Koastal Karl
Voyager 
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jun 9, 2013 18:03:50 GMT -8
Where would you get off the Canada Line to go to Granville Island and can you walk from there? Also the easiest way from Tsawwassen to Exhibition Park where Playland is?? I know that one said the 620 Canada Line and another bus.
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Post by Kahloke on Jun 9, 2013 18:19:07 GMT -8
Where would you get off the Canada Line to go to Granville Island and can you walk from there? Also the easiest way from Tsawwassen to Exhibition Park where Playland is?? I know that one said the 620 Canada Line and another bus. When my wife and I were in Vancouver in February, we walked the False Creek seawall path from Granville Island to The Canada Line Olympic Village Station on Cambie Street. That's the closest stop, I think. You can also get off there or at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station and take one of the False Creek "Pickleboat" Ferries to Granville Island. That's what we did, and it's quite fun. |
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Post by Mike C on Jun 9, 2013 18:22:49 GMT -8
Where would you get off the Canada Line to go to Granville Island and can you walk from there? Also the easiest way from Tsawwassen to Exhibition Park where Playland is?? I know that one said the 620 Canada Line and another bus. Canada Line to Granville Island: get off at Olympic Village and take 50 Waterfront Stn via Granville Island. Tsawwassen to Exhibition Park: take Canada Line to Waterfront, use the Hastings Street exit (turn right when you get off the train), and take 135 SFU on Hastings at Granville. Get off the bus at Renfrew Street. You may want to check the schedule for the 50, but the 135 is FTN (15 minute frequency or better 7 days/week) |
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jun 9, 2013 22:26:44 GMT -8
ok that's good to know. This would be a Saturday to Exhibition Park (Playland) and probably the Sunday we would go to Granville Island. We want to go over to Playland so we are planning an overnight trip without taking the car. Easy to get to Stanley Park by bus? lol!
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 16, 2013 20:48:00 GMT -8
A question for MP and others who - study/ are deeply interested in - mass transit in the Lower Mainland of BC:
What is the future of commuter rail? Currently there is only the WCE running on the CP mainline between Vancouver & Mission.
Do you see expansion happening any time soon on the existing route (more trains per day, trains on weekends, etc.)?
Do you see expansion to other rail corridors such as CN's route up the south side of the Fraser Valley to Chilliwack (or perhaps what once was the BC Electric (SRY) route, the BNSF route south to White Rock, the former BC Rail north to Squamish?
I ask this in part because what I see as much greater use of commuter rail in Toronto & Montreal, & other cities in the USA. Also, when one looks at cities in Europe & other parts of the world, Vancouver seems to be so far behind.
Will we remain stuck in the auto rut well into the future? Will the lion's share of transportation infrastructure spending in BC continue to be for moving cars from the burbs into the cities?
Your thoughts ...
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Post by Mike C on Jun 17, 2013 0:27:17 GMT -8
A question for MP and others who - study/ are deeply interested in - mass transit in the Lower Mainland of BC: What is the future of commuter rail? Currently there is only the WCE running on the CP mainline between Vancouver & Mission. Do you see expansion happening any time soon on the existing route (more trains per day, trains on weekends, etc.)? Do you see expansion to other rail corridors such as CN's route up the south side of the Fraser Valley to Chilliwack (or perhaps what once was the BC Electric (SRY) route, the BNSF route south to White Rock, the former BC Rail north to Squamish? I ask this in part because what I see as much greater use of commuter rail in Toronto & Montreal, & other cities in the USA. Also, when one looks at cities in Europe & other parts of the world, Vancouver seems to be so far behind. Will we remain stuck in the auto rut well into the future? Will the lion's share of transportation infrastructure spending in BC continue to be for moving cars from the burbs into the cities? Your thoughts ... Commuter rail is something that has not been discussed in great depths here in Vancouver. A lot of really good points here, so I'll try to address each of them individually to the best of my abilities. Expansion of existing services: Due to cutbacks in TransLink's funding, West Coast Express service on weekends has been canceled altogether, and weekday bus service has been scaled back. I foresee, once TransLink has a proper funding source, that this service would be expanded to weekends, and potentially weekdays outside of peak periods. I think the ridership is there, and it provides a fantastic economic booster to the local economy in Mission Cities, and other communities along the line. There was a purchase of some new West Coast Express equipment in 2010 for expanded capacities of existing trains. Even with the new cars, two morning trips and two afternoon trips arrive and depart Waterfront Station at near or absolute maximum capacity every day. In the afternoons, getting