Seattle’s light rail sheds light on what to expect in Surrey and Langley

With phase two funding approved in principle for the Mayors’ Council’s Ten-Year Transportation Vision, light rail will now be a reality in the South of Fraser. This funding will allow light rail to be built and operated along King George Boulevard and 104th Avenue. It will get pre-construction work completed for the Fraser Highway line, ensuring that construction can start the instant that the third and final phase of funding is approved for the Ten-Year Transportation Vision.

King County is served by Link Light Rail which opened in the summer of 2009. Some sections of their light rail network run in a tunnel, some sections run at-grade, and some sections run above-grade like SkyTrain.

My friend Paul Hillsdon and I decided to head to Seattle over the weekend to check out Rainier Valley. This part of King County is served by Link Light Rail where the stations and track are at-grade. This section is similar to what is being planned for South of Fraser light rail.

One of the first things that Paul and I noticed was that the trains don’t stop at intersections. All the traffic signals were set to prioritize light rail. The following clip shows light rail going through a signalized intersection. Link Light Rail runs in its own dedicated right-of-way which is how light rail will operate in the South of Fraser. While some cars passed the train in this clip, they had to queue at subsequent traffic signals.

Paul and I stopped at the Othello Light Rail Station where redevelopment has occurred around the station. We when into Cafe Red where we had a good chat with its barista who was very knowledge about light rail in Rainier Valley. I asked him if trains ever had to wait at traffic lights. He told me that this was a rarity. He stated that cross-street traffic and left-turning traffic gets delayed to prioritize light rail vehicles going through intersections. One of the balancing acts will be to ensure that light rail is prioritized while also ensuring that cross-street traffic gets some love too.

New development around Othello Station. Select image to enlarge.

The following pictures show Rainier Beach Station. This station is the best example of what light rail stations will look like in the South of Fraser.

Rainier Beach Link Light Rail Station: Platform and ticket-vending machines. Select image to enalrge.

Rainier Beach Link Light Rail Station. Select image to enlarge.

Pedestrian access to Rainier Beach Link Light Rail Station. Select image to enlarge.

Travelling along Martin Luther King Jr Way on light rail shows how light rail can function efficiently at-grade. I know that many South of Fraser folks are concerned about light rail getting jammed up with regular traffic. In Seattle, they have figured out how to prioritize at-grade light rail to ensure smooth sailing for its riders.

Lessons from Iceland: Building Safer Cycling Infrastructure

As I noted yesterday, I was in Iceland for the last few weeks. While I was there, I observed what they were doing to make streets safer for children. You can see some examples of traffic calming in that post which has resulted in a reduction in collisions with injuries, and fatal collisions.

Neighbourhood streets are 30km/h zones in Iceland, and cycling on these low-volume, low-speed streets are safe. They also have streets with higher volumes of traffic and/or higher speeds. Based on the type of street, they are building out safe cycling infrastructure that matches the type of street.

I snapped a few pictures of examples of the different types of cycling lanes from their capital city, Reykjavík, which has the same population as the Township of Langley. As I noted yesterday, about 80% of trips in their capital region are by car.

This first example is from one of the major roads in the city. This road would be similar to 200 Street. The left side of the picture shows the driving lanes, the centre is the walking path, and the right is the cycling lanes. At traffic lights, they have vehicle, cycling, and walking signals.

An example of a 50km/h, high motor vehicle volume street.

At intersections with traffic lights, right or left turns on red are not permitted. Before the motor vehicle light turns green, the walking and cycling lights turn green. This allows venerable road users to get into the intersection before vehicles which increases visibility and improves safety.

The second example shows a protected cycling lane on a street that is similar to 53 Avenue in Langley City. People cycling are buffered from motor vehicle traffic by parked cars. One of the major risks when cycling is getting doored. If you are cycling on the example street, you stay to the right of the thick white line to avoid the “door zone.” If you look at the picture closely, you can also see the 30km/h speed limit sign for a local side street.

An example of a 50km/h, lower motor vehicle volume street.

The final example is from one of the High Streets in Reykjavík. It is a similar design to 203 Street. The cycling lane is at sidewalk level. The vehicle lanes are also narrowed to encourage people to travel at 30km/h.

An example of a High Street.

Reykjavík is a city with snow in the winter and rain in the summer. It is also a place where the majority of people drive. It is encouraging to see a mid-size city working hard to make cycling and walking safer for kids that has resulted in reduced injuries and fatalities. As they continue to build-out their safe walking and cycling network, more people will choose to walk and cycle.

