On that note, I have posted some of the many maps from the book. These maps represent the transit system in its hayday during the 1930's and 1940's.
As you can see, Vancouver had a very well developed streetcar system.
If you take a close look at the streetcar route numbers, you can see that they mirror some of our current trolley bus route numbers. You can thank the streetcar and interurban systems for creating many of the cherished and people-friendly neighbourhoods in our region that exist today. The vast majority of these neighbourhoods were located alone these lines.
The Fraser Valley Interurban that we would like restored.
I find it very ironic that we tore up our streetcar and interurban systems in North America in the 1940's and 1950's to make room for the auto, only to start rebuilding them again (at a much higher cost) starting in the 1970's until present. Today we are realizing that we must place a greater importation on public transit if we are to see reductions in green-house-causing gases. Cities like Toronto were truly lucking in bypassing this costly mistake.