a seat is not possible if you board the train within ten minutes of the departure time from Waterfront. A quick history lesson on the WCE: This service started in 1991, and was heavily subsidized at the time of initiation. Today, the service turns a profit, due to the exponential growth in the tri-cities. New services: There has been a recent push for commuter rail to the southern Fraser Valley (Abbotsford and Chilliwack), and geographically and economically it makes perfect sense. The only thing that has been a major roadblock is the aging track infrastructure that makes it impossible to operate trains at a reasonable speed. Heavy investment in new track would be required, and that is why it does not exist. For more information on this citizen-initiated project, check out Rail For the Valley at www.railforthevalley.com/There have been pushes here and there for Amtrak to reopen the station in White Rock to operate their Cascades service to/from Vancouver and Seattle, but nothing commuter-oriented. Passenger rail operates on those tracks four times daily. So, why doesn't it exist today? I think there are a couple of reasons: 1) The geography of Vancouver is quite small and quite dense, compared to other cities (especially those in the Northeast). It is therefore more effective to serve a large majority of communities with rapid transit (SkyTrain, B-Line, etc). When it comes to investment in public transportation, we will see an investment in B-Line service South of the Fraser, SkyTrain along Broadway to UBC (currently home to the busiest bus route in North America), and SkyTrain into the Tri-Cities. 2) The travel-habits in Vancouver indicate that average trips are much shorter when compared to other cities - part of Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy 2040 (http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/strategy/Pages/default.aspx) is the development of complete communities, wherein someone could work, live, and play within their own community, without needing to commute great distances. This has contributed to congestion growing at a much slower rate than population. When I was in New York and Washington DC last September, I was truly amazed that such an integrated, well-planned, well-established commuter rail system could exist right here in North America. I don't foresee that kind of system existing in British Columbia, solely based on the fact that we don't have the population to support it, and for the reasons above. The bottom line: Despite what it may look like from an infrastructure perspective, the transportation mode-share for Metro Vancouverites is quite good compared to other cities in North America - while most trips continue to be made by car, it is shown that vehicle use has been on the decline for the past five years, and more residents are choosing to travel by public transit. Vancouver is the only city in North America that made the wise choice of not constructing a freeway into it's city center, which has contributed a great deal to the success of the public transit system. I wouldn't say that Vancouver is stuck in an auto-rut per-se, but obviously heavy investments in roadways are not the right path for this city. I am confident that when a government comes in, that is actually serious about improving this city's transportation choices, that we will see an expanded rapid transit system, where it is simply more convenient to leave the car at home. |
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jun 17, 2013 18:48:16 GMT -8
A question for MP and others who - study/ are deeply interested in - mass transit in the Lower Mainland of BC: What is the future of commuter rail? Currently there is only the WCE running on the CP mainline between Vancouver & Mission. Do you see expansion happening any time soon on the existing route (more trains per day, trains on weekends, etc.)? Do you see expansion to other rail corridors such as CN's route up the south side of the Fraser Valley to Chilliwack (or perhaps what once was the BC Electric (SRY) route, the BNSF route south to White Rock, the former BC Rail north to Squamish? I ask this in part because what I see as much greater use of commuter rail in Toronto & Montreal, & other cities in the USA. Also, when one looks at cities in Europe & other parts of the world, Vancouver seems to be so far behind. Will we remain stuck in the auto rut well into the future? Will the lion's share of transportation infrastructure spending in BC continue to be for moving cars from the burbs into the cities? Your thoughts ... Commuter rail is something that has not been discussed in great depths here in Vancouver. A lot of really good points here, so I'll try to address each of them individually to the best of my abilities. Expansion of existing services: Due to cutbacks in TransLink's funding, West Coast Express service on weekends has been canceled altogether, and weekday bus service has been scaled back. I foresee, once TransLink has a proper funding source, that this service would be expanded to weekends, and potentially weekdays outside of peak periods. I think the ridership is there, and it provides a fantastic economic booster to the local economy in Mission Cities, and other communities along the line. There was a purchase of some new West Coast Express equipment in 2010 for expanded capacities of existing trains. Even with the new cars, two