Let's not forget that when the whole Valley Line was proposed and approved, it was explicitly meant to integrate into the local communities. That's the design that's being implemented now. It's not meant to be a fast way for commuters to get downtown, but rather a way to transform everything in between.
 
Not sure why the city decided to do the 95 Ave rehab while 87 Ave is so constrained. Going to be messy next week when school starts.
 
BrettB said:
Let's not forget that when the whole Valley Line was proposed and approved, it was explicitly meant to integrate into the local communities. That's the design that's being implemented now. It's not meant to be a fast way for commuters to get downtown, but rather a way to transform everything in between.
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An urban vehicle if you will.
 
BrettB said:
Let's not forget that when the whole Valley Line was proposed and approved, it was explicitly meant to integrate into the local communities. That's the design that's being implemented now. It's not meant to be a fast way for commuters to get downtown, but rather a way to transform everything in between.
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Facts, the West Valley Line does a good job of matching its design to sensible community integration. In the suburban areas west of Meadowlark, it has good or total separation from the roadways to quickly move people around. From Meadowlark to Downtown, it’s a good local connector.

That being said, I hope that the inclusion of a prominent elevated section of LRT near one of our most trafficked areas and the experience the city now has with building elevated rail translates to increased utilization of above-ground LRT for the Metro Line extension. First off, the whole Kingsway area should be re-done elevated, and I also think instead of bridging over Walker Yards, we should run the LRT above-ground east along the Yellowhead and then up 97th Street. The Metro Line is intended to be a fast commuter route through the largely suburban Northwest, so this design makes more sense than tightly integrated at-grade alignments. Would be way cheaper than moving utilities to build trenched stations.
 
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Friendmonton said:
If only we had double the budget!
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Or hadn’t built beyond the henday and instead had 30% more population, higher taxes, and lower expenses for a smaller city footprint.

Suburbanites love to complain about at grade LRT but it’s like…. My guy… your lifestyle choices are what drive this reality.

You love the skytrain, but 50% of Vancouver is condos and they have 5x our density. That’s how you afford tunnels and elevation for entires lines.
 
Windermere said:
Not sure why the city decided to do the 95 Ave rehab while 87 Ave is so constrained. Going to be messy next week when school starts.
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It’s way past lifetime. Was supposed to start in 2022 but kept getting delayed due to residents complaining about a MUP on the southside removing the service road.

So badly needed to be done. But the 156st and 95ave intersection is closed anyways for LRT still. So I think 95ave is just out of the question for anything beyond local resident trips. Commuters to downtown need to take 87ave to 142st as its reopened. 100ave is also reopened and feeds 142. Then 107/111 are still the best bets for far west commuters.

Great year to learn to walk/bike kids to school as roads will be trash around west central
 
thommyjo said:
Or hadn’t built beyond the henday and instead had 30% more population, higher taxes, and lower expenses for a smaller city footprint.

Suburbanites love to complain about at grade LRT but it’s like…. My guy… your lifestyle choices are what drive this reality.

You love the skytrain, but 50% of Vancouver is condos and they have 5x our density. That’s how you afford tunnels and elevation for entires lines.
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Yes, there are tradeoffs. Vancouver has some very hard constraints on development such as mountains, oceans so they really have no choice.

However, because of that they also have very unaffordable housing costs and some people who can't afford them end up coming to places like here which is why our city is growing.
 
whattheheck said:
Seeing the elevated section makes me sad. A glimpse into what should have been the entirety of the route. It would have been a truly transformational project for the city; made us look more grown up to the rest of Canada and the world. If only we had visionary civic leadership.
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To what end? So that we minimize impact on driving and induce more of it?
 
mBertan said:
To what end? So that we minimize impact on driving and induce more of it?
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Do you really think that auto demand is induced when a train track is separated from vehicles? I'd argue a grade separated system actually would attract more transit users! (Something, I hearedtly want to see)

All one has to do is look at the differences between Vancouver and Portland and their respective ridership percentage numbers.

Also, grade separation is about different traffic systems working in simpatico, to avoid conflict. This idea of 'well, just take the lrt' is too simplistic. It doesn't work like that. That's not to say I don't support mass rail transit. I do. But build it with at least more compromise, for goodness sake.

The city should have at least grade separated at key intersections. The VLW will become a major tension point at 109th and 104, for example. So, what are people heading N/S supposed to do? Take the train? But what if they're going to places where VL doesn't go?

Low floor service does have a case in Edmonton (and even places like Vancouver). Not as being built, but instead as a CENTRAL neighborhood connector. Run the trains up and down Jasper and Whyte (with five-section trains that can QUICKLY pass through intersections, due to shorter lengths) and CONNECT it to higher speed services. Right now, it's trying to be two things in one, which will be a recipe for future disaster!

And if the city really wants 50% of future trips to be outside the private auto, then the current model won't have enough capacity to meet such a demand.

To bring it full circle, the intersection cliusterf%$&@ at University, at 51 ave, at 111/ Kingsway and 82/83rd and 75th/ Roper, are ALL examples why I have no trust in what's being built. As 'yeggator' noted above, POLTICAL capital goes a long way.
 
The track connecting Gerry Wright building A and the new building B has been laid to where it will connect near the inspection shed. They still have work to do to actually make the rail serviceable. There was at least a tamper working on that today. At some point they will need to cut in a turnout to connect everything together.
 
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