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Post by Scott on Jul 21, 2007 14:40:08 GMT -8
South Fraser Perimeter Road - part of the Gateway project we're working on down here. I think there's also suppost to be a North Fraser Perimeter Road as well. The purpose of these roads is to improve the movement of traffic to the ports and industrial areas along the Fraser River as well as create some connection between Hwy. 1 and highways going through Surrey, Richmond, and Delta.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 21, 2007 14:43:58 GMT -8
Question. What is the SFPR? I happen to remember what the GVRD (Greater Vancouver Regional District) South Fraser Perimeter Road ? Super Freakin' Pretty Rhasta ? Starlight Freakout Promnight Refurbishment ? |
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Kam
Voyager 
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Jul 21, 2007 16:13:08 GMT -8
although hopefully this will change with the building of the RAV line. Ahhh... my life long dream would be to see the skytrain run right to HSB or TSA... ahh to dream... |
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Post by Hardy on Jul 21, 2007 18:04:11 GMT -8
Yup, Tsawwassen is a great ferry terminal stuck in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't have good bus service usually, although hopefully this will change with the building of the RAV line. If they could provide some kind of direct or almost direct bus route between Tsawwassen and a RAV station, it would greatly improve public transportation access (although there is still the tunnel). It's a lot better now than it was before. Most of the time you have 30 min service to Ladner exchange and onward to Richmond/Airport Stn via #620. I find this to be as direct as you can get it, and at that station, the RAV line will be there. This will link you with 1 bus and a train to downtown. I find this acceptable. Right now, you can xfer to the #98 Bline to get to downtown. Still relatively acceptable. As for driving, I doubt that will ever be fixed. The SFPR will probably help traffic from Surrey and the Hwy.1 but from Vancouver or Burnaby... it's a long trip. I live in North Burnaby where it takes 20 minutes to get to Horseshoe Bay and 40-50 minutes to get to Tsawwassen. It is all about how close you are to a highway and how good the interchanges are. The SFPR in theory, once completed from end to end, will link Hwy17 near the Roberts Bank Causeway out along parallel to River Road, near the Patullo, out along the river to meet up with Hwy1 near Hwy15. If you are near the Patullo, then New West is close by, or if you want to go to the Port Mann, then Coquitlam is within striking distance. The SFPR is not the end-all panacea either, but it would sure be a massive improvement over 17-99-91-91a, or worse yet, anything to do with River Road through Ladner and East Delta. |
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Post by Ferryman on Jul 21, 2007 18:31:29 GMT -8
Driving out to Tsawwassen isn't too bad, once you've got a route memorized. I like to take the #1 out to Boundary Avenue in Burnaby, and then take that all the way to SW Marine Drive. From there I drive to Knight St. and then over the bridge into Richmond, along with a quick jump over to Hwy 99 via the highway out to YVR, and then following Hwy 99 through the Massey Tunnel and on to Highway 17. I can make it from my driveway in Squamish, to the toll booth at Tsawwassen Terminal in about 1 hour and 30 minutes, in the best driving conditions. Horseshoe Bay is the halfway point at 45 mins from my house. On a bad day, it would be 2, to 2 and a half hours to get out to Tsawwassen. Usually that would be due to construction delays on the Sea to Sky Highway primarily on a weekday. I was lucky last weekend, as was able to travel between home and the Ferry terminal in the 1 hour and 30 mins. I've got about 3 different routes programmed into my mind of how to get to Tsawwassen from the Trans Canada, and when I'm on my way out to Tsawwassen I usually listen to the traffic reports once my car radio is able to recieve the Vancouver stations at Horseshoe Bay, so I can pick the best route.
