Last year VALTAC participated in 7 festivals and or events over the summer months. While we connected with thousands of citizens I personally never had one person say they would prefer to ride buses over a passenger rail service for the valley, nor did they were highly likely to get out of their cars to ride a bus.
Connecting communities with an economical passenger rail service is very appealing to citizens of the valley. A long term Master Transportation Plan is needed. VALTAC has recommended to all levels of government that a 50 year Master Transportation is needed, 30 years just isn't long enough. Studies cost a lot of money therefore it seems to make sense to do a longer term study.
Sonya Paterson
VALTAC
Ian Bruce sent the following article to me today. Your comments are appreciated.
69% want cash redirected to transit, poll finds
The Vancouver Province
Thu 08 May 2008
News Byline: John Colebourn Source: The Province
A new poll shows 69 per cent of residents in the Lower Mainland want money redirected toward public transportation -- not road expansion.
The Synovate poll, conducted for the David Suzuki Foundation and the Livable Region Coalition, also shows people want rapid transit instead of twinning the Port Mann Bridge and
widening Highway 1.
The survey released yesterday shows 60 per cent of those asked would choose rapid transit to Coquitlam, expanded bus and rapid-transit service in Surrey and rapid transit out to the University of B.C. instead of the Port Mann project.
"The poll clearly shows there is a real need and a desire for better public transit across the Lower Mainland," said Ian Bruce, a climate-change specialist with the Suzuki foundation.
The phone poll was done with a random sample of 500 people.
"Now is the time for the premier to rethink the Gateway Project," said David Fields of the Livable coalition. "Metro Vancouver residents support a transit-first approach by two to one.
It is time to build a transportation system that can meet the challenges of climate change and achieve healthy communities."
jcolebourn@png.canwest.com
Thursday, May 08, 2008
69% want cash redirected to transit, poll finds
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Bryan Vogler on RAIL issues
Submitted to VALTAC by Bryan Vogler,
Information to Consider:
This the potential route for now. Routes like from Langley to the Abbotsford International Airport and over to Abbotsford and back again maybe twice a day. The interesting point here is Translink cannot carry baggage but only walk on bags(packsacks) which are now a real danger to other passengers in a crowded bus.
Translink buses are city buses and this cannot make the highway haul from Langley to Abbotsford airport. Its like rail, light rail has no baggage cars, where conventional rail does, which is inter-city rail like Via Rail. Even Skytrain has no luggage room overhead or below because like buses the are governed by The American Urban Transit Association rules.
Inter-City is governed by Transport Canada and The Railway Association of Canada at the national level. So because of the laws and regulations a highway coach is best on that route. The B.C. Southern rail line which runs like a snake through the Central Fraser Valley from Surrey(Scott Road Skytrain) to Chilliwack would like to have a passenger rail plan the community decides on so discussions can follow.
No doubt the Abbotsford Regional Select Transport Committee would like more bus transportation to Abbotsford International Airport. Mr. Bateman representing Langley City Council and VALTAC have worked hard at reaching out to the Langley community in an effort to improve air quality and congestion of traffic with alternative surface modes.
This plan is now coming together fast with Langley speaking out and Abbotsford which is the more central Fraser valley point with a railway junction C.P.R and B.C. Southern could also link up to the West Coast Express by rail it the C.P.R's co-operation or by buses using the Mission bridge.
Via Rail and The Rocky Mountaineer are the only rail companies in Western Canada with conventional passenger rail equipment to be used on the B.C. Southern, without making more commuter rail consists.
While light rail is an expensive option, most manufacturers are in Europe. Making light rail to North American standards has proven near fatal for Via Rail. They bought an Alstrom chunnel train that was not needed for 200 million. Shipped in parts it had to be inspected by Bombardier first as a Canadian manufacturer to make all the adjustments. Millions of dollars later, and a law suit because the doors were not wide enough for oversized wheelchairs, Via had to cut the cars apart to widen the doors after they lost the lawsuit. Not to worry the taxpayer was billed.
It would be advantageous for the region to lease buses with a driver to do the highway hauling between the cities for convenience, much like they do to Vancouver International Airport. Big Bus has those capabilities and would be interested in exploring that opportunity should it exist in the future. With Gray Line gone, a number of commercial transport buses for highway use have been bought by interested parties. As the Abbotsford group is not scheduled to finish until September this gives us time to consider this option.
