The Official Transit Thread

[Columbo]

That UBC plan is completely ridiculous. The bus loop they have now is perfect, and this is coming from a current student who buses to school every day. It's absolutely outrageous that they're going forward with something as stupid as this.

[BuckyHermit]

That UBC plan is completely ridiculous. The bus loop they have now is perfect, and this is coming from a current student who buses to school every day. It's absolutely outrageous that they're going forward with something as stupid as this.

Unfortunately, if you look at how they've managed the campus in recent years (ie. South Campus plan), it's not surprising at all that they'd do this.

[nitronuts]

^ what's the South Campus plan and what's wrong with it?

[Columbo]

Unfortunately, if you look at how they've managed the campus in recent years (ie. South Campus plan), it's not surprising at all that they'd do this.

I dunno, given all the public outcry and student protests (etc) I'm actually surprised that they're carrying through with this. It's a guaranteed disaster. This money could be faaaaar better spent.

[trek]

figures they'd do something like this. Doesn't everyone like that new roundabout they built on 16th with the b.s. excuse that it'll reduce green house gasses or something like that since cars won't be idling at lights? Maybe in theory it might, but no one in the city knows how to do those roundabout procedures; I've been cut off and swerved into on numerous occasions by clueless, crappy drivers there. Stupid people.

[Columbo]

figures they'd do something like this. Doesn't everyone like that new roundabout they built on 16th with the b.s. excuse that it'll reduce green house gasses or something like that since cars won't be idling at lights? Maybe in theory it might, but no one in the city knows how to do those roundabout procedures; I've been cut off and swerved into on numerous occasions by clueless, crappy drivers there. Stupid people.

haha every time I go around that roundabout on the bus I almost fall out of my seat

[nitronuts]

figures they'd do something like this. Doesn't everyone like that new roundabout they built on 16th with the b.s. excuse that it'll reduce green house gasses or something like that since cars won't be idling at lights? Maybe in theory it might, but no one in the city knows how to do those roundabout procedures; I've been cut off and swerved into on numerous occasions by clueless, crappy drivers there. Stupid people.

I'm all for the roundabout.....though the design is quite odd, it isn't a perfect circle towards the west side of the roundabout (yellow lines).

[trek]

the lighted pylons at the roundabout that mean 'Go right of pylon' like those in London are cool...

Edited August 12, 2009 by trek

[BuckyHermit]

^ what's the South Campus plan and what's wrong with it?

In short, it's UBC getting rid of a lot of important research facilities and spending money on building luxury condos and a big-box store, and in the process threatening UBC Farm. Basically something that a university really shouldn't be doing.

[nitronuts]

In short, it's UBC getting rid of a lot of important research facilities and spending money on building luxury condos and a big-box store, and in the process threatening UBC Farm. Basically something that a university really shouldn't be doing.

That's mindblowingly retarded.

So what happened to these research facilities? Where do all the people who worked there go to now?

I'm all for the retail that's going in there, especially the new Save-On-Foods. I live less than 5-minutes away, not on campus, and it'll give me another grocery option besides Safeway at West Point Grey Village.

As for the farm, meh. If research facilities were demolished, what are the farm's chances? So are they planning to build more condos at where the farm is?

[Buggernut]

In short, it's UBC getting rid of a lot of important research facilities and spending money on building luxury condos and a big-box store, and in the process threatening UBC Farm. Basically something that a university really shouldn't be doing.

UBC downsizing to the level of a community college and becoming one of the many pocket universities scattered throughout the province?

[BuckyHermit]

That's mindblowingly retarded.

So what happened to these research facilities? Where do all the people who worked there go to now?

I'm all for the retail that's going in there, especially the new Save-On-Foods. I live less than 5-minutes away, not on campus, and it'll give me another grocery option besides Safeway at West Point Grey Village.

As for the farm, meh. If research facilities were demolished, what are the farm's chances? So are they planning to build more condos at where the farm is?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I don't agree with the campus "hippies" too often (despite being a self-proclaimed left-wing nutjob) but this is one thing that seems to have attracted the support of a lot of UBCers, not to mention the media.

The farm is actually pretty vital. It's one of the few research farms left in the area and is where the agricultural sustainability research on campus takes place. It's pretty much the backbone of UBC's innovations in agricultural science.

Edited August 12, 2009 by BuckyHermit

[Common sense]

That UBC plan is completely ridiculous. The bus loop they have now is perfect, and this is coming from a current student who buses to school every day. It's absolutely outrageous that they're going forward with something as stupid as this.

I'd say it's hardly perfect, being in its own little corner instead of the center of campus. The current one isn't able to take on extra bus routes without doubling-up of bays.

