to gauge volume and usage.

On one such count on the morning of Wednesday, March 9, the group said it counted 935 vehicles heading west in a 15-minute period (3,740 per hour), of which an average of 64.7 per cent were single-occupancy vehicles and an average of 12 per cent were commercial vehicles.

On Wednesday, March 16, there were 4,880 eastbound vehicles in peak afternoon traffic, of which an average of 72.6 per cent were single occupancy vehicles.

On a Saturday, Feb. 26 count of westbound traffic, there were was an average of 28-per-cent single-occupancy vehicles.

Fields, who calls himself an "environmental campaigner" who is in-between jobs, admits the survey was a very basic one. But he says it still shows that if half these drivers can be taken out of their vehicles and put into public transit, it will ease traffic considerably.

"Right now there is no public buses that cross the Port Mann bridge," he said, adding that public transit to and from Vancouver and communities east of the bridge would help, as would car-pooling if there are incentives for commuting in groups.

"At the very heart of this is that the provincial government is not willing to consult with the community and has not even presented a plan for the highway expansion so we don't know what the province is thinking.

"There's no dialogue between the GVRD [Greater Vancouver Regional District] and the province. If there is, there will be an opportunity for us to look at alternatives," Fields said.

Apart from twinning the Port Mann bridge and adding two lanes to the Trans-Canada Highway from Langley to Vancouver, the government's so-called Gateway Program, aimed at expanding the capacity of goods-moving corridors, calls for a new perimeter road along the south bank of the Fraser River, from Port Kells in Surrey to Deltaport Way near Tsawwassen and a perimeter road along the north bank of the Fraser from Maple Ridge through Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and New Westminster, including a new Pitt River bridge.

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said in a February interview with The Vancouver Sun that the $3-billion road-and-bridge-building plan is going ahead "full speed" with a $291-million initial allocation announced in February's budget.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[mr.x]

FUND PUBLIC TRANSIT!

its moronic to do this without detailed and length public consultation with local officials and public. its dead against the GVRD Livable Strategic Plan.



it would be suicide for Greater Vancouver and it may solve the problems in the short-term but in the long-term it will encourage more cars on the road meaning congestion will be back once again.

this just doesn't sound right. there must be a lot of backroom talking and perhaps, maybe even a scandal? why else would Falcon push it so much.....i don't think its to punish those who were against RAV. i hope he's fired.


like the article said, add in bus service across the Port Mann and expand rapid transit more out east. How about SkyTrain from King George to way out to Abbotsford and along with that, a lot more bus service. If Falcon has $3 billion to spend on highways and bridges along this Fraser River corridor here in the GVRD, he sure can spend billions on this.

[rt_0891]

Campbell promotes Port Mann Bridge expansion

Last Updated Apr 12 2005 03:32 PM PDT
CBC News

VANCOUVER – Premier Gordon Campbell says the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge is the key to solving transportation problems for many suburban commuters.

Speaking to the South Fraser Economic Forum in Surrey, Campbell said expanding the bridge will be an environmentally friendly move, as vehicles won't be stuck in congested traffic.

And he says it will also provide better transit and other alternatives to private vehicles.

"Twinning the Port Mann Bridge allows us to provide for public transit," he says."Twinning the Port Mann Bridge allows us to provide for cycling over the Port Mann."

The bridge expansion would be part of a $600-million freeway expansion from 200th Street in Langley to First Avenue in Vancouver.

The twinning has run into stiff opposition from the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which has asked the province to hold off on the project.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has said the increased traffic would turn his suburban community into a parking lot.

Meanwhile, Campbell also told the crowd that the South Fraser Perimeter Road which the municipality of Delta has been lobbying for, is too expensive for the province alone.

He said the road would cost $800 million, and that B.C. would need the federal government's help in order to build it.

Delta wants the new road, to keep heavy trucks out of residential neighbourhoods.

[mr.x]

^ Campbell as well?


ok, somebody should make this project an election issue to get this project off its feet!

[Westcoast604]

Twin the Port Mann! Its a mess. Try getting on the TCH at 152nd st, its pathetic. It doesnt matter how much they invest in Transit and Car Pooling, people will still want the privacy and convienence of their own vehicle. The only thing that will make people get out of their cars is with rapid transit, and I don't think there will be rapid transit throughout Surrey anytime soon.

[mr.x]

^ if the gov't can spend billions on this highway and bridge expansion, they can definetely spend billions on expanding rapid transit and transit in general in Surrey.

[Westcoast604]

I'm not one for widening of Freeways, but to be honest, we don't even have a freeway to begin with. Arterials are wider than that highway. At least bring it up to par of what it SHOULD be, and invest in transit at the same time. It has to be a joint effort on transit and roads. Cars are not going away its simple. The bridge only has 2 westbound lanes right now, that is hardly a decent goods-movement freeway and access point to the rest of Canada. WIDEN IT WIDEN IT WIDEN IT!

[Westcoast604]

^ They could spend it yes, but it wouldnt pay for itself because of the lack of density in Surrey = Not enough ridership.

[rt_0891]

BC Gateway plan: http://www.gatewayprogram.bc.ca/

Video: http://events.onlinebroadcasting.com/bcgov/093004/momentum_400.asx

Map: http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/Gateway_Map_Jan05.pdf

lol @ the 2 lanes:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/photos/hwy1_congestion.jpg

[mr.x]

I'm not one for widening of Freeways, but to be honest, we don't even have a freeway to begin with. Arterials are wider than that highway. At least bring it up to par of what it SHOULD be, and invest in transit at the same time. It has to be a joint effort on transit and roads. Cars are not going away its simple. The bridge only has 2 westbound lanes right now, that is hardly a decent goods-movement freeway and access point to the rest of Canada. WIDEN IT WIDEN IT WIDEN IT!


then this project should be the last of its type for this region.

[ssiguy2]

I strongly endorse transit expansion BUT..................I must admit I strongly am in favour of twinning the PortMann. There will be one lane each direction for carpool. That would allow commuter buses and carpoolers to speed into the city.
The road is horribly busy and near the bridge itself, down right dangerous. Sometimes coming into Vancouver from Chilliwack it would be very busy and slow going from Abbotsford and backed up from Langley in the middle of the day.
My brother and I were on the Surrey/152nd onramp and it took 20minutes to get onto the TCH mid-day on a Sunday. It really is absurd.
I don't agree with a lot of highways but some are simply mandatory. The amount of money it costs Vancouver each year due to congestion is estimated at 2.5billion.
Twin the PortMann and 8lanes to 200th then HOV to Chilliwack.
Its the ONLY major highway construction I agree with in the LowerMainland {except rail overpasses for safety, or any other road safety upgrades} but I strongly endorse it.

[zonie]

No need to twin it. Just add another lane each way for trucks - elevated with a maglev link and a tube-enclosed, air-conditioned bike/rollerskating/skateboarding/etc. path between the lanes. Oh, and don't forget the green roof. That'll be the ticket - no less than the ticket to highway success.

[*Jarrod]

i think that they should twin it because traffic is only going to get worse, but i believe that they should also expand skytrain further into surrey, because i think that they need it...

just my 2 cents...

[mr.x]

I don't agree with a lot of highways but some are simply mandatory. The amount of money it costs Vancouver each year due to congestion is estimated at 2.5billion.

its actually $1.5 billion.

if the Port of Vancouver was open at night when there's no congestion as suppose to during the day when there is, there wouldn't be this lost in the economy.

[Westcoast604]

The city needs a freeway into it. The TCH is not a freeway. Once we get a Freeway, then objections to widening it would be relevant.

[sukh]

Im glad the provincial government is not consulting with these nature loving fools, who will always oppose something that is proposed. Widen it!

