Archive for the ‘transit’ Category
Broadway Subway Project will reduce transit time in British Columbia’s second largest business hub to only 11 minutes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Photo provided by Sarens
I have this morning received a Press Release from a Belgian crane company that helped install the tunnel boring machines for the Broadway Subway in Vancouver. The reason I have decided to post on this bog about it is that it makes some quite remarkable assertions about the benefits of this project. My commentary appears after their quoted text below. Not all of the Press Release is included here.
“This new project, scheduled to open in 2026, will cover a 5.7 km extension of the Millennium line between VCC-Clark Station and Broadway and Arbutus, and will create more than 130,000 direct and indirect construction jobs.
“Sarens had a direct participation in this project, by contributing with its technical team and specialized machinery to the assembly of the tunnel boring machines (TBM) used for the construction of the subway section of the line.
“This new line will represent an important environmental advance by exponentially reducing road traffic in the area, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 9,800 tons of CO2 per year by 2030.
“Construction work on the new Broadway Subway Project is already underway on the tunneling phase prior to completing the six underground stations along its 5.7 km route. Once inaugurated, this line, which serves as an extension of the Millennium Line, will reduce the travel time between VCC-Clark and Arbutus to just 11 minutes, saving the average transit commuter almost 30 minutes a day.
“This new subway line will consist of a subway section of approximately 5 km, while the remaining 700 meters will be built above ground to connect to VCC-Clark Station. Sarens, world leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport and crane rental, has participated at the request of Broadway Subway Project Corporation, an Acciona-Ghella joint venture, in the assembly of the tunnel boring machines (TBM) used for the construction of the subway section.
“For this particular job, Sarens used one of its Liebherr LR 1400-2 cranes in SDB configuration. To facilitate the transfer of the TBM parts into the tunnel portal, the team used a 70 m main boom with a 135-ton counterweight and a 170-ton Superlift counterweight. In addition, support cranes such as the LTM 1095 or the Terex Explorer 5800 were used.
“As the operation is within the City of Vancouver, the crane operators had to deal with a heavily congested site and tight lifting schedules. In addition, due to the limited visibility available for the installation maneuver of the various parts of the TBM, the technical team had to work under close coordination established by radio.
“Broadway Subway Project is a project driven by the province of British Columbia, which will be operated by TransLink once it is commissioned in 2026. It will cover a total distance of 5.7 km between VCC-Clark and Arbutus, a corridor recognized as the second most important business center in British Columbia.
“This new subway line is expected to generate more than 130,000 direct and indirect jobs. In addition, thanks to the project’s adherence to the Community Benefits Agreement, a significant portion of these positions will employ women, indigenous people and traditionally underrepresented sectors, which will benefit the community economically and create a highly skilled technical workforce base.”
The claim that this project will “exponentially” reduce road traffic is not supported by any evidence, nor is it consistent with the plan of building a subway. The whole idea of burying the line is to protect the current capacity for road traffic. There are no plans to reduce the amount of road space dedicated to moving and parking vehicles. If there were, the preferred alternative would have been light rail running on the surface. But the whole purpose of SkyTrain has always been to keep out of the way of the cars. The only difference is while the rest of the region’s rapid transit system is on elevated guideways this one is all in tunnel; just like most of the Canada Line in Vancouver.
The only way to reduce traffic is to either reduce the amount of road space dedicated to moving vehicles – and that includes parking spaces too – or start charging a fee for using the road. Neither of those are popular with Vancouver voters – especially those who like driving large cars and trucks, mostly with just the driver most of the time. Just look at the fuss made when one exclusive bike lane was put in Stanley Park.
Traffic expands and contracts to fill the space available. Roads can carry many more people when they use sustainable transportation modes – buses, bikes and walking. If road users insist on bringing their SUVs for every trip, congestion is inevitable but tends to adapt over time. Gridlock, when it does occur, is due to rare events and people using their cars and trucks to block intersections. This blog has made these statements many times over the years and no-one has ever managed to solve traffic congestion by building more road space. Simple geometry means modes that carry more people per hour than SOVs, and given priority in their own lanes will greatly increase the utility and attractiveness of streets. People also like spaces where they can sit down and watch the passing scene. As long as they are not deafened by engines and tire noise and choked with exhaust fumes. Broadway in New York City being a great example. Times Square now sees far more activity than it ever did when filled with cars.
