The drumbeat for more billions to be spent on road infrastructure gets a little louder:
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It’s always about congestion:
“The issue of tunnel congestion remains a very significant concern to the local community,” the (Delta) report states, adding any further port expansion should be curtailed until congestion issues are resolved.
“Resolved,” of course, seems to mean spending billions more for another tunnel – even though recent data indicate a decline in traffic volumes.
From the 2008 Regional Screenline Survey (measuring traffic volumes in the Lower Mainland):
5.5.6 South/Main Arm of Fraser River Screenlines
The total number of vehicles per day in 2008 was 390,972, which reflects a minor decrease of 2.6% from 401,227 vehicles in 2004; the greatest decreases were at the Deas Tunnel (-7.5%) and the Pattullo Bridge (-5.8%) …
And this is before we see the consequences of the South Fraser Perimeter Road and new Port Mann Bridge. Which raises the question of why new port development should mean an increase in the number of trucks through the tunnel after we’ve spent billions providing an alternative.
Even Kevin Falcon when he was Transportation Minister saw no immediate need to widen the tunnel, given that it would only push the congestion a few kilometres down the road to the Oak Street Bridge. “The latest numbers show us that that’s not the crisis point,” he said. “In fact, when we go ahead with the Gateway Program, especially the new South Fraser Perimeter Road, we believe we will see increased flows of traffic through the Massey Tunnel because of traffic diversion.”
No doubt any promises of an expanded Massey Tunnel will come with initial promises of improved transit, as was the Port Mann Bridge – the widest bridge in Canada, costing over $3 billion. It will open this year without an express bus on any of its ten lanes.
At this moment, TransLink wants to cut taxi-savers for the disabled; it has taken promised transit expansion off the table; it will likely be cutting services. But another bridge, a widened tunnel? There’s no end to that road, even if it takes us to a place we don’t want to go.
Should that read “decreased… because of traffic diversion.”?
As for rapid bus over the Port Mann – it looks like someone (Province?) will pay to avoid an embarassment…
http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1729508
I disagree with your position on taxisavers. it is quite valid to put it up for review. lots o’problems with taxisavers as per TL, via Jeff Nagel:
TransLink spokesman Drew Snider said TaxiSavers had become an uncontrolled cost with 85 per cent of users not actually using HandyDart.
Many of them were stockpiling the taxi coupons, resulting in a growing liability for TransLink, with nothing to prevent holders from giving or reselling them to unauthorized users.
Snider said the taxi subsidy was originally launched in 1990 to fill in a service gap at a time when the bus fleet wasn’t accessible.
All buses now have low floors or lifts, he said, and HandyDart has expanded greatly, with its vehicles running until midnight.
The public policy reason for taxi savers has been addressed with expansion of the handidart system and the 100% accessible system. Certainly, the disabled will find benefit from taxisavers, but one would ask why would they be stockpiled and not used ~immediately; it would suggest IMO those trips are more discretionary.
I’m not against taxisavers, but we have to be clear again why it is important transit policy. if we are to use them for those who just can’t use the regular system or handidart and need transit to maintain independence, one would need to think of a more transparent way to run the program and get more appropriate funding agencies to step up, like the health authorities, or the ministry of health.
Jarrett Walker had a good example with NYC’s MTA and the squeeze on student discounts, and a nice statement:
Part of transparency is avoiding deals like the three way funding split of the New York school subsidy. Don’t just split the subsidy three ways. Instead do the harder work of deciding why we fund school transportation and which level of government should be funding that outcome.
And aim, too, for clearer divisions of responsibility. If we’re talking about funding for student transportation, there’s a credible argument that it should go through the education budget.
even if tl wasn’t hard up for money, I’d prefer a shift from funding taxisavers to putting those funds to building up the FTN.
http://www.humantransit.org/2009/12/bail-out-new-yorks-transit-system.html
And don’t hate-on the tolled PMB just yet. I’d be willing to put money on my fake internet pseudonym that by the time all 10 lanes of the bridge open, we will have a rapid bus service.
Mind you, the bet is when all 10 lanes open. 😉
If the tunnel expansion every happens it better include a bike/pedestrian tunnel as well. The shuttle every hour or paying to take the bus to not quite where you want to go while drivers get the free ride is not the best situation. I suggest something like this: http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/08/worlds-longest-bicycle-tunnel-opens.html
Too late. It’s hit the fan. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Christy+Clark+announces+plans+replace+George+Massey+Tunnel/7315511/story.html
I watched a cyclist get to the bus stop at the north end of the tunnel the other day trying to search for what the process was for getting through. Not very well marked by the looks of it. So the guy decided to go for it and rode through. He must have been shi!!ing bricks. I figured the best thing I could do was stay behind him and put on my 4 way flashers so hopefully nobody would do something stupid. By the time he got out the other end he was so freaked out he had to stop and recover.
It will need a bike tunnel – absolutely.
Good on you! You probably saved him from being squished. The signage is terrible- and the once an hour bike shuttle service during peak hours only means it wouldn’t be much better with good signage either.
My guess is that any new tunnel or bridge will be politically packaged with bike lanes and at least transit priority or dedicated transit lanes… although it will certainly have many more car lanes- and if it’s tolled at a low price, most users will still opt to drive.