[crazyjoeda]

The TC should be the biggest highway in Vancouver but the street 3 blocks from my house has more lanes, its a joke. Funding Transit is essential but so is having a desent highway. The amount of pollution coming from those cars just parked on that excuse for a highway for hours is discusting. If I travel west (Against the Rush) during the afternoon rush hour I travel at 40K (if im moving) towards the bridge!

Not widening the highway would be just plain stupid!

[EastVanGuy]

i think that it should be twinned/widened. Hopefully translink will introduce some new bus routes that utilize the HOV lanes (like those buses that come from the White Rock/Delta area)

[crazyjoeda]

Skytrain basicly mirrors HWY 1.

[ssiguy2]

I think that seeing the twinning is a go for all intensive purposes, the GVRD should DEMAND that part of the cost be 20 or 30 commuter buses to take the HOV to Downtown/Lougheed/Broadway SkyTrain

[rt_0891]

Campbell pledges new Pitt River bridge

Joel Baglole; With a file from Gordon Hamilton
Vancouver Sun

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Premier Gordon Campbell committed Friday to spending $180 million to build a new six-lane bridge over the Pitt River to ease traffic congestion.

The new bridge, which is scheduled to be completed by 2009, will replace two existing two-lane Pitt River bridges that were built in 1956 and 1978, Campbell said.

The new bridge, which will not have tolls, will connect Pitt Meadows to Port Coquitlam on Highway 7.

The bridge announcement represents the first funding commitment and scheduled timeline for the completion of a transportation project under the Liberal government's Gateway Transportation Strategy, which was unveiled in 2003 and aims to ease traffic congestion across the Lower Mainland.

Other transportation projects included in the Gateway Strategy are the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and widening of Highway 1 from Vancouver to 200th Street in Langley, and the construction of new perimeter roads on either side of the Fraser River.

"We want to keep things moving," said Campbell, who called the transportation system in B.C. the "life blood" of the province's economy.

The announcement of the new Pitt River bridge, which was delivered at a Ramada Hotel here, was greeted enthusiastically by a crowd of suburban voters.

According to the government, housing starts in the Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission areas have tripled in the past five years, while the number of businesses in the region has risen by 43 per cent.

At the same time, the amount of traffic flowing to Pitt Meadows and the surrounding area has tripled to 78,000 vehicles per day from 27,000 vehicles a day in 1985. The amount of daily traffic is expected to reach 88,000 vehicles by 2007.

Campbell said traffic congestion costs the region around Pitt Meadows $1.2 billion a year in lost business.

"This is clearly a place where people want to live," said Campbell. "There's only one thing holding it back. Congestion."

In making the announcement, Campbell was quick to tie the completion of the new bridge to his government being re-elected on May 17.

"We can't meet the commitments unless we're in government," Campbell told the crowd.

Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Campbell said, "We have to be elected to carry out the plan and the budget."

The new bridge's costs include $84 million for design and construction, $80 million to build a new interchange at the Mary Hill Bypass and Lougheed Highway, and $16 million for the project management fees.

NDP leader Carole James accused Campbell of making promises without saying where the money will come from.

"He refused to have any debate on his budget. And now he is making promises and putting dollar figures out there without any kind of costing," James said. "So I am going to wait and see the platform. I am going to wait and see the costing. But we know how much trust we can put in his promises."

The bridge announcement was the highlight of a campaign day that began with Campbell attending two religious events.

The first event was a non-denominational prayer service/breakfast at which James was also present. At the service, Campbell read scriptures from the Old Testament, Psalms 1-10 and 13 and 14.

Later Friday morning, Campbell fielded questions at a gathering of Christian youth, where he said the biggest influence on his life was his mother, who raised him on her own after his father died when he was age 13.

Campbell also discussed politics with the crowd of teens and young adults, saying, "It's more fun to be popular than correct," and, "There's a lot of demand for short-term, fast answers" in politics.

One of the organizers of the Christian youth event was pollster Angus Reid, who said the Liberal government has a strong chance of being re-elected May 17.

[Nutterbug]

Widen the bridges if they must, but place TOLLS on them to thin out the traffic.

[ssiguy2]

The thing that gets me is the new bridge from Langlly to MapleRidge will be tolled but the PortMann won't. Who the hell is going to pay the toll now that the PoMan will be wider?

[crazyjoeda]

^ The portmann is part of highway 1 it is the most important highway in the country. It would be unfair to put tolls on it and it is dangerous not to upgrade our most important highway to a desent number of lanes. How stupid is it to have major streets with more lanes then our most important highway?

[Nutterbug]

^ The portmann is part of highway 1 it is the most important highway in the country. It would be unfair to put tolls on it
Trans-Canada Highway #1 also runs between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo. That segment of the TCH has to be tolled, for obvious reasons.

[ssiguy2]

That wasn't my point. I was saying that people in Langly and Surrey will take a less congested PortMann to POCO or Coq if it is free.

[rt_0891]

Transportation crisis coming
Western provinces 'desperate' for billions in federal aid to create, maintain essential 'strategic road network'

Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Western Canada "desperately" needs more than $15 billion in additional transportation funding or it will suffer diminished economic growth, a report from the Western Transportation Ministers Council says.

"There is broad agreement that our transportation system [including highway, rail, sea and airports] will not be capable of meeting the needs of citizens, communities and business in future unless significant changes are made," says the report released Tuesday by British Columbia Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and his Prairie counterparts.

"The consequences of deferring infrastructure renewal are becoming more serious: lower economic growth; highway safety concerns; less competitive cities; traffic congestion and pollution."

Falcon said the report represents a "coherent vision" of what's needed in western Canada and that B.C. felt it was crucial to present Ottawa with "a business case" that would provide a basis for additional financial support.

The report recommends what it calls a "strategic road network" that is essential to the flow of goods and services in the West, and important to all of Canada.

"A transportation strategy is lacking and urgently needed for Canada given that our economy is nearly five-times more dependent on trade than the U.S.," the report says.

It details specific projects, such as replacement of the 100-year-old New Westminster railway bridge and expansion of Fraser Port and Deltaport, and maps out a 14,100-kilometre western Canada highway network that's crucial to the flow of people and goods.

The ministers' council was struck in 2002 with the intent of presenting a single voice to Ottawa on the need to recognize transportation systems as a linchpin in the west.

"Particularly with the growth in the western economies, infrastructure investment has not kept up," Falcon said. "I would describe the situation as dire, but very fixable with the right cooperation between the federal government and the provinces, and even in some cases the municipalities."

The report notes that transportation spending by all levels of government in Canada has fallen to 1.7 per cent of gross domestic product compared to 2.9 per cent in 1991.

Federal contributions have fallen the most -- 46 per cent -- even though federal revenues exceeded real gross spending by $14 billion between 1991 and 2001.

Provincial and local government spending has not increased to meet requirements.

The ministers warn that despite a cumulative $1 billion per year spent on highway maintenance, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will face an $11.7-billion backlog of road projects by 2025 unless additional funding and other support is provided.

Falcon said Premier Gordon Campbell has stressed the importance of maintaining a stable "businesslike" relationship with Ottawa and that approach has paid off with federal-provincial partnerships on projects such as the Kicking Horse Canyon highway improvement and the Prince Rupert container facility.

Falcon noted that enhanced federal support is just one of the components of the ministers' strategy -- which suggests Ottawa bring road infrastructure investment in line with the revenue it receives from fuel taxes.

"Reforms in road financing are desperately needed because the present system of paying for infrastructure out of general revenues will mean a legacy of recurring infrastructure problems," the report says.