Personally, I’d like to see more cycling lanes like in the second example that buffers people cycling from people driving in Langley City.

Lessons from Iceland: 30km/h zones, traffic calming, and building safe streets for kids

For the last few weeks, I have been travelling around Iceland. When I’m in different places, I like seeing how other governments tackle land-use and transportation issues, and if their solutions could be applied in Metro Vancouver and Langley City.

Iceland is very similar to BC when it comes to how people get around; driving is the primary mode of transportation. The following graph shows people's primary mode of travel. It is in Icelandic, so from left to right, the columns are auto, transit, cycling, walking. The grey is their capital region (Reykjavík), and the other bars represent the remaining regions which contain smaller towns. In their capital region, which has a similar scale and feel as Victoria, more people drive than in the smaller towns, where walking makes up the difference.

Iceland travel mode share. From left to right: driving, transit, cycling, walking.

One of the big pushes in Iceland is to reduce the speed of traffic on local roads to improve safety for children and vulnerable road users. Major roads similar to King George Boulevard or Fraser Highway have speed limits between 45km/h and 60km/h. Side streets, most streets in downtowns, and all streets near public facilities such as schools and recreation centres were capped at 30 km/h.

Iceland’s transportation department has a guide called “Umferðaröryggisáætlanir sveitarfélaga” or “The Traffic Safety Planning Guide for Local Government” which offers advice on how to building safe streets including maximum speed limits.

Since implementing 30km/h speed zones, accidents with injuries have decreased by 27% and serious accidents have decreased by 62%.

In Iceland, there is a limited number of police officers. In two weeks, I saw four police officers. All that to say, enforcement is done with road design. People certainly speed in Iceland, but in built-up areas, road design forces people to slow down.

The following pictures show some examples of traffic calming used in Iceland.

An example of a raise crosswalk at an intersection in Iceland.

A downtown street in Iceland which includes multiply mid-block raised crosswalks.

An example of a typical mid-block raise crosswalk in a residential area in Iceland.

An example of an intersection in a downtown core in Iceland.

An example of changing the road texture, and narrowing a road, when entering at 30 km/h zone.

I noticed that children of all ages biked and walked without their parents supervising them. When streets are safe for kids, they are safe for everyone.

Children of all ages use their bikes to get to school.

The traffic calming measures implemented in Iceland can be applied to communities such as Langley. 30km/h zones like in Iceland can be implemented in a similar fashion in BC. Like BC, urban roads are 50km/h unless otherwise posted. In Langley City, we are starting to build more raise crosswalks and crosswalks with curbs extensions as an example.

Lessons from Auckland: Public Toilets and Transit

If you’ve ever taken public transit in most Canadian cities, I’m sure you’ve had the experience of needing to use a washroom, but not being able to find one. It can make for a very unpleasant journey. For some people, such as those who are older, not having a washroom nearby can limit their ability to travel.

Canadian transit agencies tend to shy away from providing public toilets for their riders. In Metro Vancouver, West Coast Express train cars and the SeaBus terminals are the only locations that I’m aware of that TransLink provides public washrooms for its riders.

Being unable to keep vandalism under control and maintaining clean washrooms are often cited as reasons why public washrooms are not provided at public transit facilities.

When I went to Auckland, I noticed that there were public toilets everywhere. They even provided public toilets at both major rail and bus exchanges.

Public Washrooms at Auckland Transport's Albany Bus Exchange. Select image to enlarge.

Public Washrooms at Auckland Transport's Panmure Rail Station. Select image to enlarge.

I asked some of the people I know at Auckland Transport how they are able to keep a handle on keeping their public washrooms in a state of good repair and clean. I was told that in the not too distant past, they designed and maintained public washrooms like they were in prisons. Not surprisingly, people didn’t treat the facilities with respect.

They started designing higher-quality facilities, more in line with what you’d see at an airport or shopping mall. As a result, people started respecting the facilities more. I can personally asset to the quality of the public toilets that Auckland Transport maintains.

Auckland is a big city. Its public transit users come from all walks of life just like in Metro Vancouver. Auckland Transport's ability to provide clean, high-quality washrooms shows that it is possible to do. Having public toilets at transit stations actually improves the accessibility of the transit network as a whole, and is something that TransLink should consider.