Most of the people who will use this new stretch of subway currently use transit. The 99 B-Line being one of the busiest bus routes. Since the subway line will only get as far as Arbutus Street many will continue westwards on what will be a shorter B-Line route. It could get Rapid Bus treatment, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that.
I expect that the Broadway subway will attract new transit users, but even if there are a lot of people who stop driving and start riding transit all the time, don’t expect that to translate to fewer cars on the street absent a user fee or a reduction in road width dedicated to cars and trucks. When Toronto decided to replace the streetcars on Yonge Street with a subway, traffic in downtown increased – since there were no longer streetcars holding up the cars while people got on and off them.
When the Broadway subway opens do not expect any reduction in people driving. The people who do switch modes will quickly be replaced by others hoping for a quicker drive along Broadway with fewer buses competing for space. Within a very short period of time any available road will be occupied. Guaranteed.
A nice new B-Line bendy bus (hybrid diesel electric) on its way from UBC. Once the subway opens this service will terminate at Arbutus Street Station.
No decision on the extension of the Broadway Subway to UBC has yet been announced.
My photo CC license for non-commercial use
This post was revised on March 13, 2023 to correct the country of the crane company.
POSTSCRIPT
Actually City staff are making a real dog’s breakfast about how to utilise road space on Broadway after the current construction phase is over and trains start running.
Anthony Floyd posted on Mastodon
“City of Vancouver staff have recommended against Active Mobility lanes on a post-subway-construction Broadway, despite overwhelming public support and direction from council last year.”
The recent staff report can be found at
https://council.vancouver.ca/20230329/documents/pspc2.pdf
End of the Line
(Coming to digital and cable on demand platforms in the United States June 14)
Feature Documentary/ Not Yet Rated / Running Time: 65 Minutes
“Award-winning filmmaker Emmett Adler’s feature documentary END OF THE LINE is a character-driven political drama about the New York City subway crisis and a long overdue reckoning on infrastructure.
Establishing the vital economic importance and grandeur of New York City’s historic subway system, the film dives into its dire modern-day troubles picking up in the late 2010s when flooding, overcrowding, power failures, and derailments have become commonplace. After a particularly bad spate of disasters in the summer of 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proclaims a state of emergency and hires a new international wunderkind executive named Andy Byford to save the subways. Byford, an earnest Briton with an impressive resume, enters as a charismatic would-be hero.
As the political turmoil behind the subway’s decline comes into sharp focus, scenes in barbershops, bodegas, and bakeries show the frustration and devastation among business owners and residents who are caught in the middle.
Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic furthers this, and brings to light America’s need to shore up its infrastructure in cities across the country and the inequality struggles that are central to this debate. A heartfelt and scrupulous exploration, this film poses the question: what happens when the lifeline of a city goes flat?
This film is dedicated to the heroic New York City transit workers who lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic.“
(Photo Credit: Gravitas Ventures)
(L-R) Andy Byford and Joe Lhota in Emmett Adler’s END OF THE LINE
Description:
During his tenure as President of MTA NYC Transit, Andy Byford presents his
Fast Forward Plan to fix New York City’s transit system. MTA Chairman Joe Lhota stands to Byford’s right. (2018)
Recent transport news items
Mass Transit discusses the recent ransomware attacks on TransLink and STM (Montreal). They were preceded by a number of similar attacks on U.S. transit properties. TransLink is still rebuilding some of its online service affected by the ransomware attack.
Trains magazine commented on VIA’s 2020-2024 plan. VIA states the current iteration of The Canadian is unsustainable and lays the blame on “host railroad actions”. A return of tri-weekly service is not possible because VIA does not have enough equipment to support the 5 required consists.
The full VIA report (PDF) makes for depressing reading, particularly for western Canadians.
The report links to the federal Transport Minister’s Mandate Letter in which VIA rates two mentions – one to work on high speed rail in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor (Windsor-Detroit no longer matters?) and the other to improve VIA travel to National Parks. There is not much here for the west, although the National Parks connection might be used to justify extending The Skeena back to Edmonton, over CN’s objections, of course..
BC Transit and the Fraser Valley RD proposal (PDF of the Agenda go to page 103) to extend the Fraser Valley Express bus service (Chilliwack-Abbotsford-Langley) from Carvolth Exchange to Lougheed Town Centre SkyTrain station was put on hold due toCOVID. BC Transit has asked the FVRD to recommit to this proposal with a planned implementation in January 2022.