The ministers are also asking Ottawa to work with railways to address capacity shortfalls, allow Canadian ports more leeway in obtaining financing for expansions, and cut the amount of money they collect from airports as "rent."

THE LIST:

B.C. transportation projects on the infrastructure strategy list:

- Replace New Westminster railway bridge.

- Increase rail capacity at Roberts Bank, Prince Rupert and Revelstoke.

- Modify bridges, tunnels from Prince Rupert to Tete Jaune Cache.

- Expand Fraser Port, Deltaport, Burrard Inlet container terminals. Build Prince Rupert container terminal, add new terminal at Roberts Bank.

- Upgrade road bridges at Kicking Horse Pass, Revelstoke, Golden.

- Build four-lane highways through Kicking Horse Pass; between Revelstoke and Kamloops.

- Build South Fraser Perimeter Road; upgrade Port Mann Bridge, Highway 1 from Langley to Vancouver.

Source: Western Transportation Ministers Council

Ran with fact box "The List", which has been appended to theend of the story.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[Westcoast604]

That wasn't my point. I was saying that people in Langly and Surrey will take a less congested PortMann to POCO or Coq if it is free.

It is a bit more of a hassle to go over the Port Mann, and then loop back around, up through Poco, then Pitt Meadows, and then to Maple Ridge, when you can just hop over one bridge near the Surrey/Langley border. Even with a twinned Port Mann it would probably take at least another 20-25 minutes, so people will value the time saved and pay the toll.

This is taking into account that to get to the Golden Ears Bridge most of the east-west travel would be on a freeway free of traffic lights, whereas if your taking the Lougheed north of the Fraser, your gonna be stopping often at intersections.

[mr.x]

that article made Falcon look like a good guy.......maybe he is?

[crazyjoeda]

^ damn streight Falcons a good guy, hes my MLA and my favorite cabinet minister.

[crazyjoeda]

^ damn streight Falcons a good guy, hes my MLA and my favorite cabinet minister.

[mr.x]

^ the thing is that before, it looked like as if he wanted to retaliate against Burnaby and other cities out east that were against RAV by building the highway and twinning the Port Mann.....but it looks like now that that ain't true.

The provincial government has a $10 billion transportation infrastructure capital investment plan and add in to Translink's 10-year $4 billion plan, that's $14 billion for BC.

[Westcoast604]

Taken from today's Sun:

10 lanes for the Port Mann!

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/528/836201014.jpg

[ssiguy2]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^sounds good to me but they should make sure that all the way thru there are HOV lanes. They should 6 lane it to Chilliwack with HOV.

I strongly support transit but maybe if it was better spent we would get morre banddg for our buck............example, Vancouver's SkyTrain has 49km with 230,000 passengers/day and servers 2.2 mil while Calgary's CTrain has 40km and has 220k/day yet only serves less than half the population. The real kicker ,our SkyTrain has cost $2.4 billion to build while the Ctrain only $640 million.
Thats the same ridership, in a smaller city, which is more useful for urbanites than the SkyTrain which is mostly for suburbanites, and SkyTrain has cost QUADRUPPLE the price!
Now, to make matters worse they want to continue SkyTrain {RAV} for $1.74 bil for just 80,000 passengers a day, truly obsene. This is why Vancouver's transit sucks and is saddled with debt. They keep building very expensive lines for relativly small ridership.
Calgary's west CTrain which is just as fast as SkyTrain will be 8km, it is expected to carry 70,000 pass/day but for $300mil. Basically same ridership but SkyTrain will cost nearly SIX TIMES AS MUCH!!!!!!!

[Westcoast604]

^There will be HOV lanes the whole way through, no question about it.

Urbanites vs Suburbanites. I think you are forgeting that Calgary doesnt have suburbs. Our suburbs are basically the same as the City of Calgary's proper, with skytrain passing through denser nodes than anywhere in Calgarys "Urban" Areas. New West, Metrotown considered suburban, but definatly Urban.

The only point you really have there is with cost, sure you can spend less and have a C-Train, or you can spend more and have something better which does not have ugly wires above and is seperated from grade.

Both lines are about the same distance, carry the same amount of people, and balanced out, cover the same type of urban landscape. I don't see how in this context, one cities system is better than the others, they both seem to be doing equally well. Vancouver has more people but thats irrelevant. That just means we need more lines, we're under serviced.

Ridership on the Millenium line is only low because the feeder line from Coq is not built yet, and the area around that line is not fully developed. It was built in anticipation of heavy infill and densification over the next 20 years. Eventually that line will have very high ridership, it runs through the central part of the Burrard Peninsula which is planned to take in a large amount of growth, so to say that it is useless is really stupid. Its planning ahead of time, many cities do it with transit lines.

[mr.x]

Yep.....you plan for 100 years, not 20. Good to hear about HOV lanes on those highway/bridge expansions. any news on commercial only lanes?

[mr.x]

RAV construction starts in August
Early jobs are preparatory activities, including utility and road relocation

Maurice Bridge
Vancouver Sun


Friday, June 03, 2005

VANCOUVER - Preliminary construction on the $1.72-billion Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid-transit project is scheduled to begin in August, Ravco CEO Jane Bird said Wednesday.

In a meeting with the editorial board of The Vancouver Sun, Bird said a number of jobs will be started soon.

"The early ones are preparatory activities, including the utility and road relocations to allow for formal construction of the line itself, in particular construction of the bridge over the north arm of the Fraser River that will begin this fall, and the beginning of the cast-concrete facility at the corner of Kent Avenue and Fraser Street," she said.

Bird said Ravco expects federal and provincial decisions this month on its application for an environmental assessment certificate to allow its cut-and-cover construction to proceed.

Cut-and-cover construction, which involves digging a deep trench, is planned along Granville from Hastings Street to the south side of Dunsmuir Street in the downtown core, and from Second Avenue to 37th Avenue south of False Creek along the Cambie Street route.

Ravco will be in B.C. Supreme Court later this month for an estimated three days to answer a petition filed by the Do RAV Right Coalition, which is challenging the process under which the provincial environmental assessment office accepted Ravco's application for a permit.

Controversy arose late last year when it became known the underground portion of the RAV line would be built using cut-and-cover construction, rather than boring a tunnel.

"The matter at hand is whether the process followed by the environmental assessment office in particular, and by RAV as the applicant, was consistent with the Environmental Assessment Act and the requirements of that act," Bird said. "Our position is that it was entirely consistent."

She said Ravco has been holding discussions with residents of the Cambie Street boulevard area, as well as with business owners and operators along the length of the planned route.

While she reiterated Ravco will not compensate business for lost revenue due to construction, she said it will provide funding for a project director to help businesses deal with the disruption, and to provide market research to measure potential disruption.

She would not say how much money RAV will contribute, but added a director should be in place by September.

Jeff Hewitt, Ravco's senior vice-president of engineering, said Ravco is in negotiations with the City of Vancouver to reroute vehicle traffic during construction.

The plan under consideration calls for closing the northbound lanes of Cambie Street along the eastern side of the boulevard from 25th Avenue to 63rd Avenue. Traffic would be redirected to the current southbound lanes on the western side, which would be reconfigured as one northbound lane and two southbound lanes.

Traffic would be kept to three lanes to minimize the need to cut into the existing boulevard and to reduce traffic flow to cut down use of side streets by commuters.

Hewitt said the rerouting would be done in sections, each involving one major intersection at a time and progressing southward.

Bird said financial negotiations with SNC-Lavalin/Serco and InTransitBC, the company it has put together to handle the project, are expected to conclude by the end of June.

