There are a lot of great things being discussed and talked about here at Vancouver TransitCamp. I know this only because I’m over hearing some of the conversation. There’s so much being talked about that it makes me have a lot of various thoughts about the mass transit system that exists in and around Vancouver, the “Metro Vancouver” area for those not hip to the lingo(because it’s no longer, officially, known as the GVRD), I thought I’d hit a few topics that stick out to my mind.

First, the Gateway Project. Long story short, they want to twin the Port Mann bridge and allow a higher volume of automobile traffic flow through that area. I don’t like the plan, and there were people here this morning, SPEC, who are doing everything they can to help stop it.

Gateway is a real waste of money and the wrong thing to do environmentally. More care should be given to resist the notion of where more lanes of road will lead to less traffic congestion. Instead, the money going into that project should be given to massively expand SkyTrain service through Surrey and Langley. That expansion should loop around and come back across at the Port Mann bridge. That would help to reduce the amount of commuters coming across the bridge, from the east, if they had an accessible, reliable method like the SkyTrain.

And the SkyTrain… It needs continued expansion, and I really hesitate to say that. However, the reality is the necessity that a growing city like Vancouver needs something to handle the amount of people that are arriving in the lower mainland every day, week, and month. Could you imagine what it would be like if you could not only train from YVR but the ferry ports or even North Vancouver? Madness would precede it before it happened, but imagine what it would be like after.

The bus system… more should be done to increase its reliability. GPS tracking on the buses would certainly influence this, no matter how big brother it sounds. With my recent pains of commuting through the Canada Line construction, I would love to know if I have to wait five minutes or a half hour for the next bus to arrive. I’m not afraid of walking. What I’m afraid of is being a block away when the bus comes and makes me committed to walking the rest of the way, ending up being late for work.

I might add to this post or make more posts about other topics, but these are the issues at the top of my head.

Post edit: Dec. 9, 2007

It’s been a few days since this post that I’m making this edit, and I just wanted to add on here what Ryan and Keith said in the comments below. I applaud them for helping me understand the issue better, and it’s probably something that I needed reminding of rather than not acknowledging.

There certainly is a problem with the flow of traffic coming into Vancouver and across the Port Mann[wiki] bridge. I think it’s safe to say that there is no way that adding more car lanes will solve everything as much as saying that by adding more bus or rail transit will be the ultimate solution. However, I do like the combination of both, and that makes a lot more sense to me. Still, there needs to be a massive upgrade/expansion of service of rail transit for Surrey and Langley if the project would to really solve the problem, and I just don’t see the bureaucratic powers that be making that happen.

In the original post, I forgot entirely, as most people do, about the Pattullo Bridge[wiki]. It’s not another, simple or easy solution to the problem, but what would an overhaul of that bridge do for traffic around the lower mainland? The bridge is in desperate need of being replaced because repairs will not cut it on a bridge that is outdated in many aspects.

If the bridge were to be widened and better planning was done to the traffic patterns to and from the bridge, could that help the congestion of the Port Mann as well? Combine that with twinning and SkyTrain expansion, and you might see more people taking the Pattullo rather than the Port Mann. I shouldn’t fail to mention the Golden Ears Bridge[wiki] project that might aid in less congestion at the Port Mann once it is completed. Once again, not the answer, but a potential release valve for Highway 1.

Still, I don’t like the idea of where more means less problems, especially in an area that is a major traffic problem on each side of the bridge. I used to drive around that area on a consistent basis with large, diesel fueled, broadcast vehicles. The notion of getting it wrong, or whatever is done to help the problem, is what should concern more people about this project.

Better late than never, but I wanted to mention that I was going to be attending the first ever Vancouver Transit Camp on December 8, 2007.

I’m really unsure what to expect from the event, but ever since moving to Vancouver, mass transit has become an important element of day to day life, not to mention a nearly everyday occurrence. My daily commute relies on the bus system, we probably take the SkyTrain at least once a week, and that SeaBus gets us to see our friends on the north shore without too much of trouble.

I’m fascinated with it. There’s probably no better way to explain it than that, and I’ve been apart of many conversations as to why something is the way it is and how it could be so much better if they just tried some idea that I have.

We’ll see what happens, and I’ll do my best to report back on what happens.