Lessons from Auckland: Tapping in and out when using buses actually works.

I was in New Zealand at the end of August. During my time there, I had the pleasure of having Darren Davis of Auckland Transport give me a tour of Auckland. The tour focused on the region’s transportation network, land-use, and their interactions. Over the next little while, I will be sharing my observations from New Zealand and how they could be applied in Metro Vancouver.

Auckland is New Zealand’s largest region, and its largest city. Auckland used to consist of seven municipalities and a regional authority, sort of like the structure of Metro Vancouver. The national government decided to collapse the municipalities and regional authority several years ago into what is now Auckland Council.

Auckland Transport is like a super-charged TransLink. The agency is responsible for the whole transportation network in the region from sidewalks and local roads, to public transit. State highways are controlled by the national government. Auckland Transport is arms-length like TransLink with its directors appointed by Auckland Council and the national government. With these similarity, there are some best practices in Auckland that could be applied in our region.

One of the first things that I was curious about was their HOP card system. The HOP card is like the Compass Card.

Auckland Transport has a zone-based fare system. It also requires that people tap in and tap off when using buses, trains, and ferries.

If you recall, TransLink was having issues with people not tapping off the bus correctly and/or forgetting to tap off. They ended up scrapping zones and tapping off on buses to launch the system.

In Auckland, the HOP card readers are slower than the Compass Card readers on buses. Auckland Transport still insists that people tap on and tap off. They also created some highly visible reminds.

Auckland Transport HOP card reader. Remember to Tag Off. Select image to enlarge.

Auckland Transport “Please Tag Off” notice on bus door. Select impact to enlarge.

Another example of an Auckland Transport HOP card reader.

This never happened in Metro Vancouver. TransLink was very cautious and sensitive to rider's initial challenges when it launched the Compass Card system. If people forget to tap off in Auckland, they get charged the maximum fare. New Zealanders don’t like mucking around, and I was told that if you forget to tap off, you’ll learn your lesson for next time.

Darren did note that for busy bus routes like the 99 B-Line, off-bus readers would be needed at busy stops. Here is an example of an off-bus reader which allows people to tap on before boarding buses in Seattle.

Tap your ORCA Card at the curb before boarding a bus in Seattle. Select image to enlarge.

Auckland Transport's slower HOP card system shows that it is possible to have people tap on and off when using buses. It just takes some training, maybe a lessons learned, and a good amount of reminders.

Learning from Auckland Transport and vacation alert

I will be taking a break from blogging until after the Labour Day long weekend. I’m in New Zealand at the moment. Auckland is New Zealand’s largest region, and has some of the same challenges that we have in Metro Vancouver. Providing enough affordable housing is top of mind in the region, as is the provisioning of a multi-modal transportation network. Their central government, just like our province, is obsessed with building wide freeways even if it goes against regional sustainable growth objectives.

Me standing by Canada Lane in Auckland. Select image to enlarge.

Over the past weekend, I had the pleasure of having a tour of Auckland and its transportation network with Darren Davis who works for Auckland Transport. AT is like TransLink, but on steroids. Expect for state roads (which are 99.99% freeways), they are responsible for all transportation in the region from sidewalks and roads, to public transit. The agency is arms-length from politicians, but unlike TransLink, has the resources to actually implement a quality transportation network.

Eye and ears at a bus exchange in Auckland is key to providing high-quality customer service and a safe environment. Select image to enlarge.

Over the last few years, Auckland Transport has been working hard to create a multi-modal transportation network. While there is much work to be done —most of Auckland’s land-use doesn’t encourage walking, cycling, or the use of public transit— Metro Vancouver and our provincial government could certainly learn a few things from the operation modal of Auckland Transport.

One of the things that I noticed right away was about the infrastructure in Auckland. It is in an excellent state of repair. Talking with some of the folks at Auckland Transport, I learned that maintaining infrastructure takes priority over expansion. I also learn that taxation levels are set to ensure that infrastructure can be adequately maintained.

High-quality, protecting cycling infrastructure is being rapidly built in Auckland. Select image to enlarge.

When I get back to Metro Vancouver, I will share more observations from Auckland and how it could apply in our region.

Public Art is important. Examples from Sound Transit in Seattle

Back in 2008, I co-authored a letter to the Township of Langley to provide feedback on the municipality's 2007 Annual Report. We noted that many infrastructure projects have an “ugly industrial/utilitarian concrete designs that ruin the beauty of the surrounding area and neighbourhoods.”