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[Wonderwall]

Another article in the sun today – right below the highway 1 map – said that 1/4 of people in Vancouver that live within 5km of downtown take transit, compared to a Canadian average of slightly over 1/2. Food for thought for the self-proclaimed leader in sustainability, walkable town centres, and other such fantasies. Vancouver has the curious distinction of having almost no freeway within its city limits; it seems this has had little practical effect on its car dependency.

[aastra]

Vancouverites do love their cars. They're almost as dependent on them as Victorians. I disagree with you that Vancouver should start building freeways within the city, however. I'd rather see continued development of the "walkable town centres" (I call them villages, myself).

1/4 of people in Vancouver that live within 5km of downtown take transit...to get downtown? Is that what it means? Or does it mean 1/4 of people in Vancouver that live within 5km of downtown take transit...period? Also, are all of the people who live downtown included in that figure? I would expect most people who live downtown and also work downtown would be walking back and forth. Can't imagine why you would drive or take the bus to get a few blocks.

[ssiguy2]

^^^True Vancouverites do walk and bike to work more than the average Canadian due to our weather.
That said, Vancouver urban planning nightmare {as if Vancouver needed ANOTHER bad urban planning example} is its costs.
I remember about 3 years major Owen was talking about urban transit development at city hall. He talked about the need for regional town sites.ie NewWest, where people could work and live closeby.
Then someone stood up and asked for a raise. Owen looked perplexed and then the person said he works at cityhall and he was waiting for his income to soar so he could afford to live near where he works, the WestSide.
All the other spectators and speakers cheered and Owen and his urban planning and transit mandarins just looked down in embarrasement. It was telling.
It speaks about a lot of what Vancouver's troubles are, people will keep moving further afeild to afford something to live in, further away from work and longer commutes.

[queetz@home]

^^^True Vancouverites do walk and bike to work more than the average Canadian due to our weather.
That said, Vancouver urban planning nightmare {as if Vancouver needed ANOTHER bad urban planning example} is its costs.
I remember about 3 years major Owen was talking about urban transit development at city hall. He talked about the need for regional town sites.ie NewWest, where people could work and live closeby.
Then someone stood up and asked for a raise. Owen looked perplexed and then the person said he works at cityhall and he was waiting for his income to soar so he could afford to live near where he works, the WestSide.
All the other spectators and speakers cheered and Owen and his urban planning and transit mandarins just looked down in embarrasement. It was telling.
It speaks about a lot of what Vancouver's troubles are, people will keep moving further afeild to afford something to live in, further away from work and longer commutes.

Dang!!! That guy hit the bull's eye! Its easier to say people should live close to where they work but in reality, people really have to pay a premium to live near where the decent jobs are. I know of people in California that live in Sacramento but work in San Francisco, driving everyday simply because the wages in San Francisco are so high but still not high enough to actually live there.

[ssiguy2]

Vancouver will get worse due to high prices and excellent examples of bad planning.
Where is the GVRD demanding futur transit corridors in Surrey/Langley..........no where. This means if in 20 years when they build LRT they will have to go the expensive route with tunnels, overhead, and property acquisition.
Even if they put the ROW beside the rail line{ so easy it defies logic} and for the time being did a Rapid Bus til ridership evolves.......still fast and high service level. Oh no, Vancouver likes to wait until they have a problem and then try to fix it.
What about the Arbutus Corridor?........they should have kept it as a transit rail corridor 20 years ago before all the new development beside it meant the rail couldn't be twinned. Any other city on the planet would have done that but Vancouver waits til the rail line is finally sold and is usless for transit ROW. What about the Burrard Inlet line, it should have been demanded a rail ROW 30 years ago before they were allowed to widen and devlope it and now they can only use it a few hours a day for WCE instead of all day LRT to Coquitlam. A new 200th overpass on TCH#1 that took 4 years to build...............did they put in a bus only acess lane for commuter buses....no.
Did they secure the Richmond rail for LRT service to Steveston.........no.
Did they originall make the Richond Connector with Hov and give HOV only access from the Connector to the Alex Frazer {probably just .5km so they had priority access...........no. When bringing fixing the Oak Street Bridge did they make allowences for HOV /Bus access lanes....no. When widening the Barnet highway and demand HOV lane as was the original idea.....no
AmI getting my point across yet?
Vancouver is in a pickle because they CHOOSE to be there and refused basic urban planning.
Now they will ......no, sratch that...WE will be paying for it by having to tunnel everywhere without the ridership that even comes close to justifying the price.
Our $1.74 bil RAV line is calculated to save the people going to YVR a whopping 3-4 minutes from downtown, 6 minutes in rushhour. Now thats what I call bang for the buck!
The transport lack of planning dept has screwed this city for ever and combined with the FrazerValley growthas it is the only place average incomes can buy it will get much worse and could have been avoided. Criminal!!!

[Nutterbug]

What about the Arbutus Corridor?........they should have kept it as a transit rail corridor 20 years ago before all the new development beside it meant the rail couldn't be twinned.
Back then, as now, it didn't have the points of interest around it as does Cambie (City Hall, VGH, QE Park, Langara College, Broadway business district, etc.).

Our $1.74 bil RAV line is calculated to save the people going to YVR a whopping 3-4 minutes from downtown, 6 minutes in rushhour. Now thats what I call bang for the buck!
I think reducing traffic volume is the main idea here.

[ssiguy2]

^^^^^^^^^But it is faster to UBC, the most heavily populated area in Vancouver next to the innercity, Marpole and would be the same amount of time to CityHall and VGH, with LRT down Broadway as opposed to Millenium line that serves just the burbs.
Kerrisdale/41st is quite transit friendly as well and use the line to goto Burrard to 4th Ave, Granville Island, False creek.
Major transit corridors with no tunnels at less than half the price.
Lets face it, it was strickly political because the WestSiders wouldn't like it.

[ssiguy2]

I forgot to include ArbutusVillage and 12th Ave and remeber WestBroadway is far more densly populated than Cambie/Broadway. It is much faster for downtown to UBC not just from Richmond.

[queetz@home]

Major transit corridors with no tunnels at less than half the price.
Lets face it, it was strickly political because the WestSiders wouldn't like it.

Oh we have a certain grade 6 creme de la creme in this forum to play the blame game for that.... ;)

[EastVanGuy]

Oh we have a certain grade 6 creme de la creme in this forum to play the blame game for that.... ;)
LOL

[mr.x]

i have had enough of these uncalled for insults. this cross breed of a jackass, a loser, a troll and a prick, has been reported.

[ssiguy2]

Good!,
I'm going to be reporting KGH...he calls everyone and idiot and such if they have a differing view.

[rt_0891]

BC and municipalities at odds over Port Mann expansion

Bridge over troubled water
Province and local council at loggerheads over expansion proposal

Maurice Bridge Sound Off
Vancouver Sun

June 3, 2005

CREDIT: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan says municipalities might be less than cooperative about the road expansion.

LOWER MAINLAND - The gloves are coming off in the fight over the provincial plan to twin the Port Mann Bridge and widen Highway 1.

Burnaby council adopted a staff report this week recommending it inform Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon of its "strong opposition" to twinning the bridge, pointing out that the plan does not conform to the

livable region strategic plan of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

But Falcon warned Wednesday the province will go ahead with its plan regardless of opposition by some municipalities, and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan responded that the municipalities "could make it extremely difficult for [the province] to succeed in this project."

Burnaby's official complaint effectively creates a united front to take on the provincial government over the issue.

All five municipalities north of the Fraser River that are touched by the Trans-Canada Highway have now weighed in with their concerns about Victoria's Gateway Program, particularly the twinning of the bridge and the widening of the highway to as many as eight lanes between Grandview in Vancouver and 200th Street in Langley.

