Columbo Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 ^ the interurban line is destined to fail if it ever goes ahead, it's one massive squiggly line - it's a detour. Unfortunately, that's one of the few rail corridors we have left for transit use. It would probably be cheaper to simply upgrade the Canada Line, and there's no point in ditching infrastructure we've built. Anyhow, when it comes to the near future.....100,000 seems closer to reality everyday, and that's good because it means Translink won't have to subsidize it. But the downside of that is Translink will have to find tens of millions to buy more trains much earlier than originally planned ($6-million per 2-car train). We're at 80,000/day right now and that's WITHOUT bus integration, I think we can easily reach 100,000 within a matter of weeks with south of Fraser buses terminating at Bridgeport, the elimination of the 98 B-Line, people going back to school, and the majority of the office worker population returning to work. I just realized, as a guy who goes to UBC and takes the 99 from Cambie every day, that this is going to be a huge disaster for me. It's already hard enough to get on that bus at 8:00 in the morning because of how packed it is coming from Broadway... now I'm going to have to compete with thousands of people coming from Richmond and transferring at my stop. Great. Just another reason why we NEED to extend the Millennium line ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) I was at Vancouver City Centre when one of the machines were out of service, and there must have been 20 people in line for each of the working machines. Even if the 3rd one was in service it wouldn't have been enough. It's those small things that I hope they resolve before September - I mean a couple extra ticket machines can't be that hard/expensive to install, can they? If people are late for work because they have to wait 15 minutes to buy a ticket, they're not going to be too happy with the new line. Ordering more machines will take months and months, and they aren't cheap either. I'm thinking maybe they could sacrifice a few of the machines from SkyTrain, from the less busier stations, and use it on the Canada Line temporarily. Edited August 23, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) I just realized, as a guy who goes to UBC and takes the 99 from Cambie every day, that this is going to be a huge disaster for me. It's already hard enough to get on that bus at 8:00 in the morning because of how packed it is coming from Broadway... now I'm going to have to compete with thousands of people coming from Richmond and transferring at my stop. Great. Just another reason why we NEED to extend the Millennium line ASAP. Well, hopefully Translink is wise enough to use 10 of the 30 or so articulated buses, that were used for the to-be-canceled 98 B-Line, for the 99 B-Line. I just realized that not only are there track intrusion lasers on the tracks of the station platforms (to sense objects/people falling onto the tracks), but there are lasers right on the edge of the platform. They form an invisible fence just after the yellow line, and of course it get shut down when the train arrives. I went WTF watching this video: Edited August 23, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trek Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 6. Build a replacement for the Canada Line, running overhead over most of Cambie on its median, using LIM or MagLev technology. Hopefully by then, the pro-transit lobby will outweigh any resistance from local NIMBY's along the Cambie corridor. LOL. I live in the area; I was not against the Canada Line, but I would be definitely against this. I'm sure many others would be as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 LOL. I live in the area; I was not against the Canada Line, but I would be definitely against this. I'm sure many others would be as well. Was the prolonged cut-and-cover construction any better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 6. Build a replacement for the Canada Line, running overhead over most of Cambie on its median, using LIM or MagLev technology. Hopefully by then, the pro-transit lobby will outweigh any resistance from local NIMBY's along the Cambie corridor. Furthermore on this, hopefully by that time, the street will be lined with mostly highrises, and an elevated train won't be as problematic for them as it is for the low lying single houses that surround the area now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trek Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Was the prolonged cut-and-cover construction any better? Yes because the majoirty of the line is underground. Out-of-sight-out-of-mind. It's a heritage boulevard along most of Cambie. Not Lougheed Hwy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 ^ actually, it was only proclaimed a "Heritage Boulevard" in 1994 when NIMBY's rised up against the Socred's government plan to build an elevated SkyTrain line down Cambie...which would have no doubt be a better system than what we have today. The NIMBY's went all mob rule over it, and forced the City of Vancouver to do so. The NDP were then elected, and the project was canceled in favour of building the Millennium Line to serve the NDP's own ridings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trek Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 regardless, it still is a heritage boulevard and most of the NIMBY's are still there should the government try to remove that designation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 regardless, it still is a heritage boulevard and most of the NIMBY's are still there should the government try to remove that designation. There really is nothing special about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Even if Cambie Street is designated a "heritage boulevard", they could still build the elevated guideway on the median, replant the trees on both sides of it, decorate the entrances to the stations with flowers and other decor, and it would look better than it does now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hordichuk Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Well, hopefully Translink is wise enough to use 10 of the 30 or so articulated buses, that were used for the to-be-canceled 98 B-Line, for the 99 B-Line. It'd be much better if they stopped allowing street parking on Broadway. Right now the issue is Broadway, not the amount of buses. They show up all the time during peak hours. It just takes forever to travel because there's one fewer lane than intended. The other option would be to have another East/West route and divert some of the transit traffic along Broadway. As it stands now, Broadway is the only road that has a significant amount of buses travel down it. The other East/West streets like King Ed, 41st, 49th or Marine Drive only have once every 15 minutes or so. They should take those buses and have a B-Line travelling down 41st, between Joyce Station and UBC. You can have it turn onto Dunbar and go via 16th or keep it along SW Marine Drive to UBC. Or they could just not allow street parking on Broadway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trek Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Does the 41 Express bus come back in september? