295 replies to this topic

[Coreyburger]

Minority TC letter writers aside, most people like things to look at while walking and don't like to stuck next to busy roads.

On the commuter rail front, aiming it solely at commuters is a mistake. Pheonix's LRT is almost 1/4 non-work riders, a total shock for the planners there. Given E&N commuter rail will be more LRT-like than heavy-rail like, we should be figuring out how to attract non-commuting riders.

[Bingo]

Which brings us back to the fact that in order for an E&N rail line to be truly successful, it is going to need to cross the bridge and get as far into downtown as possible.

You could have a free shuttle bus to and from the train, that does a loop of the downtown core twice a day when the train is running. The money saved by not having the rail go across the bridge would pay for the service.

If the E&N is to be truly successful, someone with deep pockets would have already put the money up to try to make it successful, instead of still talking about it.

[endayliner]

Extending it depends on the vehicle used. Heavy rail obviously cannot run through the streets, but a lighter vehicle like Portland's or Ottawa's would work and still deliver the number of seats required.

Heavy rail can run down the street. Not as common as it used to be, but there are many places in North America where heavy rail lines share the right of way with a public road. The E&N itself used to run down Store Street to service industries around Capital Iron.


A big issue I can see is where would you have room to put in a rail line, you'd have to close off a lane of traffic. There may be no choice having passengers transfer to the No.6 bus like they do now.

[aastra]

...most people like things to look at while walking and don't like to stuck next to busy roads.

Absolutely correct. In Victoria, what short walks offer more than Chinatown or lower Johnson?

I'm not sure what you're saying with that. Are you saying a commuter line won't work unless commuters can step off the train and walk along Dallas Road to get to their offices?

[Bernard]

Heavy rail can run down the street. Not as common as it used to be, but there are many places in North America where heavy rail lines share the right of way with a public road. The E&N itself used to run down Store Street to service industries around Capital Iron.


A big issue I can see is where would you have room to put in a rail line, you'd have to close off a lane of traffic. There may be no choice having passengers transfer to the No.6 bus like they do now.

During that era the whole area was warehouse and light industrial (other than Capital Iron) In that sort of an area people accept semis parked in the street loading and unloading and accept trains in the area.

As you bring in commercial uses, all industrial activity is seen as negative. In Vancouver in the early 1990s I drove truck for a bit. I was picking up at a brewery (not beer, spent yeast and hops) and parked in the middle of what was the alley and now was being changed to yuppie condos. I blocked the whole one lane alleyway and people wanted to use it to drive through. They were annoyed and pissed off that I was blocking it.

People in general have little or no respect for industrial land and industrial uses.

There is no way on earth you will ever get people in Victoria to accept ripping up their streets to put in rails. It is never, ever going to happen.

Streetcars could only ever be put into use in the tourist section of town, anywhere else and there will be no possible way to get buy in. People would not even accept the busway, a change that would speed up commuting and have no impact on anyone.

The most forgiving neighbourhoods are the industrial ones, the least residential.

[Coreyburger]

You could have a free shuttle bus to and from the train, that does a loop of the downtown core twice a day when the train is running. The money saved by not having the rail go across the bridge would pay for the service.

If the E&N is to be truly successful, someone with deep pockets would have already put the money up to try to make it successful, instead of still talking about it.

Every transfer required costs riders. In some places transferring is good (see this Human Transit article on the issue) but in this case, it is just dumb.

As for funding, it wouldn't cost all that much. We are talking ~16 million to relay all the track out to Langford and then a few million for vehicles. Which type of vehicle and who else is ordering similar vehicles makes a big difference in price. ie. Ottawa tacked on their o-train order on an existing German order of DMUs. Didn't even change the paint job.

[victorian fan]

Hillside Avenue 1929

[LJ]

This film was "lost" for many years. It was the first 35mm film ever. It was taken by camera mounted on the front of a cable car

The amount of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing! The clock tower at the end of Market Street at the Embarcadero wharf is still there. (I'm also wondering ... How many "street cleaning" people were employed to pick up after the horses? Talk about going green!)

Great historical film worth watching.

http://www.youtube.c...p?v=NINOxRxze9k

This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot. From New York trade papers announcing the film showing to the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and conditions on historical record, even when the cars were registered (he even knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!).. It was filmed only four days before the quake and shipped by train to NY for processing. Amazing ....but true!

[Sparky]

^ Nice share LJ. I felt I was on that ride.

[phx]

The amount of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing!

Perhaps even more impressive is the width of the street.

We've never come close to planning for growth on that kind of scale.

[jsan]

Well, using a SOV to drive three blocks will be a thing of the past sooner than many think, if we are to believe the latest business warnings. It's astonishing how little our Canadian politicians from the very top to our own councils, are doing to prepare us for a world with ever increasing oil prices. Well worth reading, it quotes from the recent strongly-worded report from Lloyd's of London, $200/barrel within the next few years among other things.

http://www.guardian....overnments-need

[Holden West]

 

According to the person who posted this photo to Facebook, these are remnants of old streetcar tracks. It looks like Uplands.

[G-Man]

That giant roundabout was the end of the line for a route so those would definitely be tracks.

[Bingo]

The streetcar went around the circle and along Midland Road. This is a photo showing the tracks in the grass in 2006.

 

[Coreyburger]

Those are most definitely tracks. As the road erodes away, they are coming to the surface more, which makes biking around that loop a little tricky.

[Bingo]

Those are most definitely tracks. As the road erodes away, they are coming to the surface more, which makes biking around that loop a little tricky.

 

If they keep coming to the surface, soon we can get the streetcars running on them again.