Falcon, who is the chief proponent of the program, says there will be consultation with the municipalities, but not about whether or not to go ahead.

"Doing nothing is not an option -- we will be doing something," Falcon said. "We were very clear about that in the election campaign, I've been clear about it up to this point, and we will be moving forward.

"So if the debate is, how we do it best to ensure all the interests of the municipalities are considered as we go forward, then absolutely, they will have their say. If the question is whether we ought to be doing it, we've already made that decision."

According to the transport ministry website the Gateway Program "was established by the province of British Columbia in response to the impact of growing regional congestion, and to improve the movement of people, goods and transit throughout Greater Vancouver."

Corrigan said the municipalities want to sit down and talk to the province about the issue, but added he believes Falcon has already made up his mind.

"I really wish Kevin Falcon wouldn't act in such a childish manner in regard to these issues of transportation improvements across the Lower Mainland," Corrigan said Thursday.

"We've been working on these issues literally for the last decade and attempting to arrive at a sustainable region that recognizes the goals and objectives of the municipalities of the region.

Despite the ongoing municipal requests for consultation, Falcon says communication has already occurred.

"We actually have consulted with all of them, and will continue to do so as we go through the process of proceeding with the Gateway program," he said.

"There will be full consultation, but let's be very clear about something: This is the most congested corridor in the province of British Columbia. It's got an average of 13 hours a day of rush-hour congestion."

Corrigan dismissed Falcon's claims of communication as "disingenuous," and said opposition is broader than Falcon might expect.

He said the opponents of Falcon's plans will start talking more about the issues, particularly proposed tolls on the Port Mann Bridge.

"His big political gift to the Fraser Valley doesn't look nearly so attractive when people are going to end up paying six or eight dollars a day to get in and out of town," Corrigan said.

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/sou...ba-66ab70e5a17e

[rt_0891]

Suburban job growth complicates transit

Jun 04 2005

Jobs continue to migrate away from Vancouver's downtown core and Lower Mainland residents badly trail other urban Canadians in their use of public transit, a study on urban sprawl and commuting patterns shows.

Just over 30% of the region's workers live within five kilometres of downtown Vancouver, according to the findings from Statistics Canada.

While near-downtown employment still grew by nearly 5,000 jobs between 1996 and 2001, that was far outpaced by the 69,000-job increase in areas more than five kilometres from Vancouver's city centre.

The report found the average commuting distance for Greater Vancouverites grew to 10.1 kilometres - second only to the 12.2-kilometre average in Toronto among major Canadian cities.
But public transit use by commuters in Vancouver averaged just 13% - far below the 23% in Montreal and Toronto.

Researchers caution, however, that the numbers for Vancouver could be lower because of the transit strike here in 2001.

Still, they conclude the shift of jobs away from the city core means transit service must focus less on the traditional commute from the suburbs to downtown.

"Commute patterns have become more complex, with more workers engaging in reverse commutes [from the city centre to the suburb] and between-suburb commutes," the report says. "More and more people are commuting cross-town to these suburban areas.

"The reliance on auto travel to access these suburban jobs may have important consequences for infrastructure, traffic congestion and air pollution."

The study also offers a revealing profile of the typical Vancouver transit user. Some examples:

* Women are somewhat more likely to use transit than men and transit use was lower for married men and women.
* Transit use declines steadily with income - from a high of nearly 22% for people earning less than $25,000 to less than 8% for those who make $100,000 or more.
* Recent immigrants are nearly twice as likely as Canadian-born commuters to use public transit.
* Commuting distance didn't make much difference; transit use was 10 to 15% for short-range, mid-range and long-distance commuters.
* More than 80% of Vancouver commuters who must travel at least five kilometres to work drive - the vast majority in single-occupant vehicles. Only among those commuting less than five kilometres does car use decrease, and then only to about 65%.
* Rather than ride the bus, those short-distance commuters who park their cars opt instead to walk (18%) or bike (3.4%).
* Less than 2% of commuters walk or bike to work if they must travel more than five kilometres, the study found.
* Vancouver men are twice as likely to bike as women, who are more likely to walk to work.
* Vancouverites who live furthest from downtown earn the least, the study also indicated.

The study also states average annual wages range from a high of $51,300 within five kilometres of the city centre to a low of $41,900 for those who live more than 25 km away.

[Wonderwall]

The second article - about the growth of suburban jobs - identifies perfectly the reality of North American cities; that transit is rarely auto competitive because the downtown core is not the locus of most employment.

Ironic as it is that Burnaby would deem to punish the other suburbs, new highway development has not had an effect on car use; it's very high in spite of a lack of highway infrastructure.

The GVRD should focus less on killing major road projects and more on (attempting to) provide auto-competitive transportation options. They have been loathe to employ the powerful, but politically poisonous, solution the rest of our capitalist lives rely on: cost. If there were direct and visible cost associated with driving – either bridge tolls, highway tolls, or congestion pricing – traffic volumes would decrease. It would not only limit the need for new capital investments, but would generate revenue for further transportation investments.

[ssiguy2]

If the GVRD would demand that all office and employment centres that don't need space due to industrial needs having to go the the major area centers and not allowed these sprawling 2 floor office building all over the dam place they wouldn't be in as much of a pickle they are. Once again, its called urban planning but the GVRD doesn't beleive in that. Actually thats not true, they beleive in it but just refuse to partake.
If the GVRD wasn't allowed to spend nearly $2bil on one transit line instead of many with LRT, they would help the situation but thats not as fancy-shamcy.
If 30 years ago Vancouver refused to be the only major city in NA to allow single-family residences less than one km from downton to endless anywhere they again wouldn't be in the fix they are in. Do you realize that ALL of Vancouver city is zoned for low density south of Broadway?
Again, there is some hardcore urban planning.
Oh, please dont hit me with this bull---t that it is because its a newer city. Look at Calgary. Far newer city than Vancouver but with equal rapid transit ridership and one-quarter the price.

[queetz@home]

^ The GVRD does demand it. Unfortunately, they don't have the powers to enforce it. Even the head of Translink, Doug McCallum, tells the GVRD to piss off when the GVRD tells them that they should stop building those office parks in Surrey that are not served by rapid transit. And when the GVRD complains that Richmond is building this project that is against the LRSP, the province of BC overrules them.

And note that the only reason why the GVRD "supports" the nearly 2 billion in one transit line instead of many LRT is because nobody bothered telling them about the "free airport shuttle" component before the vote (as most GVRD directors weren't able to find out that little detail). The GVRD approval of Translink's ten year plan passed only by one measely vote and if the airport shuttle component was known, that would have easily sent the RAV plans to the toilet. Its too bad the CUPE wasn't able to point that out so quickly and when they did and have Derek Corrigan present it to the Board, Doug McCallum accuses Corrigan of breach of confidentiality, which Doug later apologized for being in error.

[Wonderwall]

They should stop calling it Vancouver and start calling it the Ivory City. Disallowing office parks would be disastrous to regional traffic and to local small businesses. Lease rates in office parks and other suburban locations are far less than rates charged in more central locations; where are fledgeling companies to go? To Calgary, most likely.

Also, the decentralization of jobs – notably in Surrey – has allowed this municipality to create many new jobs, lessening the need for long distance commutes. If Vancouver were more decentralized, with more office park development, traffic would be better, not worse; traffic volumes might be higher, but congestion at rush hour is due to many people going to the same place at once. If they were going to different destinations, this would not occur. Heavy handed "regional planning" has designated some zones commercial, some residential, etc. It seems ironic that the solution to this interventionist policy is purported to be more intervention.