morning trips and two afternoon trips arrive and depart Waterfront Station at near or absolute maximum capacity every day. In the afternoons, getting a seat is not possible if you board the train within ten minutes of the departure time from Waterfront. A quick history lesson on the WCE: This service started in 1991, and was heavily subsidized at the time of initiation. Today, the service turns a profit, due to the exponential growth in the tri-cities. New services: There has been a recent push for commuter rail to the southern Fraser Valley (Abbotsford and Chilliwack), and geographically and economically it makes perfect sense. The only thing that has been a major roadblock is the aging track infrastructure that makes it impossible to operate trains at a reasonable speed. Heavy investment in new track would be required, and that is why it does not exist. For more information on this citizen-initiated project, check out Rail For the Valley at www.railforthevalley.com/There have been pushes here and there for Amtrak to reopen the station in White Rock to operate their Cascades service to/from Vancouver and Seattle, but nothing commuter-oriented. Passenger rail operates on those tracks four times daily. So, why doesn't it exist today? I think there are a couple of reasons: 1) The geography of Vancouver is quite small and quite dense, compared to other cities (especially those in the Northeast). It is therefore more effective to serve a large majority of communities with rapid transit (SkyTrain, B-Line, etc). When it comes to investment in public transportation, we will see an investment in B-Line service South of the Fraser, SkyTrain along Broadway to UBC (currently home to the busiest bus route in North America), and SkyTrain into the Tri-Cities. 2) The travel-habits in Vancouver indicate that average trips are much shorter when compared to other cities - part of Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy 2040 (http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/strategy/Pages/default.aspx) is the development of complete communities, wherein someone could work, live, and play within their own community, without needing to commute great distances. This has contributed to congestion growing at a much slower rate than population. When I was in New York and Washington DC last September, I was truly amazed that such an integrated, well-planned, well-established commuter rail system could exist right here in North America. I don't foresee that kind of system existing in British Columbia, solely based on the fact that we don't have the population to support it, and for the reasons above. The bottom line: Despite what it may look like from an infrastructure perspective, the transportation mode-share for Metro Vancouverites is quite good compared to other cities in North America - while most trips continue to be made by car, it is shown that vehicle use has been on the decline for the past five years, and more residents are choosing to travel by public transit. Vancouver is the only city in North America that made the wise choice of not constructing a freeway into it's city center, which has contributed a great deal to the success of the public transit system. I wouldn't say that Vancouver is stuck in an auto-rut per-se, but obviously heavy investments in roadways are not the right path for this city. I am confident that when a government comes in, that is actually serious about improving this city's transportation choices, that we will see an expanded rapid transit system, where it is simply more convenient to leave the car at home. Do you see any room for light rail on some streets? Such as light rail in North Van to the Seabus. Or other areas to move more people but without the investment of going below or above roadways? |
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Post by Mike C on Jun 17, 2013 23:07:03 GMT -8
Do you see any room for light rail on some streets? Such as light rail in North Van to the Seabus. Or other areas to move more people but without the investment of going below or above roadways? Not on the North Shore, and if I recall correctly, it's because of topography issues. Although one would expect that it would be a relatively easy feat to overcome - San Francisco figured it out a long time ago with their streetcars, after all. For more information on the future of transit on the North Shore, you can read about the North Shore Area Transit Plan here.Light Rail has been discussed as a solution to the suburban transit challenge South of the Fraser, and has been heavily promoted by the City of Surrey as a cheaper, more effective alternative to SkyTrain. Read more about that here. Light Rail was also supposed to be the Evergreen Line, however TransLink's preference to an integrated SkyTrain network has turned it into a SkyTrain project. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 18, 2013 8:22:41 GMT -8
Do you see any room for light rail on some streets? Such as light rail in North Van to the Seabus. Or other areas to move more people but without the investment of going below or above roadways? Light Rail has been discussed as a solution to the suburban transit challenge South of the Fraser, and has been heavily promoted by the City of Surrey as a cheaper, more effective alternative to SkyTrain. Read more about that here. I think Surrey should get light rail from City Centre to Guildford and City Centre to Newton and future expand to South Surrey. While Translink should expand the Expo line to Langley Centre because it would get more cars off the road from Langley. The SkyTrain would have faster travel times between Langley, Surrey, by 7 minutes compared to Light rail and Vancouver by 46 minutes compared to Light rail. |