A synopsis from the Toronto Star of what can happen (i.e. not much) to rapid transit plans when conflicting political and bureaucratic agendas overwhelm the process.
Thanks to Rick Jelfs
FACT CHECK “BC Transit retiring Victoria’s original double decker buses, were 1st in North America”
The Headline is taken from a CTV Vancouver Island news story which is just wrong.
The first paragraph tries to nuance the headline a bit but doesn’t get it right either. The twenty year old retiring buses were “reportedly the first double decker buses to ever be used in a North American public transit system.”
Actually there were double deckers running on 5th Avenue in New York City in 1912 – as a Google search will confirm.
Paul Bateson reminds me that Brampton Transit in Ontario had a double decker Leyland Olympian that entered service in March 1989.
Victoria, of course, has had double decker sightseeing buses – most retired from the UK – for many years
New Orleans Streetcars
Back from a week in New Orleans (there was a wedding in the middle of that) where riding streetcars became a central theme. People were asking me if I was going to rent a car, but that seemed to me to be pointless. The French Quarter, where we were staying has very narrow streets and a distinct lack of parking. We intended to rely on NORTA (buses and streetcars) and walking. There were bikes, but my partner did not bring her phone with her, and there is no way to rent two bikes on one phone. As a matter of principle I will not install the Uber or Lyft app on my phone – though we did share my son’s Lyft for one ride. We did use taxis – but that would have to be another post.
You may have heard about the Hard Rock Hotel collapse four months ago. That occurred on a site at Rampart and Canal streets.
Entire blocks on all sides have been closed to traffic as a precaution – but there is still no work underway to remove the damaged building. Canal and Rampart streets are both streetcar routes. The Canal Street routes have a bus bridge. The Rampart Street route has simply been cancelled.
We knew none of this when we arrived. We relied on the Transit App on my iPhone. That showed – and still does by the way – regular streetcar service on Rampart – with arrival times and the “real time” symbol – so not just the schedule. We sat at a streetcar station at Ursulines waiting for trams that never came. On RTA truck whipped past us and driver yelled something unintelligible – probably “there’s no service” but it didn’t sound like those words. There was no signage anywhere on the station showing the stop was closed. Though the street has bus services, no bus stops had been placed at the same intersections to allow intending streetcar users to board a bus instead of the tram.
Now it is true that there is information on norta.com – though you do have to dig around a bit to find it.
There is also a major hiatus on the Riverfront line as construction is under way at the foot of Canal Street. So the Riverfront cars now turn up Canal instead of proceeding south along the river. The new terminus is convenient for the St Charles streetcar which is unaffected by either blockade.
I took up the issue of misleading information with the Transit App people. This is their reply.
“Although we do work with transportation agencies to display prediction times, service alerts – such as notifications about the streetcars not running – are updated by the agencies directly.
We’re a third-party app based in Montreal, Canada, so we’re not involved in the operation of the agencies. I’d suggest getting in touch with the RTA about this. You can reach the RTA here: https://www.norta.com/About/Customer-Service“
So basically the RTA just relies on its own website and does not update the information on the Transit App, nor does it do any street postering. Some buses did have service change cards – but again not on display, just for the driver to give to passengers who asked questions.
Much of the New Orleans system has exclusive reserved rights of way for the streetcars: the St Charles route south of Lee Circle and most of the Canal Street route. But not the branch along South Carrollton to the City Park. There is a median but the streetcars are in traffic in the centre lanes. This of course results in streetcars being held up behind left turning traffic. I saw no evidence of any on-street priority for transit.
Along St Charles St the streetcar is actually better for sightseeing as the car proceeds at a leisurely pace and the tour busses whizz past in the traffic lanes. If you want to look at the charming old houses in the Garden District the hop-on hop-off bus service cannot be recommended. By the way, if you are concerned about trying to board a St Charles car at Canal, at least half of the load there gets off halfway to do the guided walk through the Garden District and most of the rest at Audubon Park.
There are also a number of streets that have wide medians that I suspect may once have been streetcar lines. Of course wikipedia is the place to go to find out about that.