You would be hard pressed to find many North Americans that relish a long commute, but they are willing to suffer it – for a quiet, pollution free residential street. Allowing municipalities to develop in the best interests of their local citizens – and to provide local jobs (above and beyond Starbucks barista) – will go a long way to reducing long distance car travel and major route congestion.

[ssiguy2]

That was my point^^^^^^^^
Surrey central is better than nothing but then why is McCallum refusing to bend and allow a HUGE plaze inc WalMart near S.Surrey on a 2 lane road with no transit at all.
Why are they not securing ROW along the railway to Langley?
Vancouver is a scattered mess.
If they "didn't know" about the airport shuttle then it should be cancelled. Had they put into the plan that ALL things presented where required or its a no go they wouldn't be in that fix. Any normal business or city would do that.
When making the station in NuWest beside the Greyhound station specifically for it, why didn't anybody call to see if they were going to move which they did in less than 6 months to Lougheed HWY which would have been a better stop in the first place.
Why would ANY city make a SkyTrain to the burbs before making it for the city.
Vancouver is the only city that builds its rapid transit for the suburbs first, hence its low ridership.
When the R%AV came up at the present configuration they could have just said NO.
Do you realize that the most heavily populated area of the whole Cambie line won't have a station...........16TH but they are planning a station at 33rd......rediculous.
In the city and 16blocks between stations. This results in BAD urban planning.
The city has al;so reaffirmed that no rezoning on Cambie will take place, in other words no medium/high density development will be allowed.
It is reasons like this as to why Vancouver spends billions on projects that do nothing for ridership. It will actually take Marpole, medium density, residents longer toget downtown becuase all routes will be made east/west to suppoort the RAV.
Again, 2.4bil for ridership levels lower percapita than Ctrain 640mil and has service for people in the inner city which SkyTrain doesn't.
This is Vancouver all over.
It is incredible how the only major city in canada where you don't freese your ass off waiting for a bus is the onw with by far, the lowest ridership.
Both Translink serves 2.2 mil with ridership of 150mil/year while the TTC serves 2.6mil but has ridership of 420mil.

[rt_0891]

CREDIT: mattropolis, SSP:

http://img36.echo.cx/img36/2546/vancouvertransit20043da.png

[Nutterbug]

When making the station in NuWest beside the Greyhound station specifically for it, why didn't anybody call to see if they were going to move which they did in less than 6 months to Lougheed HWY which would have been a better stop in the first place.
What's more, there's also a park and ride there. Sounds like a far more suitable location for a Skytrain station than Braid at Brunette.

Why would ANY city make a SkyTrain to the burbs before making it for the city.
Vancouver is the only city that builds its rapid transit for the suburbs first, hence its low ridership.
Maybe it's because of all the NIMBYers within the city of Vancouver who don't want an elevated rapid transit line running over their homes?

[ssiguy2]

True, and maybe because Vancouver spends billions on stupis transit lines with no chance of descent ridership instead of making LRT all over the place and buying ROW now for future transit corridors.
Proof is in the pudding........billions spent, lousy ridership.

[rt_0891]

BCAA urges hybrid help
Association wants Ottawa to adopt B.C.-style model for sales tax relief

Joanne Lee-Young
Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

The B.C. Automobile Association is urging Ottawa to push sales of hybrid cars by adopting a B.C.-style model for sales tax relief.

The B.C. Liberal government earlier this year doubled its PST credit on cleaner-running hybrid fuel autos for two years, giving buyers a break of up to $2,000 on purchases from now until 2008.

"The provincial government's alternative-fuel vehicle sales tax break is a positive step toward closing the hybrid price gap," said BCAA spokesperson Trace Acres. "Maybe the federal government should step up."

Not only are hybrids cheaper to gas up and better for the environment, contrary to belief, they might not be that much more expensive than regular wheels, says the BCAA.

"For the last two years, we have gauged in our annual member survey various price points at which people would buy a hybrid. If cost [of hybrids and regular similar vehicles] was the same, we got a very strong response of more than 80 per cent," Acres said. "Our membership, at least, is confident in the technology."

BCAA decided to look at how cheaper fuel costs, potential low interest financing and a provincial tax rebate might impact the actual cost difference of a hybrid.

"If you just look at sticker prices, the difference is between $6,000 to $7,000, but if you do a simple analysis [of other variables] and push it out over five years, the cost difference is about half of that," said Acres.

The study assumed a gas cost of $0.95 per litre, financing 80 per cent of the total purchase cost and taxes, and looked at four hybrid models: the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Ford Escape and Toyota Prius. Over five years, two of these vehicles would end up costing about $3,200 more than their conventional comparable, one would cost just $2,400 more and one, the Honda Accord hybrid, would actually cost $3,000 less.

Car dealerships, however, report that while tax breaks "are an incentive, the big motivator is gas mileage," said Jason Skellett, sales and leasing consultant at Richport Ford Lincoln, where they have sold two or three Escape SUV hybrids in the last month.

Honda Middlegate in Burnaby has seen similar single-digit sales. "Most hybrid purchasers have done their research. They have read about the fuel economy and they like the idea of protecting the environment. They are often tech people in the sciences. Others are more leery," Mike Terry, a salesman and mechanic at Honda Middlegate, said.

Compare this to sales across the border, where hybrids are in such demand at some dealerships that stickers are being marked above manufacturers' suggested prices. Klein Honda in Everett, Wash., has sold more than 20 hybrids in the last month, according to Eryn Hubbard, sales and lease specialist.

Acres added that the association has ongoing discussions with Ottawa through its national office.

jlee-young@png.canwest.com

PAY YOUR MONEY, TAKE YOUR CHANCES WITH HYBRIDS

The British Columbia Automobile Association crunched the numbers on these gas-electric vehicles in a report released Tuesday and finds that while hybrids are not as expensive as most people think once you factor in gas savings over a five-year period, there's still a lot to consider before you pay the hybrid premium.

HONDA CIVIC LX 4-DOOR SEDAN

Total purchase price*: $25,302

5-year total costs**: $35,760

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID 4-DOOR SEDAN

Total purchase price*: $31,641

5-year total costs**: $38,983 Hybrid cost: ($3,223)

HONDA ACCORD EX-V6 4-DOOR SEDAN

Total purchase price*: $39,649

5-year total costs**: $54,627

HONDA ACCORD HYBRID 4-DOOR SEDAN

Total purchase price*: $41,417

5-year total costs**: $51,675

Hybrid saving: $2,952

TOYOTA MATRIX XR 4-DOOR HATCHBACK

Total purchase price*: $26,693

5-year total costs**: $37,748

TOYOTA PRIUS HYBRID 4-DOOR HATCHBACK

Total purchase price*: $34,013

5-year total costs**: $40,949

FORD ESCAPE XLS

Total purchase price*: $30,375

5-year total costs**: $44,380

FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

Total purchase price*: $37,039

5-year total costs**: $46,811

Hybrid cost: (2,431)

*including all taxes, PST credit and freight and PDI

**assuming 20% down payment, dealers' financing options and averaged fuel costs

Source: BCAA

Ran with fact box "Pay your money, take your chances with hybrids", which has been appended to the end of the story.

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

[rt_0891]

ICBC proposes rate freeze

Jeff Rud
Victoria Times Colonist

June 8, 2005

The Insurance Corp. of B.C. is proposing to freeze basic auto insurance rates for another year, the Crown corporation announced Tuesday.

ICBC will seek approval from the B.C. Utilities Commission this summer to leave its basic rates -- which average $605 per customer -- unchanged in 2006. The corporation already revealed last month that it plans some reductions in optional coverage for its "better-risk customers.''

ICBC spokesman Doug McClelland said the corporation sets rates based on projected costs.

"And if you look at the historical information, clearly basic rates are already as low as they can be and they haven't changed very much in 11 years," he said.