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Post by compdude787 on Jun 18, 2013 10:11:40 GMT -8
Light Rail has been discussed as a solution to the suburban transit challenge South of the Fraser, and has been heavily promoted by the City of Surrey as a cheaper, more effective alternative to SkyTrain. Read more about that here. I think Surrey should get light rail from City Centre to Guildford and City Centre to Newton and future expand to South Surrey. While Translink should expand the Expo line to Langley Centre because it would get more cars off the road from Langley. The SkyTrain would have faster travel times between Langley, Surrey, by 7 minutes compared to Light rail and Vancouver by 46 minutes compared to Light rail. Interesting idea, though I must say that light rail is cheaper than the SkyTrain. The SkyTrain is mostly elevated (except for downtown Vancouver) so I would suppose that makes it way more expensive than typical light rail. The light rail line that Surrey plans on making to Langley should go thru Cloverdale, which it currently is not planned to do. |
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SolDuc
Voyager
West Coast Cyclist
SolDuc and SOBC - Photo by Scott
Posts: 2,055
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Post by SolDuc on Jun 18, 2013 15:24:29 GMT -8
I think Surrey should get light rail from City Centre to Guildford and City Centre to Newton and future expand to South Surrey. While Translink should expand the Expo line to Langley Centre because it would get more cars off the road from Langley. The SkyTrain would have faster travel times between Langley, Surrey, by 7 minutes compared to Light rail and Vancouver by 46 minutes compared to Light rail. Interesting idea, though I must say that light rail is cheaper than the SkyTrain. The SkyTrain is mostly elevated (except for downtown Vancouver) so I would suppose that makes it way more expensive than typical light rail. The light rail line that Surrey plans on making to Langley should go thru Cloverdale, which it currently is not planned to do. While this is true, it depends on what is needed. Even though Light Rail might be cheaper in the short term, if it goes to capacity then you'd have to close the whole line for upgrades to RRT, or convert the RRT system to run there (i.e. OCS, etc.). Of course it depends on which kind of light rail it is. While Portland's MAX LRT is true LRT (or a streetcar in its own ROW), Link might be considered as a RRT network but it still had a lot of at grade crossings, which don't really make it a RRT network. On MLK in the Rainier valley headways above 5 minutes are not possible because if a train misses a light at a road crossing it will be put end-to-end with the next train. However, north of Downtown Seattle, headways as little as 2 minutes might exist because of the grade separation. Of course, with East link the headways north will always be shorter but the south will at some point end up needing a train every 5 minutes (or even less) but this will not be possible because of the at grade crossings, which are the result of a decision to save money without thinking long term. Just my two cents on "lets build it because it costs less" |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 29, 2013 14:51:25 GMT -8
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Post by Mike C on Jun 29, 2013 17:29:55 GMT -8
The last photo of New Flyer XD40 is at Horseshoe Bay. Does West Vancouver Blue Bus usually assign 40' buses on the 257 express? WVMT only has three articulated buses. All other trips are operated by conventional coaches. Articulated trips are usually those that are timed with busier ferry sailings. Conventional buses fill the gaps, and are on all trips that continue to Lions Bay weekdays. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 29, 2013 18:00:34 GMT -8
The last photo of New Flyer XD40 is at Horseshoe Bay. Does West Vancouver Blue Bus usually assign 40' buses on the 257 express? WVMT only has three articulated buses. All other trips are operated by conventional coaches. Articulated trips are usually those that are timed with busier ferry sailings. Conventional buses fill the gaps, and are on all trips that continue to Lions Bay weekdays. Ok, thanks for information, Mike C. Then, why where there 3 New Flyer XD40 at Horseshoe Bay when the Coastal Renaissance arrived; and the 714 articulated bus was there when the Queen of Coquitlam arrived? |
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Post by Mike C on Jun 29, 2013 19:51:53 GMT -8
WVMT only has three articulated buses. All other trips are operated by conventional coaches. Articulated trips are usually those that are timed with busier ferry sailings. Conventional buses fill the gaps, and are on all trips that continue to Lions Bay weekdays. Ok, thanks for information, Mike C. Then, why where there 3 New Flyer XD40 at Horseshoe Bay when the Coastal Renaissance arrived; and the 714 articulated bus was there when the Queen of Coquitlam arrived? Like I said, there are only three articulated buses, so the others fill the gaps; I guess there was no articulated bus available to meet the Renaissance. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 30, 2013 20:17:21 GMT -8
