Cracks found in SkyTrain bridge

Engineers have found cracks in braces in the SkyTrain Bridge that spans the Fraser River between New Westminster and Surrey, B.C.

But, despite the cracks, the bridge is safe, according to TransLink, the regional transportation authority serving the Lower Mainland.

However, the transit authority is running only two-car trains across the structure to keep the load lighter, and the cars will also travel slower.
[cbcnews]

Read the full story here.

[photo credit: janusz l]

TransLink eyes car levy and tolls

From bclocalnews.com:

A vehicle levy or road tolls are options TransLink will consider imposing on motorists in order to pay for transit upgrades in the years ahead.

Officials say those so-called transportation demand measures – which deter driving, encourage transit use and pull in more money – may be needed to bridge a major funding gap facing TransLink.
[Jeff Nagel - bclocalnews.com]

TransLink predicts future funding deficit

From today’s Province:

TransLink has the will, but will it have the money? 

TransLink’s future is going to be astronomically expensive.

Beginning in 2012, just maintaining TransLink will result in a $150-million annual deficit, according to Sheri Plewes, vice-president of planning and capital management for the South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority.

Plewes was speaking at a forum yesterday about TransLink’s 30-year plan, known as Transport 2040.

She said the situation becomes even more dire if TransLink comes up with the $2.75 billion the provincial government suggested it contribute to its $14-billion transit plan, announced earlier this year. [Frank Luba in The Province]

 

Transport 2040 Public Meeting Schedule

Translink is inviting residents to a series of public information sessions on medium and long-range strategies for Metro Vancouver’s transportation system. Make your voice heard at one of four sessions:

Tuesday, June 24 Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver Wosk Auditorium 950 West 41st Avenue Vancouver		Thursday, June 26 SFU – Surrey Campus Theatre and Mezzanine 250 – 13450 102 Avenue Surrey
Tuesday, July 8 Port Moody City Hall Theatre and Foyer 100 Newport Drive Port Moody		Thursday, July 10 Lonsdale Quay Hotel Ballroom 123 Carrie Cates Court North Vancouver

 

Each meeting begins with an open house from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, followed by a presentation and question & answer session till 9 pm. 

Be sure to check out the background and  planning resources on the Transport 2040 and the 2009 10-Year Plan webpage. The resources include the Transport 2040 plan (1.69Mb pdf), the 2009 10-Year Transportation & Financial Plan (990Kb pdf).

You’ll also find there Perspective Summaries on the plans from research and policy groups such as Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) and the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC).

If you can’t attend the meeting, the Transport 2040 and the 2009 10-Year Plan webpage has a online form where you can add your input.

 

Support the #33 bus route down 16th Ave

Representatives from Translink and the City of Vancouver will be at a meeting this evening to address concerns about the proposed new route down 16th Ave from Cambie to UBC. We’ll be attending to show our support for the new #33 line, and to let TransLink know that folks who actually use public transit are pretty excited about the new East-West route that will go some way to improving transit access to UBC.

The details:

Wednesday, June 25th, 7:00pm
Canadian Memorial Church, 1825 West 16th Avenue (16th and Burrard)

2008 TransLink Annual General Meeting

Lower Mainland residents interested in hearing how TransLink did in 2007 can attend the TransLink AGM today from 9 to 11 am at the Firefighters Hall, 6515 Bonsor Ave., Burnaby. There will be an open microphone for public comments.

Here’s the agenda:

1. Welcome and Introduction (Fred Cummings, Acting CEO)
2. Governance Changes and 2007 Highlights (Dale Parker, Board Chair)
3. 2007 Financial Results (Ian Jarvis, Vice President, Finance and Corporate Services)
4. Question and Answer period

Rising Gas Prices and Changing Transportation Patterns

Do rising gas prices have an effect on travel patterns? Are we seeing behavioural shifts associated with the higher price of gas?

According to recent news stories (see here, here, and here), the answer is yes. And a recent TransLink press release has statistics showing an increase in transit ridership in Metro Vancouver, with 3.7% more people opting for public transit in the first four months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. West Coast Express ridership is up 7.2% over last year in the same period.

Are you seeing these figures reflected in your daily commute or anecdotally in your social and/or work spheres? I wish I could say yes – I’d love to see  people abandon their cars in favour of more sustainable forms of transport such as public transit or human-powered alternatives like bikes or skateboards. But personally, I’m not noticing a huge difference. I commute daily to UBC via bike or bus. I haven’t noticed an increase in the number of pass-bys (on the #41, #43, or #49), nor have the buses I do manage to get on seem any more crowded than usual (that’s admittedly hard to assess, though). And none of my work colleagues who commute by car have reported switching to public transit or pedal-power.

What are you seeing out there?

 

Bus service changes for June

TransLink has announced bus service changes to take place effect on Monday, June 23.  Some of the service improvements include:

• 99 B-Line Broadway Station/UBC
  Weekday early-morning service will be improved to every four minutes westbound and every eight minutes eastbound. Sunday service will start earlier – 7:00 a.m. from Broadway Station and 7:35 a.m. from UBC.

• 22 Knight/Macdonald
  Service improved to every 12 minutes, weekends/holidays 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

• 49 Metrotown Station/Dunbar Loop
  Evening and weekend/holiday improvements; the 49 will now run at least every 15 minutes or more, every day from 6 a.m. – 9 p.m.

• 319 Scott Road Station/Newton Exchange
  All trips will extend to Newton Exchange to provide more convenient and consistent service. Customers along 72 Avenue will enjoy more frequent (10-minute) service during weekday peak periods.

• 701 Maple Ridge East/Haney Place/Coquitlam Station
  Buses will now run at least every 15 minutes, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. every day.

You can see the full list of changes and service improvements here.

 

New blog by TransLink Media Relations folks

Just discovered a new blog called “Vancouver On The Lines“, subtitled Notes, observations and occasional rebuttals from the TransLink Media Relations types. There’s no “about” page on this blog to tell us more about the authors, but the four posts have been penned by Drew Snider, spokesman for TransLink, in June 2008.

The majority of the posts have been on the perceived lack of accuracy and the media bias when reporting on transit-related issues. In a post called “Accuracy in Media“, Drew provides an email that was circulated widely to TransLink staff following reporting by local media on several recent SkyTrain incidents in which the story as reported was not backed up by TransLink data on the incident. The email notes that:

These are matters that impact public confidence in TransLink, they unduly raise fear and apprehension in the community and they serve to obscure the reality of safety and security issues. [Vancouver on the Lines]

It’s no secret that the media are often guilty of fear-mongering depending on what and how they chose to report a story, and I’m glad to hear that Drew has a blog in which he can address these and other transit issues in a less formal environment. [Thanks, Drew!] However, as the spokesman for TransLink Drew is not an unbiased observer, and we’ll be reading the blog with that key fact in mind.

Surrey to relocate Newton bus loop to King George Highway

As part of a long-term effort to fight crime in Newton, TransLink has purchased a 10-acre site fronting King George Highway for a new bus exchange. The current bus loop is plagued with problems with street crime.

Mayor Dianne Watts said the city has been pressing the transit authority to address the problems associated with the bus loop. Transit police work in partnership with Surrey RCMP. Watts said TransLink should be doing a better job from their end of things. “We’re definitely not satisfied with the performance of TransLink,” Watts said. Watts noted the city will be adding 10 community safety officers, currently in training, to beef up patrols at bus loops in the city. [Surrey Now]
 

Resources:

- Newton will get a facelift with city plan. By Marisa Babic. Surrey Now. June 20, 2008

- Wikipedia entry: Newton Exchange

- Photo credit:  Brian Howell photo