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Post by Hardy on Jul 21, 2007 18:53:30 GMT -8
South Fraser Perimeter Road - part of the Gateway project we're working on down here. I think there's also suppost to be a North Fraser Perimeter Road as well. The purpose of these roads is to improve the movement of traffic to the ports and industrial areas along the Fraser River as well as create some connection between Hwy. 1 and highways going through Surrey, Richmond, and Delta. Major aim of the SFPR is to link Roberts Bank and Tsawwassen terminal out to ANY main East-West Highway. Right now, the only easy Hwy to get to is 99 to go to either WhiteRock/Blaine, or into Vancouver proper. With the interchange at 91, you can get to NorthDelta and NewWestminster too, but to get to Hwy1, you have to go "rat-racing" around to get onto a Hwy. SFPR should offer a decent alternative, at least if it is completed as per its planning stages. It is so many years overdue, and with the expansion of Roberts Bank, that any thing right now would be better than the status quo. |
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Post by Hardy on Jul 21, 2007 19:04:40 GMT -8
Driving out to Tsawwassen isn't too bad, once you've got a route memorized. I like to take the #1 out to Boundary Avenue in Burnaby, and then take that all the way to SW Marine Drive. From there I drive to Knight St. and then over the bridge into Richmond, along with a quick jump over to Hwy 99 via the highway out to YVR, and then following Hwy 99 through the Massey Tunnel and on to Highway 17. From where you are coming, this will most likely continue to be your best route, as the SFPR will hook up with Hwy1 at Hwy15 (176th). There will be no relief for routes to the North Shore or beyond from this road. However, I wish that they would upgrade some of the surface streets that you mentioned to have less intersections; of course this would require a major "re-jigging" and that is beyond the planning or scope of anything that the GVRD will consider within the next 25+ years. As far as your specific route, have you ever tried getting off at First Ave and shooting down Rupert/Kerr/54/Argyle/57 to Knight? This is a decent work around route and Rupert/Kerr tends to have very little traffic most of the time.... Feel free to probe me for other routings if you want some other alternatives. Hardy (mental-GPS) |
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Post by Balfour on Jul 21, 2007 19:32:50 GMT -8
the Issue for the North Shore is that we only have 2 links to the rest of Vancouver. The Lions Gate Bridge is only 3 lanes and Second narrows is 6 lanes. Normally I go across the Lions Gate Bridge when the traffic is good, but during rush hour or busy traffic, I'll take the 2nd Narrows, and Night Street Bridge even though I live a lot closer to the Lions Gate Bridge.
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Post by Retrovision on Jul 22, 2007 3:23:41 GMT -8
And now supposed to be an industrial port between the two causeways of Tsawassen and Robberts Bank -- life goes on.
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Post by DENelson83 on Jul 22, 2007 14:59:21 GMT -8
the Issue for the North Shore is that we only have 2 links to the rest of Vancouver. The Lions Gate Bridge is only 3 lanes and Second narrows is 6 lanes. Normally I go across the Lions Gate Bridge when the traffic is good, but during rush hour or busy traffic, I'll take the 2nd Narrows, and Night Street Bridge even though I live a lot closer to the Lions Gate Bridge. That's two vehicle links. Don't forget the SeaBus. |
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Post by BrianWilliams on Jul 28, 2007 0:12:30 GMT -8
John: "Tsawwassen is a great ferry terminal stuck in the middle of nowhere.. " No surprise, of course. The Tsawwassen terminal was built to be the shortest marine route to Swartz Bay, which already had a ferry dock and highway connection to Victoria. Pardon my old gripe: before car ferries became WAC Bennett's focus, city-to-city ferries were the mainlines. CPR and Union ran to city docks in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo. Though they carried some cars - at great cost - most folks met the boats by streetcar or taxi. It is time to rethink. We have argued in other threads: we praise services like Victoria Clipper and Harbourlynx, city to city ferries, but we do not support 'em with our patronage. You have endured too many stories of Bo and I rambling to Nanaimo on foot. Marvellous days with a happy dog, but the long drive to Horseshoe Bay, 12 bucks parking and nearly 2 hours each way in car-deck purgatory is, well, not so bad. We don't wait in steaming lines of cars. We ditch the car and walk on, one or two sailings ahead of the weekenders with cars. Jeannie and Virginia (our other dog) joined in for the first two trips to downtown Nanaimo and Newcastle Island, but soon lost their enthusiasm for the 3-mile hike down Stewart Avenue. Bus? no dogs. Taxi? no dogs. Footsore Bo will not quit. He endures BCF rides, long urban marches and is still happy. "Quinsam's late? Let's swim to Nanaimo."  |
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