The last Fraser Valley highway buses were operated by Pacific Stage Lines which was once a B.C. Electric subsidized operation to replace the Interurbans about 1950. This operation had problems with traffic congestion and there schedule got so bad from having to come in and out of Vancouver they gave up after passengers walked away. Maybe if they stayed in the Fraser Valley it would have been better, if only they could have dropped them off at Skytrain had it been there. Today they connect between Vancouver and Victoria and are called Pacific Coach Lines. Most of there revenue is freight.
Ironically, from Swartz Bay to Victoria also used to be a passenger rail line, but the highway replaced it long ago. Today the only operators on the Island are B.C. Southern and Via Rail Budd car service on the E&N. There is no reason why that cannot happen on the B.C. Southern line in the Fraser Valley. I have talked with B.C. Southern about that and it made sense to them providing all the cities on the line want it. Chilliwack has spoken against it.
A cost structure like the West Coast Express would be reasonable being its the same mileage and also a private rail operator. (C.P.R. orB.C. Southern). The railway runs it for the government at a feebasis, be it there track or Burlington Northern C.N. This is because many passenger rail operations run for miles, crossing and using many operators tracks for just a few miles.Especially true in the U.S. where regional rail operators cross national rail tracks or use them as in the Langley rail alignment where B.C. Southern shares with C.P.R. For example Via rail owns no track, and pays a fee to operate on regional and national lines. Via is 100% owned by Canada.
Many people in the Fraser Valley conclude the B.C. Government owns the land under the tracks of B.C. Southern. However, that would never reduce the operators fee, in fact C.N. was a Crown Corporation up until 1995, after the Via fees went down with open market competition. The question is would it ever be profitable for a private passenger service if the operators fee was worked out so they got free use of another railways tracks for compensation of passenger fees on another track. This is the Amtrack situation, because there are dozens of railways in the states, where Canada only had two until recently due rail rationalization and cut backs.
Bryan Vogler
Transportation Consultant
Langley Advance - Rail advocates welcome members
Rail advocates welcome members
Matthew Claxton, Langley AdvancePublished: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The latest rail advocacy group will welcome members of the public to its first meeting this week.
South Fraser OnTrax, founded by former members of the Valley Transportation Advisory Committee (VALTAC), is about sustainable transportation and sustainable communities, said founding member Nathan Pachal.
Formed by Pachal and Joe Zaccaria, OnTrax now has six members, and the group wants to welcome anyone who has a passion for transportation, Pachal said. "We're trying to work really closely with political leaders," he said.
OnTrax should be a resource for local politicians when it comes to rail solutions, said Pachal.
He has already been appointed to a Inter-regional Transportation Select Committee in Abbotsford, where he will talk about rapid transit. The committee will report to the Abbotsford council in October.
While working with mayors, councils and provincial politicans is a key goal, OnTrax also wants to work with the general public in a more "hands on" way than some other rail groups do, Pachal said.
Their first public meeting will be held on May 8 in the Nicomekl River Meeting Room at the Langley Township from 7 - 9 p.m.
More meetings will be held monthly through to August.
Each of the major rail groups in the Lower Mainland has a separate niche.
VALTAC, a veteran organization at more than two years old, strongly supports the Interurban line being rebuilt.
Rail for the Valley, based out of Abbotsford and Chilliwack, wants improved rail access in general.
The Fraser Valley Heritage Rail Society is working to get a demonstration service, aimed at tourists and locals, working on a portion of the old Interurban line in eastern Surrey.
© Langley Advance 2008
Sooner the better for Port Mann Twinning
Letter to the Langley Times - Comments welcome
Editor: Regarding the misguided opposition to twinning the Port Mann Bridge and improving Highway 1, the Port Mann Bridge was built more than 40 years ago when there were less than a million people living in the Lower Mainland.
Burnaby
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Street Cars for Langley
The Langley Advance reports on our meeting with Councillor Batemen. His forward thinking presentation about Streetcars is innovative to say the least. This is not something that I can say VALTAC has given much time to entertaining discussion around. I would imagine that we will do so a future meetings. It is an interesting thought. With all the hills in Langley perhaps we could become the Fraser Valley San Fransico....and have more movies filmed in Langley, more tourists...etc. So... value in the idea...the costs are another thing. Now I have heard that Street Cars can be less expensive than busses..not sure, but we should look into it.
IF you haven't seen his presentation yet you can see it here.