But at least one consumer group says the decision to keep basic rates unchanged is not good enough when ICBC has made large profits the past three years, including a record $390 million in 2004.

Consumers' Association of Canada president Bruce Cran said his organization plans to appear before the utilities commission requesting that ICBC reduce its basic rates as well.

"We will be looking for a [basic] rate reduction,'' Cran said. "This, after all, is supposed to be a non-profit organization. And it really is there to serve the car drivers and owners of B.C. And there was never any intent that there should be these sort of profits involved.''

ICBC is the sole provider of basic auto insurance in B.C. Basic coverage represents the minimum insurance coverage legally required to operate a car. According to ICBC, basic insurance covers more than 75 per cent of the cost of injury claims.

ICBC also competes with private insurers to provide drivers with optional auto insurance. This includes coverage for damage and theft as well as additional protection from third-party liability.

While the utilities commission sets basic rates for ICBC, its optional rates are set by the ICBC board of directors.

The average annual basic premium for B.C. vehicles in 2004 was $601.

ICBC is proposing its basic rates remain the same for the third straight year despite a projected rise in average claim costs for 2006 of 3.5 per cent.

The corporation says safer driving has led to fewer claims that have helped counteract an increase in the average cost, allowing it to keep rates flat.

McClelland said most of the profit made by ICBC in 2004 -- more than $330 million -- came from the optional side, allowing some decreases on that side of the business for 2006.

"Our actuarial analysis of expected claim costs for next year shows we can afford to lower rates on optional but we cannot, without creating a deficit situation, lower rates on the basic side.''

But Cran said the distinction between basic and optional "sides" of the business being made by ICBC is a "silly division.''

"It doesn't mean anything at all,'' he said. "They can shove 'em [profit figures] anywhere they want.''

Utilities commission executive director Bill Grant said the ICBC issue will likely go to a public hearing in late October or early November with a decision by the commission near the end of the year.

BASIC COVERAGE

The minimum amount of insurance any vehicle must carry to legally operate in B.C.:

- Third-Party Legal Liability - generally $200,000

- Accident Benefits - $150,000

- Underinsured Motorist Protection - $1 million

- Protection Against Hit-and-Run and Uninsured Motorists

Source: ICBC

Ran with fact box "Basic coverage", which has been appended to the end of the story.

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In Ontario, where auto insurance has been privatized, I have to shell out a lot more money to cover my car. :(

[rt_0891]

Roads to the future: Vancouver's mayor warns that municipalities won't put up with B.C. transportation minister's 'bullying' to ease traffic congestion

William Boei
Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

CREDIT: Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun
(In the search for consensus, Port Mann Bridge is the bottleneck)

B.C.'s most monumental highway-building project since the days of Social Credit premier W.A.C. Bennett will be unveiled in August.

It's called the Gateway Program and it promises to be one of the Lower Mainland's most volatile political issues for years.

Indeed, whether and how the Gateway Program is built will shape the future of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley for decades to come. Some say for better, others for worse.

Everyone agrees that Greater Vancouver has a serious traffic problem that is slowing the movement of goods and commuters to a crawl, and that something has to be done.

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, the man behind the project and a champion of Surrey's right to control its own growth -- there is a connection -- says it will be built.

Falcon said a long-awaited project definition report that nails down exactly what the government wants to build is due in August. It will constitute the starting gun for the next round of project planning, consultation and, of course, politics.

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell mutters that if the Liberals build this project over municipal objections, they had better enjoy the next four years because they won't be in office after that.

Campbell did not say whether he personally plans to climb the ladder to provincial politics to enforce his verdict.

Gordon Price, a former Vancouver city councillor and a close ally of Premier Gordon Campbell when he was mayor of Vancouver in the 1980s and helping shape the region's planning priorities, says the Gateway Program signals a 180-degree turnaround from those priorities.

Price, who now lectures and consults on urban planning, has joined the Livable Region Coalition to oppose the Gateway Program which, he says, means giving up Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to the automobile, and to urban sprawl.

The Gateway Program is a grand plan for solving Greater Vancouver's major traffic problems -- especially the highway congestion that is slowing goods-moving trucks in and out of the region's ports but also the ever-slower highway commutes between parts of the region -- in a single, multi-billion-dollar stroke.

It includes:

- The twinning of the Port Mann Bridge.

- Widening the Trans-Canada Highway from Langley to Vancouver.

- A new four-lane South Fraser Perimeter Road.

- A new North Fraser Perimeter Road.

It appeared on the provincial agenda several years ago and appeared to be a wish list for the region's ports and transportation industries, which estimate the economic cost of goods languishing in backed-up traffic has reached $1.5 billion a year. It did not have much of a profile.

Last year it fell into place with an audible click, like the last piece in a big jigsaw puzzle. Some of the other parts:

For three decades or so, the Greater Vancouver Regional District has tried to encourage development in town centres strung along transit routes, especially in the northeast quadrant of the region.

The idea was to prevent sprawl, preserve green space and farm land, and encourage compact development, jobs located near homes and travel by transit.

Its success has been limited. Growth did occur along the route of the proposed northeast rapid transit line. But south of the Fraser, Surrey and others were often criticized for approving office parks and subdivisions in places unforeseen by the regional plan, at densities difficult to serve by road and impossible by transit.

With population growth came increasing political clout for Surrey, and resentment of what was perceived as pious prattling by smug Vancouverites.

The provincial election of 2001 and the municipal elections of 2002 changed everything.

The Liberals turfed the NDP out of office, Gordon Campbell became premier and Falcon, the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, emerged as a force in cabinet. In 2002, new municipal councils sent delegates to regional bodies who handed the influential chairs of the district and TransLink boards, both long held by Vancouver, to Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt and Mayor Doug McCallum.

TransLink switched priorities and the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver line vaulted to the top of the agenda, ahead of northeast rapid transit.

There were bloodbaths at TransLink board meetings as some directors held out for different routes and cheaper technology. Twice, they voted against the RAV Line, and Falcon threatened to take back the province's $450-million contribution. He had a better place to spend it.

That's how the Gateway Program got on the table.

-

The RAV Line was resurrected on the third vote, but Falcon wouldn't put the Gateway Program back on the shelf.

If we want to deal seriously with congestion we have to build it, he insisted Tuesday.

"I have to make decisions based on the reality of growth in this region, not on the basis of a model which many municipalities aren't even following or adhering to, and which hasn't been updated -- the Livable Region Plan," Falcon said.

"The reality of what's happening is that Surrey is the fastest-growing city in the province, and within the next 10 to 15 years will be larger in population than Vancouver.

"The Port Mann Bridge is the most congested corridor in the Lower Mainland, in fact, in the entire province. Nothing else comes close. You can't ignore that."

-

For Gordon Price, a member of several centre-right Vancouver city councils who favours "sustainable" planning, alarm bells are ringing.

"Why are they locking us into a form of development that everyone acknowledges doesn't work?" he asks, referring to studies that show other cities have invariably failed to build their way out congestion.

The studies show new road capacity fills up, often quickly. The result is the same level of congestion but with more vehicles on bigger roads and therefore, more air pollution.

"It creates a way of life that even to the people who are going to live [in Surrey and the southern Fraser Valley] will be expensive, frustrating and will take us in the directions that everyone acknowledges we don't want to go," Price said.

"Once you've spent that three to five billion dollars and you've clearly said, 'We are building an automobile and truck future,' there isn't much left to talk about."

He argues that freeways that are meant to bypass congestion attract the very type of development that creates congestion -- big-box stores, shopping malls, theatre complexes and the like -- and the roads quickly fill with cars making short trips from one parking lot to another.

