3103 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

It just proves that point that if things can go wrong, they will go wrong.

Like airplane crashes. It’s usually multiple errors that stacked up.

[Victoria Watcher]

It just proves that point that if things can go wrong, they will go wrong.

Like airplane crashes. It’s usually multiple errors that stacked up.

 

The confounding thing is that this is a BIG truck.  I would think it would be very rare for an inexperienced driver to be at the wheel.

 

If you watch a lot of the low-bridge crash compliations, it seems lots of the trucks are rentals.  So drivers inexperienced with large trucks.  Or driving for a short period, one taller than they normally drive.

 

But the driver of this vehicle, if he is also the boom operator, would know all about heights and reach and tolerances and safety.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 November 2022 - 08:09 AM.

[Mike K.]

And yet…

[Spy Black]

When there is no apparent explanation for something, I always reflect if it's just a byproduct of the Second Law of Thermodynamics at play (specifically the entropy references)

 

In other words, is it just another case of "sh_t happens"? 

Edited by Spy Black, 16 November 2022 - 08:18 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

So presumably replacing this span with a taller structure will involve additional money over and above the ICBC amount.  So they will spend more money for a track/bridge that'll never likely see a train.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 November 2022 - 08:42 AM.

[Mike K.]

This just might be the bellwether. The bridge will cost a lot, and if there are no provincial dollars coming, where will the money come from?

[Spy Black]

The money will very likely come from the Island Corridor Foundation themselves, who seem to have a vested interest in maintaining ownership of that somewhat large right-of-way that stretches over half of Vancouver Island.

 

 

One might imagine that, with that bridge left out of commission, it might lend substantial weight to the argument that would see the return that right-of-way to the people of B.C. ... thus removing everything the Island Corridor Foundation exists for, and obliging the disposal of whatever funds they might have in reserve as a not-for-profit in B.C.

[baconnbits]

We already have buses from Cobble Hill, Shawnigan and Duncan to downtown and they have very light usage. And running on the highway they can go much faster than your paved rail-path idea to Esquimalt.

Surely a dedicated road way that avoids the colwood crawl and almost all traffic and making only say 3-4 stops would arrive quicker than a bus with more stops that is in traffic.
If buses have poor ridership then I imagine trains would as well

[splashflash]

Surely a dedicated road way that avoids the colwood crawl and almost all traffic and making only say 3-4 stops would arrive quicker than a bus with more stops that is in traffic.
If buses have poor ridership then I imagine trains would as well

There is advantage of paving the E&N between View Royal and Vic West. For Colwood and Sooke buses headed downtown across the Johnson St. Bridge, it would be faster than the freeway and Douglas because it is shorter and without the slog on Douglas. That is if it can go through the Esquimalt FN lands and not in the traffic-bound Admirals and Island Highway. Paving even as a single lane would help secure the right-of-way for much of the distance at much less cost than rail, unless the rail was a place-holder with only two stations, one at Langford and the other at Vic West, but the ridership would be abysmally low.Paving between Shawnigan Lake and Langford? As I have mentioned before, just make it two-lane southbound for general traffic, including buses. That would eliminate head-ons, probably cutting highway shutting down accidents by 75%. Topography-based closures (landslides and rockfall or washouts) would be cut too since cones could be put on the centre line of the existing highway or the paved-over and straightened railbed, keeping traffic moving.I get it that CRD politicians would howl, so a bus lane instead of general purpose traffic lanes along the Malahat rail stretch would be more palatable for them. If they are not paying for it, they would not necessarily be a show-stopper.

[Victoria Watcher]

Surely a dedicated road way that avoids the colwood crawl and almost all traffic and making only say 3-4 stops would arrive quicker than a bus with more stops that is in traffic.
If buses have poor ridership then I imagine trains would as well

No. You cannot drive a bus or a train through level crossings at even 50 kmh here.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 December 2022 - 11:41 PM.

[splashflash]

No. You cannot drive a bus or a train through level crossings at even 50 kmh here.

Well, that is what the design was for, 50 km/hr:

 

 

Attached Images

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Edited by splashflash, 02 December 2022 - 09:23 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The old rail service was no match for the Goose

Re: “Public transportation is needed more,” letter, Nov. 28.

 

The letter downplaying the importance of active transportation is mostly uninformed nostalgia and pipe dreams. The underestimation of trails is astounding.

 

The Galloping Goose alone carries 750,000 trips a year on an 80-kilometre corridor in the Capital Regional District. Via Rail claimed only 40,000 trips a year for the E&N on the 225-km corridor before it was shut down.

 

Maybe someone should tell the writer about the 10 to 30 passengers projected between Courtenay and Qualicum with an improved service and the success of express buses in the CRD.

 

 

Alastair Craighead

Victoria

 

https://www.timescol...re-woes-6198971

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 December 2022 - 04:41 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Will our new Premier step in to save the track? Horgan didn’t want to.

[Victoria Watcher]

Well, that is what the design was for, 50 km/hr:

So how does that beat a bus doing 80kmh on the highway?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 December 2022 - 03:38 AM.

[splashflash]

The ~3.5km section of the lanes from Tillicum to Fisgard slows right down and has a lot more stops. The average speed is probably 30 km/hr.

The busway would only be useful for downtown, of course. The busway/rail-right-of-way section to the Esquimalt First Nation (ot nearby road) is even shown as a gray line as "future phase" of the bus rapid transit plan. If it were used, the bridge at Hereford (the can-opener) would need to be raised.

[splashflash]

Eby kept the same MOTI minister, Rob Fleming. Also, Fleming's mandate letter mentioned nothing about Island Rail, but rather wrote more generally about transit. I doubt he will change course to promote the underperforming rail revitalization.

One thing you can be assured, the rail fan / hobbyist crowd will be making lots of noise before mid-March.

Edited by splashflash, 11 December 2022 - 07:40 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The ~3.5km section of the lanes from Tillicum to Fisgard slows right down and has a lot more stops. The average speed is probably 30 km/hr.

The busway would only be useful for downtown, of course. The busway/rail-right-of-way section to the Esquimalt First Nation (ot nearby road) is even shown as a gray line as "future phase" of the bus rapid transit plan. If it were used, the bridge at Hereford (the can-opener) would need to be raised.

Oh ya. We likely don’t need a whole new system just for a 3.5km issue.

[Mike K.]

We could save billions of dollars just by spreading out employment a little bit, and using existing infrastructure for a reverse commute.

[Victoria Watcher]

Seattle Times:






Sounder trains’ future in limbo as riders are slow to return

As office workers stay home, Sound Transit’s commuter train has not recovered ridership. Revenue from fares is disappearing as a result, and officials are rethinking trip schedules.

[Victoria Watcher]

Seattle:



Sounder train ridership has been down since the start of the pandemic, and it has yet to bounce back, according to Sound Transit.

Back in October 2019, the Sounder trains had over 415,000 monthly passengers. In November 2022, it had less than 105,000. The decline begs the question. Where did all the passengers go?

“They [passengers] are in their living rooms. At home. Working from home,” Sound Transit Public Information Officer David Jackson told KIRO Newsradio.


https://mynorthwest....ounce-back/amp/


According to the Downtown Seattle Association, as of October, just 36% of office workers had returned downtown — a far cry from their optimistic forecasts of 70% by the end of summer.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 January 2023 - 03:33 PM.