I have also heard a lot about how streetcars are only for tourists but that is a gross misunderstanding. Where the streetcars run, and their general reliability, means everybody uses them. In fact the schedules for the streetcars seem to much more frequent than many bus routes. It is reliability and frequency that attracts ridership no matter what the vehicle.
Gothenburg gets battery buses
In my in box this morning is a press release from Volvo announcing an order for 157 articulated electric buses to start delivery next year.
What struck me is how much bigger this initiative is compared to what is happening here. Translink is trying out four buses on one route. Gothenburg is comparable to Vancouver in population: it “has a population of approximately 570,000 in the city center and about 1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.” (source: wikipedia) These buses are also much larger capacity than anything on the road here – 150 passengers per bus! You notice from their supplied picture that it has four sets of doors, not three as here. They will also charge at bus stops along the route “using the industry common charging interface OppChargeTM” – so I begin to wonder what was so ground-breaking about route #100. By the way the energy use of these buses is 80 per cent lower than that of a corresponding diesel bus.
But then Scandinavia does seem to be much more determined to create a truly green city than we are. Oslo, for example, has now removed on street parking in its city centre.
“If you decide to drive in downtown Oslo, be forewarned: You won’t be able to park on the street. By the beginning of this year, the city finished removing more than 700 parking spots–replacing them with bike lanes, plants, tiny parks, and benches–as a major step toward a vision of a car-free city center.
“Without those parking spots, and with cars banned completely on some streets, few people are driving in the area. “There are basically no cars,” says Axel Bentsen, CEO of Urban Sharing, the company that runs Oslo City Bike, the local bike-share system. The city’s changes are designed, in part, to help improve air quality and fight climate change, but the difference in the quality of life is more immediate.”
As usual local businesses opposed the change, claiming its would hurt trade – but the outcome has been quite different. There are now more people in downtown – walking and cycling. Pretty much the same as our experience with protected bike lanes – which were opposed but have benefitted local businesses.
I am sorry that the timing of this post may be a bit awkward when the current labour dispute is top of mind. But it is clear that one of the major concerns of the bus operators is that traffic has got worse, and that Metro Vancouver in general – and the City of Vancouver in particular – has been a laggard in providing buses with priority on street which would go a long way to making services more reliable, schedules more predictable and life a lot easier for both passengers and bus drivers. Our politicians seem to be more concerned about the people driving cars – who are the ones causing the problems.
Clearly we need something like the system now in use in New York – but first we would actually have to put in the bus lanes!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1186355796940079104
UPDATE December 16, 2019 Paris has announced an order for 800 electric buses (source: World Economic Forum) to be delivered in time for its hosting of the Olympics in 2024
Arbutus Station
Translink has released its first “preliminary conceptual design” of what the proposed station on the Broadway Subway is going to look like. They put it on the BC Ministry of Transport flickr stream which makes it easy to display here.
“Arbutus Station looking northwest
Artist’s rendering of preliminary conceptual Broadway Subway Project station design. Final streetscape and potential development will be subject to the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan. Learn more: engage.gov.bc.ca/broadwaysubway/stations/ “
My bet would be that there will be some additional use of the “air rights” above the station. Either with a building – equivalent to what happened at King Edward on the Canada Line. Or perhaps it will stay like this and square footage will be added to something in the vicinity.
This is what the same corner of Broadway and Arbutus looks like now
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_rees/45184182172/
Broadway at Cambie
There is a very useful article by Kenneth Chan who in his usual diligent fashion covers the details of how the interchange at City Hall station is going to work when the new Millenium Line extension opens.
The most disappointing feature is that there will still be only the existing single station entrance. This is because there will be much less passenger activity as all the interchange traffic will be handled by three underground routes. Much of the existing foot traffic is people transferring from buses.
I am putting this quote here simply because I will then find it more easily. Not so long ago I had Harold Steves telling me on Twitter that the Canada Line north of Bridgeport is “fine”. No, it isn’t. I wish I had had this data to hand at the time.
“Like the Expo Line, the ultimate future capacity of the Millennium Line is 25,000 pphpd. In contrast, the ultimate future capacity of the Canada Line is 15,000 pphpd; currently, the Canada Line’s peak capacity is running at about 6,000 pphpd, and this will increase to over 8,000 pphpd when all 24 new additional train cars (12 two-car trains) go into service in January 2020.”