Public infrastructure including streets, transit stations, parks, and buildings should be both functional and beautiful.

I know that some people think that public art and aesthetically pleasing design is frivolous, but that isn’t the case.

Public art helps create a sense of place for neighbourhoods and communities. It also draws positive activity to an area which boast economic prosperity while reducing crimes.

For example, the City of Abbotsford supports public art because it “creates safety, by putting eyes, and people onto the streets where it is located. It also attracts tourists, skilled workers, and businesses that desire to visit and work in an environment that places a high value on aesthetics and place making.”

People travel to Chemainus on Vancouver Islands to explore the large collection of murals that have been installed throughout that community. This helps support the local economy in that community.

Two weekend ago, I was in Seattle during the opening of a new extension to Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail system.

A picture of me waiting for Link Light Rail at the new Capital Hill Link Light Rail Station.

Sound Transit ensures that public art is funded and integrated into the facilities that it builds and maintains. I snapped the following pictures of the public art installations, and high-quality design of their recently opened light rail stations.

Public Art at Capital Hill Light Rail Station.

Highlighting the high-quality design at the Link Light Rail University Station in Seattle.

LED wall installation at the Link Light Rail University Station in Seattle.

Public art and aesthetically pleasing design improve people’s quality of life. Walking through the new light rail stations in Seattle highlighted to me how good urban design can transform a space.

How to build protected bike lanes, a new guide from MassDOT

Every so often, a planning guide is released which is a real game changer. One of those guides is the Urban Street Design Guide which shows how local governments can build streets that support all ages, abilities, and modes of transportation.

Another game changer, released just this month by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, is its Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide. Over the last few years, many forwarding-thinking communities have come to the realization that people will only cycle if they feel safe. Building protected bike lanes creates a safe environment for cycling.

As Stephanie Pollack, Secretary of Transportation and CEO of MassDOT says, “Separated bike lanes are a key ingredient in the development of safe, comfortable and connected bicycle networks that will attract bicyclists of all ages and abilities.”

One of the barriers preventing the widespread adoption of protected bike lanes in North America is the lack of a comprehensive, and easily understandable design guide. This is where the MassDOT Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide comes to the rescue. It not only provides design advice for transportation engineers and planners, but it is visual enough that local government decision makers will also understand the guide.

The guide is divided into seven chapters. There is one chapter that covers general design, and another full chapter dedicated to intersection design. Intersections are where the majority of conflicts between all road users occur.

Comparison of Bicyclist Exposure at Intersections. Cycling movements in blue, auto movements in black. Select diagrams to enlarge.

The design guide contains examples of protected bike lanes going through all types of intersections.

An example of how to build protected bike lanes through a roundabout. Select example to enlarge.

While building protected bike lanes is key to getting people riding bicycles, those lanes must be maintained to ensure their long-term success. The Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide’s chapter on maintenance covers everything from lane sweeping and snow removal, to how to plan for solid waste collection.

An example of planning for solid waste collection on a residential street with protected bike lanes.

The MassDOT Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide is a must-read for anyone involved in the design, construction, or maintenance of streets: from politicians to engineers.

The Imagining Livability Design Collection

The US AARP, which advocates and provides services for the 50 and over population, along with the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute which was co-founded by Dan Burden asked the questions:

“What can livability look like in a rural context?”

“How about a suburban one?”

“And what can be done to make existing urban conditions more walkable and bikeable?”

They have put together a new toolkit called “The Imagining Livability Design Collection”. The toolkit is a visual reference guide of various projects that can enhance the livability of a community. Projects in the toolkit are divided into short-term, mid-range, and long-range categories.

While this toolkit was created for US communities, its proposed projects are also relevant in Canadian cities. The way some of the projects in the guide are visualized show how older parts of a community can be retrofitted for livability. These types of retrofits could be adapted for older areas of Langley and Surrey for example. The toolkit ends with examples of possible transformations.

As this is a visual toolkit, I thought I would share a few examples from it. The first example is from the mid-range section of the guide. The second example is from one of the possible transformations.

A shared-use path in Detroit, Michigan. Select image to enlarge.

Connecting a neighbourhood and its surroundings in Fort Worth, Texas. The present and the possible. Select image to enlarge.