Price also wonders about suggestions -- by Falcon and others -- that there might be tolls on lanes for high-occupancy vehicles or trucks on the twinned Port Mann Bridge.

There's only one reason anyone would pay tolls to drive in a special lane, he says: the other lanes are congested. That's not a good signal to send before the project is built.

Ultimately, Price thinks Campbell has to have the last word.

"I think the premier will really have to clarify what he believes the future of the Lower Mainland is. That's the stakes we're really talking about."

-

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell takes a similar tack.

"We know we have to have roads built to move goods from the port and from the airport onto the highway and wherever they're going," Campbell said Tuesday from Montreal. "But twinning the Port Mann is just not on, period. It makes no sense at all."

Campbell says he'd rather run light rail all the way from Chilliwack into the SkyTrain system. "That would take cars off the road, which then would allow trucks that have to be on the road more opportunity to get from Point A to Point B."

If the province insists on building the project it probably can, he said, but not without a fight.

"Municipalities are not going to put up with bullying from Minister Falcon, and that's what this really is.

"It's my intention to talk to the premier about it. There's no sense in talking to Minister Falcon."

-

Falcon said the blustering doesn't bother him.

He's used to municipal politicians who want to "cherry-pick" projects and just have the parts built that they have a stake in.

"Doing one piece of the puzzle isn't adequate. We have to move forward with all of the pieces."

He said the government won't be dropping the South Fraser Perimeter Road off the program, even though it has been signalling recently that the road now depends on new federal funding.

Falcon did not disagree that there is federal money up for grabs and B.C. wants a piece of it; the perimeter road is a good candidate because it will be moving goods from federal port facilities. The road will still be built if the federal money doesn't materialize, he said, but it might take a little longer.

Falcon reiterated that he's on the side of the angels when it comes to development.

"You cannot build your way out of congestion," he said. "I am a strong adherent of that philosophy."

He promised that the government will not only twin the Port Mann, it will also study "how to get people out of their cars and into other options."

That might mean putting transit over the new Port Mann, dedicated lanes for commercial vehicles and "a whole range of demand management approaches to traffic, so we don't just build and expect that's going to solve the problem."

He's not worried about opposition to the plan, he said, because that's "the reality of the Lower Mainland. No matter what you plan on doing, you will always have opposition."

-

Some of the opposition will come from New Westminster, where city councillor Chuck Puchmayr is the new NDP MLA.

- uchmayr agrees Greater Vancouver needs to free up truck traffic, and he thinks the South Fraser Perimeter Road will do the job. It would take pressure off the Port Mann, give trucks easy access to the Alex Fraser Bridge, the Knight Street corridor and Richmond, and eliminate some of the cross-town traffic that now ties up downtown New Westminster.

Twinning the Port Mann and widening the Trans-Canada, however, will just open the floodgates to more traffic, which will create rebound congestion, which will further foul the region's air, Puchmayr said.

"People as far east as Hope are sometimes instructed to stay indoors because of the poor air quality. Are we going to double the volume of single occupancy vehicles in that corridor and sacrifice the health of people living in that airshed?"

- uchmayr said the government should stop insisting it's going to build the project before it has even started public consultations.

"I'm hoping they will listen to the opposition, listen to the communities and work towards achieving something that works for everyone."

-- bboei@png.canwest.com

- - -

In the search for consensus, Port Mann Bridge is the bottleneck

The Port Mann bridge defines the centre of the Gateway Program. Its main components and the flashpoints of debate are described.

- ORTH FRASER PERIMETER ROAD : Critics fear this project could induce many more motorists to take their cars instead of transit. Aimed primarily at moving goods, it includes a new bridge over the Pitt River which would expand a traffic artery in the booming northeast. The road would run from the Queensborough Bridge in New Westminster to Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

SOUTH FRASER PERIMETER ROAD: The only part of the Gateway Program that pretty well everyone agrees should be built. The four-lane road would join Delta Port and Surrey-Fraser docks to the Trans-Canada south of the Port Mann Bridge, aimed primarily at the movement of goods.

- ORT MANN BRIDGE, HIGHWAY 1: The bridge would be twinned with a four-lane bridge for a total of eight bridge lanes. The highway would have two lanes added from Langley to Vancouver for a total of eight.

VANCOUVER MAYOR

LARRY CAMPBELL

Campbell says eight lanes comingg into Vancouver will strand more cars on the existing highway, which is already four to six lanes wide, and spill into city streets. That means there will still be a bottleneck for truck traffic.

"At the end of the day, they're still stuck in traffic in Vancouver."

Campbell says he'd rather slap a London-style congestion tax on the city to reduce incoming traffic than increasing capacity by razing neighbourhoods to build a new freeway across the city.

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER

KEVIN FALCON

Falcon says the Port Mann Bridge is the easily the worst traffic choke-point in British Columbia, now experiencing rush-hour conditions 13 hours a day, forecast to be 18 hours a day in a few years.

"We have not had any significant road or bridge construction in the Lower Mainland since the Alex Fraser Bridge was built in 1986," Falcon says.

"Twenty years later we've got a massive increase in population that is trying to navigate through the existing infrastructure, and that is just not going to work."

[snitsky]

Vancouver doesnt have a freeway running through the city right? Cause i didnt notice one when i visited.

[crazyjoeda]

^ No. I5 runs through Seattle and turns in to HWY99 at the border, but it ends at Richmond where it becomes Oak street. The main Vancouver freeway is the Trans-Canada Highway which is the one that is being expanded to 8 lanes. It doenst go through downtown either, instead it turns and goes across the Burrard Inlet and through the north shore.

The fact that a freeway doesnt go downtown is one reason Vancouver is such a great city and why by 2010 we will have the largest rapid transit network in Canada.

[mr.x]

^ largest rapid transit network in Canada?

[rt_0891]

RAV approval worries Cambie businesses

Last updated Jun 9 2005 08:22 AM PDT
CBC News

VANCOUVER – Some Cambie Street business owners are upset over the government's approval Wednesday of the RAV line's environmental assessment.

The study found the so-called cut-and-cover method of tunnelling for the new airport-to-downtown connector to be environmentally sound.

The Cambie Street section of the RAV line was originally slated to have its tunnelling done using an underground boring technique, but that was changed to a cheaper cut-and-cover plan that will involve above-ground construction.

Business owners along the planned rapid transit route maintain that method of construction would kill their business.

But provincial Resource Management Minister George Abbott says the final environmental hurdle for the project has been cleared and the RAV line is a go.

Abbott says despite claims to the contrary, construction won't hurt businesses along the Cambie route. He says businesses will be affected during a three-month period, but pedestrian access will be maintained.

"We believe that by having the business liaison program (and) having RAVCo work closely with the businesses, that those impacts can be mitigated."

Despite the minister's assurances, many entrepreneurs say they won't be able to stick it out in the neighbourhood.

"I'd like an answer as to how I operate a store for children on a construction site," says Corrie Clark, owner of the Oh Baby store on Cambie Street. "They say they'll mitigate my impact all the time. I'd like to know how they're going to mitigate my impact."

Clark says she will likely go out of business because she can't afford to move. But she says she'll continue to protest the RAV line until work crews are at her front door.

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[ssiguy2]

mr.x.........
It tru, when the 28km line is complete by 2010 it will have 78km of SkyTrain, the longest lenght of RT in the country. That, of course, assumes tor/Mon will have not expanded their systems.....both have about 70km.
In this case size doesn't matter. Translink will still be a vastly inferior system to the TTC and Montreal transit and will still lag both systems and Calgary and Ottawa in per-capita ridership.
Vancouver likes to build huge projects with little ridership to show for it.