Ok, thanks for information, Mike C. Then, why where there 3 New Flyer XD40 at Horseshoe Bay when the Coastal Renaissance arrived; and the 714 articulated bus was there when the Queen of Coquitlam arrived? I do think West Vancouver Transit needs to add more 60-footers to its fleet and use them all on the 257 Express run between HSB and VAN. Perhaps some on the local run as well. Contingencies should be in place for days forecast for sub-freezing temperatures which calls for the use of 40-footers instead of 60-footers. It's not good to see locals and tourists being left behind at HSB, especially those who have critical connections to other modes of transportation (at Pacific Central, CYVR, et al). Foot passengers aboard BCF should be rewarded to good transit service ashore. I agree with you. TransLink should buy more 60-footers bus for Surrey, North Vancouver and West Vancouver after they have referendum to fund Transit services. |
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Post by Cable Cassidy on Jun 30, 2013 22:25:46 GMT -8
While they're at it, I want a buffet on board my 100 every morning as I commute to work.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jul 5, 2013 16:58:43 GMT -8
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,308
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Post by Neil on Jul 5, 2013 20:03:18 GMT -8
What exactly are we supposed to be noticing here? |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jul 10, 2013 12:12:27 GMT -8
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,308
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Post by Neil on Jul 27, 2013 21:10:53 GMT -8
A transit trivia question.
There is a bus route in the city of Vancouver proper which actually never goes along the street it is named for. What is it? A hint... it does take that street when going in the other direction, but then, the route name is different.
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Post by northwesterner on Jul 27, 2013 22:36:43 GMT -8
A transit trivia question. There is a bus route in the city of Vancouver proper which actually never goes along the street it is named for. What is it? A hint... it does take that street when going in the other direction, but then, the route name is different. Transit signage in Vancouver is a hodgepodge of terminal information and historical route name information which makes it somewhat difficult to answer this question. I would say short turn trips on the 9 are what you are looking for here. The current electronic signage for this route is "9 Granville." The 9 does not actually operate on Granville until it leaves the terminal on its next westbound trip, signed as "9 UBC." Please note that the historical route name and signage is "9 Broadway to Granville" or on the E901s with the newer signs "9 To Granville" on the front and "Broadway" on the side sign. |
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Post by Cable Cassidy on Jul 28, 2013 18:25:16 GMT -8
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Post by Taxman on Aug 1, 2013 16:30:18 GMT -8
A transit trivia question. There is a bus route in the city of Vancouver proper which actually never goes along the street it is named for. What is it? A hint... it does take that street when going in the other direction, but then, the route name is different. I am completely stumped here, was it the Granville answer given earlier? I was thinking 4 Powell, but between the Cordova Division and Victoria Street it is on Powell (just not for very long before it becomes Dundas). |
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,308
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Post by Neil on Aug 1, 2013 19:21:13 GMT -8
A transit trivia question. There is a bus route in the city of Vancouver proper which actually never goes along the street it is named for. What is it? A hint... it does take that street when going in the other direction, but then, the route name is different. I am completely stumped here, was it the Granville answer given earlier? I was thinking 4 Powell, but between the Cordova Division and Victoria Street it is on Powell (just not for very long before it becomes Dundas). Well, I totally screwed up, but I'll try to weasel out of it by partly blaming Translink. I asked this question after perusing the written route description from a non-current bus schedule I had lying around. It most definitely did not mention Powell Street as being part of the eastbound '4 Powell' route. A mistake on their part. However, I should have remembered that the Powell bus certainly goes along Powell between Cordova and Dundas, as I used to take this route often when I was much younger and living in the East End. After all, I remembered enough to recall that in those days, the 11 Stanley Park/12 Powell route was regularly assigned the oldest of the Brill trolleys, the 2000 series, as was the 11 Stanley Park/24 Nanaimo route. I remember how all the windows in those venerable coaches would rattle impressively when the driver got it up to any speed. So... my apologies to anyone who might have pondered on this question. |
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