Amtrak Cascades is North America's busiest cross-border passenger rail route

Earlier last month, I posted about Amtrak Cascades which is a passenger rail service that runs between Vancouver, BC and Eugene, Oregon. Seattle and Portland are major stops along the route. Ridership along the whole corridor peaked in 2011.

While I was doing some research last week, I came across the website for the Transportation Border Working Group. This group consists of Canadian and American federal, state, and provincial transportation agencies. Every year they host a plenary session. The last session was in March. Amtrak presented at that meeting on its cross-border rail service; the slides from that presentation were posted online.

Amtrak Canadian Border Crossing Ridership, 2002-2014. Select graph to enlarge.

One of the slides shows ridership at the border for their international routes. Amtrak’s Maple Leaf service goes between New York and Toronto; its Adirondack services between New York and Montreal.

Even though New York, Toronto, and Montreal are in high-ridership rail corridors for domestic travel, the majority of Amtrak’s trans-border ridership is on the west coast.

There is a saying, built it and they will come. In 2009, Amtrak introduced a second daily round-trip train servicing Vancouver, BC. There was a massive spike in ridership when that service was introduced. While ridership at the border dipped in 2012 and 2013, it is once again rising back to 2011 levels.

Even though the BC government signed a Memo of Understanding to jointly manage the Amtrak Cascades corridor in 2012, it appears that the province hasn't kept up with their end of the deal. This isn’t a surprise considering the province also signed a Memo of Understanding in 2010 with Metro Vancouver mayors to provide long-term, stable funding to TransLink. Instead, we got a referendum.

Back to Amtrak Cascades, right now all border processed for the Canadian Border Services Agency is done at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver. US pre-inspection is done at Pacific Central, but customs for all US-bound trains is still done on the train, at the border. This can cause service delays, and results in longer travel times.

Amtrak would like to see all customs done at Pacific Central station as it will provide for better reliability and fast travel times.

In Boston

MBTA Green Line at Fenway

I have been in Boston over the past week, enjoying one of North America's oldest cities. I may write more about it later, but Boston has to be one of the best examples of how 1950's urban renewal and freeway building can destroy a city's Downtown. It also is a great example of how removing freeways can bring a city's Downtown back to life.

Another thing that I noticed was that even though Boston's light rail system is over 100 years old, Metro Vancouver does a better job of building transit-oriented development around stations. It was odd for me to take light rail in Boston and find that a good chunk of stations are surrounded by single-family housing. Anyway, back to exploring the city...

Amtrak Station in Blaine

Last December, I posted about an initiative by citizens in Blaine to save their rail station that is just south of the border from being demolished. Right now there is no Amtrak service in Blaine, but many are calling for the train to stop there as not only will it benefit the people of Blaine, but also those who live in the South of Fraser. Having this station up and running would shave about two hours off the travel time.

It looks like the restoration of the station is now getting support from South of Fraser community including the City of Langley. The City has sent a letter to the State of Washington and BNSF Railway endorsing an Amtrak stop in Blaine because of the "significant economic and environmental benefits a commuter rail station would bring to residents of White Rock and the Region".

The City of White Rock and Surrey already support this station, but the reality is it will require the support of the citizen of Blaine if we are to see a station that can more effectively service the South of Fraser.

Save Blaine Amtrak Station

If you've never taken the Amtrak train down to Seattle or Portland, I recommend that you do. With Interstate 5 always under construction and always congested, taking Amtrak is a much more civilized way to travel and is inexpensive. If you are car-free like myself, the only option is to take Amtrak from Pacific Central Station in Vancouver as there is no station in the South of Fraser. If you own a vehicle, it is much more convenient to take the train from Bellingham as the train moves slowly through Canada due to our poor rail infrastructure.

For a while there has been calls to add a station back in South Surrey to give better rail access to South of Fraser residents which would shave an hour off the travel time on the train. So far adding another station in Canada has fallen on deaf ears, but what is there was another option that was easy to get to? According to the Surrey Leader:

Efforts to get a White Rock stop for Amtrak passenger trains have so far failed, but a new push is now on to use Blaine's historic train station just a short stroll across the border.

The idea is that Canadians – particularly from cities like Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford – could park near the Peace Arch border and board trains there to Seattle.

"It would have heavy Canadian usage as they could cross the border by foot or bike even," predicts Bill Becht, one of the Blaine residents behind the campaign to restore the shuttered station.

The issue has become urgent in Blaine since BNSF Railway applied for a permit to demolish the old station building.