I know I have personally visited it several times to understand his intentions. Ultimately he clearly expressed it is an idea and theirfore we should look at it and consider it's merit. If the link doesn't work you can visit it on his website at LangleyPolitics.com
By the way if you haven't joined StreetCars for VANCOUVER Facebook Group you may want to to learn more about Streetcars.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 25th Langley Advance
Benefits of rail often go unseen
Matthew Claxton
Langley Advance
Friday, April 25, 2008
Rail lines are one of those projects that are hard to sell to the folks paying for them. It's hard because the costs are all up front, but the benefits are often buried.
Look at the much discussed Interurban plan currently being kicked around in Surrey and the Langleys.
There is a relatively small and vocal group of activists who are clamouring for it. Meanwhile, the province seems to be relatively cool to the idea, and TransLink seems to want nothing to do with it.
Costs for building a passenger rail system along the old tracks, even if it just ran from Surrey through to, say, Gloucester Industrial Park, would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. That's probably federal, provincial and regional tax dollars going into the pot. So if you never use the system at all, you're still going to pay for it.
The costs will be obvious: the capital costs of building the line in the first place, from buying land for the line and stations, to steel for the rails, to labour, to the cars themselves. Then there will be the costs of hiring staff to maintain and run the line, more transit cops to police the cars and stations, creating a ticket system, and rearranging bus routes around the stations.
All of this will appear in dollars and cents on spreadsheets and in the local papers, if the project goes ahead. It will be laid out in black and white.
What about the benefits?
Depending on the costs, rail transit might pay for operations with fares, but it's unlikely the capital costs and interest would be paid off quickly from revenue, if ever. Like any transportation system, it has no chance of becoming a cash cow for any government.
However, the off-the-books benefits to society could be very real. Tracking those benefits is almost impossible, but they should be considered.
- Better transportation.
How can we measure the ability to get around? The trucking industry sometimes likes to mark up the cost of rush hour to business, but what about the cost of time spent stuck in traffic for ordinary commuters? A good rail system moves people quickly and takes the pressure off road users. How much is an extra 15 minutes a day with family worth?
- Transportation for the poor and students.
The Interurban line runs within spitting distance of three campuses of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, to Trinity Western and could put local commuters closer to the SkyTrain. It could also connect centres of population in Surrey and Langley to job centres such as Willowbrook and Gloucester. That puts easy access to those locations within the reach of folks too poor to afford a car, making employment or education easier to attain.
- Environmental benefits.
The more cars are off the road, the fewer greenhouse gases and pollutants are pumped into the atmosphere. "Less lung cancer" does not appear on a balance sheet, but it's a real benefit.
How big are benefits like this one?
How do we judge whether it's worth spending the money?
Unfortunately, transportation megaprojects only come with one of two price tags: very expensive or boondoggle. Construction costs are high right now. Getting a quality system for a reasonable price might be difficult; the bill will come soon. Benefits will be diffuse, unmeasurable and will appear over many decades.
But what are the costs if we don't start adding rail to our transportation arsenal?
© Langley Advance 2008
Langley Advance - Tuesday April 29th
I have posted both of Matthew Claxton's Langley Advance articles here for a reason. You can clearly see the benefits of hosting a forum when you read them one after the other. VALTAC has worked hard to connect with the public by setting up display booths at 7 Festivals a year for the last 3 years. We have held 3 Transportation Forums. Why do we do this? To help people understand that they can play an important role in what the future includes for Langley, transportation wise.
It is interesting to read Matthew's two articles. I believe he learned some important facts from the speakers at the forum and it helped to get some facts directly from transportation experts. Thank you Matthew for taking your time on a sunny Saturday afternoon and spending time at VALTAC's transportation forum.
Thank you also to Councilor Fox, Councilor Fergusson and Councilor Kim Richter and Mayor Kurt Alberts who also took time out of their day to participate in our forum.
Rail deserves a fair chance
Matthew Claxton
Langley Advance
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The advocates for light rail say that it can be built along the old Interurban line for a fraction of the cost of a new, and much shorter, extension of the existing SkyTrain line in Surrey.
For a relatively paltry few hundred million dollars, we could revive a line that served pioneers from Surrey to Chilliwack a century ago.
The numbers may be wrong. Many times, experts and amateurs alike have found that their pet project was remarkably cheap, at least in theory.