That said, the new one's gonna be a disaster, what with coordinated schedules of buses. And we ALL know how on-time buses at UBC are

[nitronuts]

City mulls housing development near Canada Line station

Councillor notes development opportunities around transit system

Cheryl Rossi, Vancouver Courier

Published: Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Staff recommended against it, but city council unanimously supported a review of potential housing on industrial land adjacent to the new Canada Line station at Southwest Marine Drive, July 28.

Council also asked staff to report back on encouraging green and creative industries in this industrial zone.

In April, PCI Group and architects Busby, Perkins and Will submitted a rezoning application for a 4.8-acre site that includes the new rapid transit line station and a bus loop between Cambie, Yukon and Southwest Marine Drive.

The companies propose market housing snug to the Canada Line station, an office building close to the bus loop and, potentially, a 23-storey tower containing 245 units of rental housing, a movie theatre, fitness centre and daycare. They say the offices, stores and other retail outlets there would create approximately 2,300 new jobs.

One of the touted benefits was more eyes on transit hubs.

But a city staff report states industrial land prices in Vancouver are the most expensive in the region due to limited land supply and a high demand for locations with easy access to customers, suppliers and workers. Since 1968, Vancouver's industrially zoned land has been reduced from 2,400 acres to 1,677 acres.

Brent Toderian, the city's director of planning, told the Courier in April that residential land generally has four times the value of commercial land, let alone industrial, so he was worried perceived support of residential use would spur land speculation.

Vision Coun. Raymond Louie, who forwarded the recommendation about reviewing housing opportunities at 8430 Cambie St., said the city has made it clear to speculators that the only piece of property where residential would be considered is the chunk with the rapid transit station and bus loop.

"It was important for us to take advantage of the $2 billion investment of the Canada Line, that we look to every opportunity to build complete communities where there would be opportunities to live and work and for the creation of [housing] affordability within the area as well," he said.

Louie also forwarded a motion requesting staff to explore green and creative industrial uses, which was promoted by Vision Mayor Gregor Robertson.

Otherwise, council confirmed the importance of retaining existing industrial land in South Vancouver and supporting job intensive uses.

The industrial lands appear to be underutilized at this point. But the staff report states structural shifts in the economy have seen the closure of large-scale operations in the area, particularly those associated with the forestry sector.

"In some cases, the owners of these sites have been awaiting a planning policy review prior to making future plans for their sites," the report says.

Council also supported staff's recommendation to work with the local community and business owners to enhance public access to the Fraser River waterfront while balancing the needs of industry.

Louie said possible future residents would need to know that despite potential odours and noise, industry comes first.

Staff is expected to report back to council on new industrial land uses in six months.

crossi@vancourier.com

[BradMayFan]

Second Train to Seattle to Commence August 19th

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced today that the long awaited second daily Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. will begin service on Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

The Canadian government approved the second train service on July 3 as a pilot project to start as soon as August 1 until after the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games. WSDOT worked with Amtrak, BNSF Railway, U.S. Customs, and other stakeholders to get the additional Amtrak Cascades service operational as soon as possible.

With the addition of this second train service, travelers from Oregon will now have direct round-trip service between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, B.C.

"Amtrak typically needs 90 days to start up service, so getting the second roundtrip train to B.C. going so quickly is a major accomplishment for everyone involved," said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. "The August launch of the new service will give us a chance to encourage travelers to take advantage of this new service."

The second Amtrak Cascades train service will begin on August 19 with a northbound arrival from Portland, Oregon into Vancouver, B.C. at approximately 10:45 p.m. The next morning, the southbound Amtrak Cascades train will depart Vancouver, B.C. at 6:40 a.m. arriving in Portland at 2:45 p.m.

The current daily Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. route has also seen the return of Amtrak Cascades Talgo trains that have been missing from this leg of the route since summer 2008. The Talgo trains were substituted with Amtrak Superliner trains while WSDOT and Amtrak completed a refurbishment of the train interiors.

Amtrak Cascades consists of four daily round-trips between Portland and Seattle, with service between Bellingham and Portland, via Seattle; between Eugene and Seattle, via Portland; and between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Amtrak Cascades is operated by Amtrak in partnership with the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation. For Amtrak Cascades fares and schedules, visit AmtrakCascades.com.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2009/08/08122...secondtrain.htm

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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nitronuts]

NBC's Today Show website now has a video clip of this morning's broadcast of their 6-month to Vancouver 2010 coverage and their announcement of the Grouse Mountain broadcast site.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/32384843#32384843

They even mention and show clips of the Canada Line!