There is a website setup and a movement called Save the Blaine Station which aims to prevent the demolition of the station and see it back in revenue service.

As a Langley resident, it would be great to see this station restored as I could take the pending TransLink Langley/White Rock bus to the US border and walk to the train station.

Surrey Transportation Debates

I received this in my inbox and though I'd pass it along.

If you feel transportation is an important subject for Surrey come to our transportation candidates' debates during the municipal election campaign. Here are some topics up for debate:

-88 Ave. congestion
-Container levy to help fund TransLink
-Park & Rides
-Light rail/Street car vs SkyTrain
-Bike lanes and bike routes
-Legal and illegal paving of Surrey
-Transportation with "Town Centres"
-TransLink governance

NOVEMBER 5, SATURDAY - 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Newton Library, 13795 70 Ave.

NOVEMBER 13, SUNDAY - 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Fleetwood Library, 15996 84 Ave.

Hear what City Councill candidates have to say. There will also be opportunities to question these candidates.

Hosted by: Surrey CiTI (Citizens Transportation Initiative)
Contact: ecolocooplib@yahoo.com

Scenes From Portland

If you want to see cutting edge local government at work, turn to Portland, Oregon. On all of the municipal vehicles it says, "City of Portland - A City That Works.

On the cusp of extremely efficient transit service delivery and a free downtown streetcar program, Portland makes greater Vancouver look sick. Add the massive bicycle infrastructure and huge amount of people that commute by bike, and you truly have a city that WORKS. I love Portland, can you tell?

Here are some photos I took in Portland during my few days here on business. I'll try to post more as the week progresses. Hope you enjoy an unusual glimpse into the City of Portland.

Need to drive a car?



Tired of crazy large recycling bins in Langley, if you can find one? These are everywhere in Portland...

Looking for a way to harness some energy from the roof of your commercial building?

























In Portland, even Starbucks Isn't "normal". You can buy beer and wine in a Portland Starbucks.

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
-- Steve Jobs

Transit Can Be Profitable

I spent many years living and working in Asia. I've used smart, modern and efficient transit in several cities, chiefly Singapore and Hong Kong. In both cities and more so in HK, millionaires use the city's MTR.

Recently, the former head of New York's MTA subway system left his $350K a year job to become the head of Hong Kong's Metro system at $1M annually. This at a time when pressure was being applied to reduce his NYC salary.

How can Hong Kong pay their director $1M per year? Very simple...because the transit system in HK makes money. Unlike the metro Vancouver area where private developers have been allowed to build office towers, condos, restaurants and other structures near SkyTrain stations, Singapore and Hong Kong reserve that right in a big way. That money from real estate ventures helps make the transit system profitable.

It should be noted that several years ago, TransLink created a real estate division. They have been operating fairly quietly and they only thing I've heard about them in the past 5 years or so, was the fact that they will develop some land near the new Langley Park & Ride at 86th Avenue and 200th Street. I also know that Langley area developers have been quietly assembling land in that area for office and mixed use (commercial & residential). Why didn't TransLink simply acquire the whole length of 86th Avenue before the announcement? Cash I gather. These negotiations to assemble and acquire land also require a high degree of confidentiality. I'm sure they will report their success in time.

Many years ago I worked on a Singapore project where biotech laboratories were being built to grow that industry in that city-state. While other cities would be installing perimeter fencing and razor ribbon, Singapore was busy planning their MRT to route itself right into the middle of this development, designing shops and restaurants to be located below the labs and providing for some housing options that created a mini city. Hong Kong is no different.

Here are a few articles regarding Hong Kong's successful transit funding model and this latest turn of events with the head of the NYC system moving across the pond. There is also a great audio interview available here on the subject of HK's success.

Building for Accessibility

This long weekend I went to Port Townsend, Washington to have a look at what is billed as one of the most walkable places this side of the Rockies and what the Province calls a “town oozing with European flair.” It certainly is a turn-of-the century North America town and is walkable in the sense that any small town is, but just like every other town, there are auto-oriented strip malls and sidewalks that go nowhere.

I happened to be visiting the town with a friend that uses a wheelchair to get around. In the US, they have a law called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that’s supposed to make public space inclusive for all. It’s been around since the early 1990’s and things are certainly better in the US than in Canada. But even with the ADA, it seems that government is still building places that aren’t accessible to everyone. You can’t really call your place walkable if everyone can’t get around.