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hordichuk Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Screw peak hour Express buses. Another B-Line to UBC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbo Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Well, hopefully Translink is wise enough to use 10 of the 30 or so articulated buses, that were used for the to-be-canceled 98 B-Line, for the 99 B-Line. Problem is, that'll only make lines shorter at Broadway, which is good but it doesn't really help the Cambie situation. The buses will still be packed when they arrive at Cambie, and now there's going to be hundreds of people trying to get on every bus. If Translink was smart, they'd have some buses start empty from Cambie. But I somehow just don't see it happening... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) regardless, it still is a heritage boulevard and most of the NIMBY's are still there should the government try to remove that designation. There's nothing "heritage" about the Cambie boulevard, absolutely nothing. I suppose it sorta looks nice, but no it's not nice enough to warrant hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions in additional construction costs as we've seen lately. Even if Cambie Street is designated a "heritage boulevard", they could still build the elevated guideway on the median, replant the trees on both sides of it, decorate the entrances to the stations with flowers and other decor, and it would look better than it does now. Yea, going all bontanical gardens along the median would've been far cheaper than the tunnel construction costs. If it were SkyTrain/LIM, they'd have no problem with using the median for elevated. LIM can handle 6% slopes. But we went with rotary motors for the Canada Line, 3% slopes are only possible. Edited August 23, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) Problem is, that'll only make lines shorter at Broadway, which is good but it doesn't really help the Cambie situation. The buses will still be packed when they arrive at Cambie, and now there's going to be hundreds of people trying to get on every bus. If Translink was smart, they'd have some buses start empty from Cambie. But I somehow just don't see it happening... Actually, some of the 99's buses already do short-turns. They do short-turns at Main Street instead of going all the way to Commercial, but this only happens during rush hour. It would be a great idea to short-turn at Cambie, but I think I would be satisfied enough to see the 98's buses go to the 99 nevermind short-turning as as of right now there are no plans to add more buses on the 99! The 98's buses are going to Hastings routes and such on an interim basis. Edited August 23, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj_coolcat Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Aren't they kind of already at capacity in terms of the number of buses they have on the 99 B-line route? At least during rush hour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) It'd be much better if they stopped allowing street parking on Broadway. Right now the issue is Broadway, not the amount of buses. They show up all the time during peak hours. It just takes forever to travel because there's one fewer lane than intended. The other option would be to have another East/West route and divert some of the transit traffic along Broadway. As it stands now, Broadway is the only road that has a significant amount of buses travel down it. The other East/West streets like King Ed, 41st, 49th or Marine Drive only have once every 15 minutes or so. They should take those buses and have a B-Line travelling down 41st, between Joyce Station and UBC. You can have it turn onto Dunbar and go via 16th or keep it along SW Marine Drive to UBC. Or they could just not allow street parking on Broadway. Well actually, east-west routes through Vancouver will have their frequencies increased by quite a bit come September....the 25, 41, 49, etc. I believe the 25 will be running as frequent as 3-minutes during rush hour. There were originally plans to have the Hastings (Burrard Station to SFU) and 41st Avenue (UBC to Joyce) B-Line's up and running in time for the Canada Line opening, but they have been deferred until 2011+. No new B-Lines will be implemented until after the Olympics, as they need to use buses flexibly according to Olympic demand. The Hastings B-Line will go ahead, but the 41st Avenue B-Line probably won't be for awhile as a B-Line in Surrey is taking priority. That's where the 98's buses will go to. Edited August 23, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbo Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Actually, some of the 99's buses already do short-turns. They do short-turns at Main Street instead of going all the way to Commercial, but this only happens during rush hour. It would be a great idea to short-turn at Cambie, but I think I would be satisfied enough to see the 98's buses go to the 99 nevermind short-turning as as of right now there are no plans to add more buses on the 98! The 98's buses are going to Hastings routes and such on an interim basis. You mean the 99? If so, that really sucks. And I really think you'll see enormous line-ups at Cambie, big enough to warrant short-turns. Basically every UBC transit-taking student who lives in Richmond will be transferring there. I might have to start taking the 33, but that means at least another 20 minutes on my trip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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