[BradMayFan]

This video was shot out the back window of a train going from YVR to Waterfront and was then reversed so it appears to be going the other way.

[Columbo]

I'd say it's hardly perfect, being in its own little corner instead of the center of campus. The current one isn't able to take on extra bus routes without doubling-up of bays.

That said, the new one's gonna be a disaster, what with coordinated schedules of buses. And we ALL know how on-time buses at UBC are

It's pretty close to the centre of campus actually. Take for instance the Osborne building, now that's in its own little corner... The bus loop is a 2 minute walk from the sub, and 5 mins from a lot of major academic buildings. I wouldn't want it right in the middle anyway, it'd be too noisy to have it outside the window when I was in class. Not to mention that the underground location where they want to move it is maybe a 3 minute walk away.

[Buggernut]

Second Train to Seattle to Commence August 19th

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced today that the long awaited second daily Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. will begin service on Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

The Canadian government approved the second train service on July 3 as a pilot project to start as soon as August 1 until after the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games. WSDOT worked with Amtrak, BNSF Railway, U.S. Customs, and other stakeholders to get the additional Amtrak Cascades service operational as soon as possible.

With the addition of this second train service, travelers from Oregon will now have direct round-trip service between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, B.C.

"Amtrak typically needs 90 days to start up service, so getting the second roundtrip train to B.C. going so quickly is a major accomplishment for everyone involved," said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. "The August launch of the new service will give us a chance to encourage travelers to take advantage of this new service."

The second Amtrak Cascades train service will begin on August 19 with a northbound arrival from Portland, Oregon into Vancouver, B.C. at approximately 10:45 p.m. The next morning, the southbound Amtrak Cascades train will depart Vancouver, B.C. at 6:40 a.m. arriving in Portland at 2:45 p.m.

The current daily Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. route has also seen the return of Amtrak Cascades Talgo trains that have been missing from this leg of the route since summer 2008. The Talgo trains were substituted with Amtrak Superliner trains while WSDOT and Amtrak completed a refurbishment of the train interiors.

Amtrak Cascades consists of four daily round-trips between Portland and Seattle, with service between Bellingham and Portland, via Seattle; between Eugene and Seattle, via Portland; and between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Amtrak Cascades is operated by Amtrak in partnership with the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation. For Amtrak Cascades fares and schedules, visit AmtrakCascades.com.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2009/08/08122...secondtrain.htm

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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About fracking time!!!!!

Thanks for the post, btw.

[nitronuts]

Improvements to SkyTrain Customer Service

You may recall doing a SkyTrain Survey earlier in 2009, in which TransLink asked you to provide some more detail about three issues:

* SkyTrain Staff Being Available When Needed

* On-Time Reliability of SkyTrain Service

* Cleanliness of SkyTrain Cars

And here are the actions SkyTrain’s management are taking to respond to your feedback and continue to improve:

Staff Availability When Needed

Actions taken as a result of the TransLink Listens feedback include:

- SkyTrain is in the process of placing high visibility, reflective "SkyTrain" lettering on the back of jackets worn by SkyTrain Attendants so that customers can more easily see who they are;

- Staff have been instructed that if two SkyTrain Attendants are at a station, unless dealing with a specific incident, one attendant will be on the platform and the other will be at the Ticket Vending Machines;

- SkyTrain Attendants will watch for and respond to customers proactively rather than wait to be asked for help.

On-Time Reliable Service

Complaints on announcements have broken down into two parts - Information (estimated delay time, reason, and alternate routing suggestions), and frequency of service. To try to improve SkyTrain will:

- Set and reinforce an announcements standard of 1.5 min with 2 min repeats.

- As a visual reminder, SkyTrain will post signage at the Control Centre that stresses estimated time, reason and options. In this way, Control Centre Operators will be able to see these reminders to include these pieces of information in every announcement concerning delays.

- SkyTrain will continue to pursue a recorded announcement system for the Control Center to ensure that we are able to meet and maintain SkyTrain’s standards.

Vehicles

To try to improve customer impressions regarding vehicle cleanliness, SkyTrain will:

- Inspect all trains after inspections to check our own quality for seat repair and general look of the inside of the train.

- Implement a schedule over the next two months for detailed cleaning of the entire fleet which includes:

o Passenger Assistance Alarm ledges

o Between seats and trim

o Door thresholds (steam clean)

o Heater grills

o Light diffusers

o Inside door panels

o Check and clean walls and door panels

- Remove and clean worn anti-slip surface on door thresholds.

- Replace door panels with window frame door panels.

- End caps have been cleaned in June and will be repeated in October.

Once again, we really appreciate your feedback as it enables us to keep trying to provide the best possible transit service.