Inaccessible sidewalk in Port Townsend, WA

Besides inaccessible crosswalks, the sidewalks in Port Townsend were in pretty rough shape.

Sidewalk in poor state of repair in Port Townsend, WA

Every crack, bump, or decorative brick is felt by someone that uses a mobility-assistant device. We went to another place that called Langley, Washington that did a better job at building an inclusive public space.

Accessible sidewalk in Langley, WA

Why should budget-constrained governments be building accessible public space anyway? Besides the matter of equitability, when you factor in our aging population, around 50% of us benefit directly from accessibly designed space. Even in the ADA world of the US, we ran into other problems like broken lifts and poor signage.

In Canada, we don’t have the same strict accessibility laws as the US. This is very clear in the South of Fraser where sidewalks dead end, don’t even exists, or where they are continuous, contain obstacles like utility poles, street lamps, and street furniture that block the way. Transit isn’t much better; many of the “accessible” bus stops in the South of Fraser have no way for someone to access them. What’s really sad about this situation is that while it will cost millions of dollars to build accessible infrastructure in our region, it still only a fraction of the cost of expanding roads. I priorities are upside down. When you build accessible public space, you build a space that benefits everyone. What looks better to you, Port Townsend or Langley, WA? At the end of the day, shouldn’t we be building our cities to accommodate all modes of transportation and all people?

Chicago - BRT over LRT

The City of Chicago is looking at a massive Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that will provide the city with 10 new BRT routes, covering nearly 100 miles. The data suggests that while Light Rail Transit (LRT) would cost $35M per mile to build, BRT would cost only $13M. I'm still reading all the details and it will be interesting to see if they compared the cost of maintenance to the mix. I've always been told that after 5 years, even the BRT buses start racking up the maintenance costs and that is where LRT becomes more economical. I'm sure this discussion must take place somewhere in their technical analysis.

Lots of reading for transit geeks here. The full report can be had here, including a technical analysis of the project. As you know, our very own TranLink has been having stakeholder and public consultation sessions for the Surrey Rapid Transit study area that includes Langley City. Both LRT and BRT are some of the four options that TransLink is studying. The other two include expansion of regular bus services and another options called "Best Bus", where the bus network would be tweaked to provide more efficiency and coverage.

It will be interesting to see TransLink's final numbers and final recommendations. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts and her Council traveled to Portland, OR and are advocating for LRT technology.

Urban Design Kills

Our passion for the automobile, wide open roads and the wind through our hair is killing people. A recent review of fatalities and survey by Transportation for America (PDF report here) reveals that Florida is among the most dangerous places for pedestrians. Over the past decade, almost 50,000 people have died in the USA alone because of our love for the open road. 688,000 pedestrian have been injured. That equates to someone being struck by a car or truck every 7 minutes in America.

The "Dangerous by Design" report is a sad commentary on our society and the things we place value in. Recently, some friends of mine complained about the City of Vancouver's elimination of roadway and the building of bike lanes. My response was, what does our society really value?

I was totally surprised to NOT see Los Angeles in the top 10 for the most dangerous cities for pedestrians. LA was ranked 27th on the Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI). I guess LA has lots of catching up to do compared with Florida. Take a look...

Los Angeles is #2 however for the number of accidents involving pedestrians that end in death. New York/New Jersey were #1. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, as this report makes it clear that over the past 10 years, pedestrian conflicts with vehicles has increased. I'm thankful that folks like Dan Burden are out there helping to reduce these conflicts and putting our roads in "diets".

Our bad habits and focus are killing people. Our elderly are most vulnerable to this carnage. We really need to end our obsession with the automobile and find efficient mass transit solutions for our cities. I long for the day that Langley, British Columbia offers choices for mass public transit, walkability and community design that puts the emphasis on people. Read this report and you sense the sober reality of where we have placed our passion and where that has led us.

BASELondon and Smarter Cities

BASELondon is a conference and trade show about "opportunities in a low-carbon London." The latest conference was last Wednesday. You can view presentations from the event on their website and many are worth looking at. IBM was also at the show with their Smarter Cities campaign and released an interesting infograph about what people in the UK think about their cities. You can read the full survey at IBM's website.

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Beyond this survey and even this event, smart businesses are starting to looking for new opportunities in the growing green economy and smart cities are looking to attract that business. Our region is at a cross-roads, we can either embrace the high-growth, green economy like Surrey is starting to do or be left behind as in the fossil fuel era.