However, the numbers may also be right. We know that SkyTrain isn't going to get a lot cheaper anytime soon. Buses get stuck in traffic and don't appeal to many commuters. Flying cars and personal jetpacks may be just around the corner, but then think of the cost of filling their gas tanks.
So why not consider rail lines? Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon has promised a review of the Interurban line as part of the $14 billion new transit plan. However, if the government was really interested in the Interurban, they might have thought to give it some study before laying out plans for express bus loops and extended SkyTrain lines.
Still, the study will be welcome when it is done. We need studies like those being done in Surrey and Langley Township, to consider the costs and potential ridership for a new system.
Perhaps the best reason for considering the Interurban is the current projections about the price of gas.
When the Interurban was first built, no one but millionaires drove cars in Langley.
By the time we get the Interurban back, no one but millionaires will have full gas tanks.
© Langley Advance 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Planning for rail up the Fraser Valley is plain common sense
THE EDITORS OPINION
The Province
Monday, April 28, 2008
It's been proven time and again in public transit that, if you build it, they will come. Just ask any of those Greater Vancouver commuters crammed like sardines in SkyTrain cars during the morning or evening rush hour.
This is happening now despite arguments made during the planning of the existing rapid-transit system that not enough folks would use such a service.
Now, we're hearing similar criticisms from those who oppose using the old Inter-Urban route for light-rail service in the Fraser Valley. There's not enough population density, they say.
The folks displaying this attitude clearly have a hard time seeing beyond their noses.
Transit must be planned in a long-term context. And all growth projections for south-of-Fraser communities, from Delta to Chilliwack, agree that this region alone will one day have a population larger than that of the whole of Metro Vancouver today.
Surrey already has the largest number of children enrolled in K-12 schools of any municipality in the province. And its population is expected to surpass that of Vancouver in the next 20 years.
Also, the 18-24 demographic in the Fraser Valley is growing at six times the provincial average.
The most efficient and "green" way to move large numbers of people is via light-rail transit.
Given the population growth in this region, this transit option should be a no-brainer.
So, build it and they will come. Just ask the sardines.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
Monday, August 20, 2007
Who owns the Interurban line - by Terry Lyster
Beginning in 1906 the Vancouver Power Company, which soon became the BC Electric Railway (BCER), raised title to the Interurban RoW from the New Westminster Rail Bridge (just upstream of the Patullo Bridge) to Chilliwack. This RoW is not continuous.
Where it came to pre-existing gazetted roads, (approximately every mile) the road RoW was preserved, and there is a gap in the rail RoW. The right of the railway to cross these gaps was secured through a set of contracts with each municipality between Surrey and Chilliwack. These contracts, which were adopted as municipal bylaws, gave the BCER the right to traverse municipal roads.
The railway, based on a legal opinion, insisted that the bylaws be adopted through a public plebiscite process. Interestingly, if the bylaw needs to be amended, I believe that a public plebiscite will be required. Several of the bylaws, which were adopted prior to 1910 are on the VALTAC website. When BC Hydro, the successor of BCER, got out of the railway business, they DID NOT sell the RoW (which they retained as a hydro transmission corridor).
Hydro sold the hardware, (engines, railcars, tracks, etc) to the predecessor of Southern Rail of BC (SRY) and a licence for freight traffic only. BC Hydro retained passenger rights and the ability to issue passenger licences. A passenger licencee, naturally enough, would have to come to an arrangement with SRY to share the tracks. This is happening.
The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society, based at Sullivan Station, 152nd & 64th in Surrey, has a letter from BC Hydro granting limited passenger rights provided they can satisfy the needs of SRY to share the tracks.
The heavy trains serving Delta Port, which use a short portion of the tracks through the Langleys, were granted a freight licence by BC Hydro. BC Hydro again retained passenger rights and the ability to assign passenger rights. The contract contains the interesting provision that passenger operations would NOT have to pay operating costs until wheelage exceeds 1/3 of the total traffic (which would be a whale of a lot of passenger traffic!).
Traffic control on this portion of track is via BCRAlthough the bulk of the provincial rail system was recently sold to federally controlled railways, the Interurban line remains a provincially regulated railway.
All of the above comes from discussions with Southern Rail of BC, BC Hydro and the Ministry of Transportation as well as examination of documents at the Land Title Office and UBC Special Collections. Many of the pertinent documents have been posted on www.valtac.org. If anyone needs more detail, VALTAC has four binders of information focusing on the Langley portion of the Interurban line from 1907 to date.