UPDATE February 2020 – it turns out that Mr Chan was being optimistic
“Four new trains went into service on the Canada Line on Tuesday [January 21, 2020, making room for an additional 800 passengers during the morning and afternoon rush hours.
“They are the first of a dozen two-car trains that TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said will put the transit authority on track to keep up with passenger demand on the line for the next several years.
“We’re pretty confident at this point, with the arrival of this new fleet … we should be able to address the capacity along the Canada Line corridor, at least well into this decade,” said Desmond.
“The four two-car trains will result in a 15-per-cent expansion of service, although riders are unlikely to notice a major difference.
“Once all 12 trains are running later this year, service will have increased by 35 per cent over 2019 levels, there will be room for another 1,200 passengers during peak times, and frequency will improve by up to one minute during peak hours. Trains now arrive every six minutes during peak hours between YVR Airport or Richmond-Brighouse and Waterfront stations.
source: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/translink-adds-more-trains-to-its-canada-line-fleet
BUT it is not the volume of passengers at the station that concerns me so much as the sheer convenience and improved pedestrian safety that would result from an entrance on each corner. Which is the way that most busy stations in major cities with subways – or elevateds – are laid out. Maybe not all of them get escalators and elevators – but they do cut down the number of people who have to cross a very busy intersection, with often long waits for a suitable light.
There is now a very useful diagram of how the proposed underground interchange will work – taken from the BC Ministry of Transport’s flickr stream
Captain’s Log
Just a normal day in paradise – with times from the friendly systems that now track my movements
car2go from Yew at Nanton to the Aquatic Centre, English Bay (4.9km)
Depart 11:40am Arrive 11:54am
Bus from Stanley Park – after ten minutes wait at the terminus
2:26pm 19 to Ganville Street
2:54pm 16 to Nanton arrive 3:20pm (8.35km)
Despite heavy traffic on Georgia, the #19 made good time as it ran for most of the time as SORRY BUS FULL. The bus was a diesel, not a trolley, and was running a short turn to Main Street.
The wait on Granville Street seemed long as the Transit app kept reporting “real time” expected departure times that got updated intermittently.
I have not been using car2go much recently as there was often no car available when I wanted one. They sent me a rather plaintive email to tempt me back so the trip downtown was actually free.
Not that I was in a hurry or anything but I think I am going to be looking for car2go more often.
Do we really want driverless buses?
A consortium has been formed of US transit agencies who want to try out driverless buses. The idea is that the cost of getting into this new technology will be lower if it is shared.
I think the idea of a consortium to try out new technologies is a good one, and one that has a long history in transit. What worries me is that this is starting with a technology that I do not think needs to be the first priority. It is understandable, given the high percentage of overall operating cost that is due to driver’s wages and benefits. We have had driverless trains in this region for a long while. SkyTrain has also had significant numbers of people committed to patrolling the system to ensure passenger safety and security.
Recently an incident on the top deck of a British bus has awakened concerns here about passenger security on the double deckers shortly to be introduced here. (Hint: the driver has either a periscope or camera to see what is going on upstairs.) While assaults like this are relatively rare, bad behaviour by passengers is not. For this reason, bus operators are now getting protective screens on the new buses when they enter service. Equally, it is not unheard of for bus drivers to be the first responders in other cases of emergency. And one thing that we have probably all seen for ourselves is the reluctance of other people to get involved when someone else needs assistance. The response time to someone pressing an alarm on SkyTrain has also been an issue on occasion.
While a bus operator may not have all the skills and knowledge of a paramedic or a police officer, they are trained in what to do in an emergency. And often the interpersonal skills that they do have (and are now selected for) have been used to effectively reduce the tensions which can lead to rapid escalation.
There are autonomous buses in operation in France and elsewhere, but so far they have been limited to low speeds, short distances and relatively traffic free areas.
“The consortium [on the other hand] is expected to purchase 75 to 100 full-sized, autonomous buses that will run at full speed in real service environments.”
This seems to me to be unnecessary at this stage. And one of the things that has been improved in this region since I arrived has been the atmosphere on board buses since the emphasis in selection changed away from “has an air brake license” to “has people skills”. In general, the attitude and welcome you get on boarding the bus has been one of the best features of the ride. It would be a great shame to lose this. I also wonder how an autonomous bus would be alerted to the need to lower the ramp at a bus stop for a passenger with a disability – or delay starting until they were safely in place on board.
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