What Type of Rapid Transit Do You Want?

Over the past few weeks there has been much fuss in and around the Township of Langley. It was billed almost as a murder mystery, but was a very simple thing - the BC Hydro lease of the old Interurban rail line to Southern Rail of BC. The Township press release talked about a missing piece of the puzzle being discovered. Mayor Green vowed to protect and defend the passenger rights and capacity in the lease renewal. I personally feel the whole issue was blown way out of proportion and people automatically assumed that BC Hydro, the Provincial Government, the Ministry of Transportation or others would conspire to put an end to passenger rail on this corridor. As late as this week I received an e-mail from a person I know saying they had no confidence that the Provincial Government will renew this lease with the passenger rail rights reserved, despite public record comments by all concerned parties that they will protect and preserve the rights and capacity. 

I've studied the old Interurban line and the communities they link. The more I study the densification plans today and into the future, the more I see our density in the south Fraser does not line up with the routing of the old Interurban corridor. If you point to Portland, OR and all the European rail capitals as the perfect examples of rapid transit, then one must consider that these alignments were based on current and anticipated density. 

I know I will make some people mad by saying that I feel the old Interurban is a nice story, but I just don't see it as practical for us in 2009 or much more in 2030. This "missing puzzle" and subsequent renewal of passenger rights still only allows for 33% usage for passenger rail. How many trains per day would that be?

The south Fraser now requires a modern rapid transit system that serves the needs of our current and future density needs. The need is to move people between Abbotsford and Surrey. Other systems move people to Vancouver and as the TransLink trip diaries prove, 95% of the trips start and end within the south Fraser region. Building rapid transit out to Chilliwack is simply a pipe dream. This rapid transit system needs to be economically viable in time and it must continue to attract ridership and grow with the population. If not, it either won't be built or it will become a dinosaur. You can get emotional all you wish, but these are the facts. Read all the studies, look at the local density plans now and into the future and talk with all of the regional planners.  Then determine if you want a temporary tourist train or a viable modern light rail system for the south of Fraser communities. 

The bottom line is that advocates need to get real about what is needed and the government needs to get serious about providing a proper transportation solution now, before it is too late. Rapid Bus will not lure significant numbers of people out of their cars. It won't result in any significant Transit Oriented Developments. It will cause us greatly in maintenance costs when the busses are 5 years old and it will make the bus driver's union happy. If we are going to build infrastructure, let's select the mode that people will get out of their cars for and that will be financially viable for the long-term. Build light rail in the south of Fraser from Abbotsford to Surrey and build it on an alignment that serves our emerging density patterns. Use the Portland model of a Max line (for us a regional spine) and streetcars to serve each community that is connected to this spine. It's a simple solution that has worked in many places.