Please keep our bus service...

I read a depressing story in the Globe and Mail about funding issues and TransLink. This is nothing new, but the following comment gave me a bit of a scare.

So one result of the efficiency drive and the poor economy will be a shift in bus routes "to move from less productive service to more productive service," Mr. Jarvis said. That means routes with lower ridership may end up with longer waits between buses. He said those routes haven't been identified yet.

This comment basically means that TransLink will be shifting bus service from the South Fraser and moving it to Vancouver. This really sucks. It’s true that the South Fraser has less “productive” routes than Vancouver, but there is a reason.

TransLink has added many new bus routes in our region -I’m happy about the 364 and 595- but all these new services run every hour or half-hour. To attract riders, you need to run service every 15min or better. If we want to improve transit in the South Fraser, we need to be adding more 15min routes, not taking away service.

Taking away what little transit service we have will lock the South Fraser into single modal transpiration and give us no transportation options. I’m starting to like what Councilor Collette from Oregon Metro said at our event last week. If communities in the Portland area don’t like the transit service they are getting from the regional TriMet transit agency, they can start their own agency. In Portland, some have. With over 600,000 people in the South Fraser, I’m sure we could get a decent transit system. Maybe even light rail. Calgary did it with less people. Of course the reality is that the province controls transit in our region, so it’s really up to the province to step up to the plate and fix transit.

The Industrial Future of Langley

Last fall the Township of Langley hosted an economic development forum. I recently listened to some of the presentations, and will share some of interesting bits of information in a moment.

But first, the Township of Langley commissioned an Employment Lands Study which came back to Township council last week. It said there is enough land in existing urban areas for the next 20 or so years. Anyways, back to the forum.

Site Economics Ltd. gave a very interesting presentation. The presenter talked about higher density, mixed-use commercial and residential developments and how this kind of development is the future for Langley. He also said that industrial buildings will need up their densities and become more “eco-friendly”. He noted that both good road access and good transit access will be needed to attract the kind of development the Township wants. There is good road access in Langley, but we are missing good transit access. The controversial Campbell Heights Industrial Area was noted as an example of poor planning. It has poor road access, no rail access, no transit access, and is isolated. He also noted that Gloucester Industrial Estates suffers from isolation. These areas will not be as successful as areas like Port Kells which has good road and rail access, and is close to residential areas. The 200th Street corridor will be a good area for higher density mixed-use, industrial, residential, and commercial development. He said that Langley’s main area of growth is going to be with industrial uses. It was pointed out that Langley has about one job per person, but that about 60% of people are still traveling outside of Langley for work.

Clearly the missing link needed for Langley is good transit.

Update: STANTEC gave the employment lands study presentation to the Township of Langley.

News Update

First off, I wanted to point you to the Georgia Straight Online where an op-ed by Joe and me was published.

How is it that “unsustainable” Calgary has more sustainable transportation choices than the most livable region in the world? Well, there are many reasons. One obvious reason is that the province of B.C. decided to build the SkyTrain, which cost six times more than light rail would have cost us over the last three decades. This is only a symptom of a much larger issue in our region—a disconnect between land-use planning and transportation planning.

In other news… South Fraser OnTrax has always believed that building streetcars and light rail is about more than getting people from Point A to Point B. It is a community building tool that brings people together as well as brings increased economic activity. The US Federal government is now changing its rules for rapid transit funding to recognizes this fact.

In a major departure from Bush administration practice that could make it easier for Portland to grow its light rail and streetcar systems, the Obama administration said it will change the rules for funding mass transit projects.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced new funding guidelines for major transit projects will be based on livability issues such as economic development and environmental benefits – in addition to cost and fighting congestion.

You can read more at The Oregonian.

BC Ferries

Last week, I was in Victoria for work. I happened to get on the new Coastal Celebration. I snapped a few pictures to share on the blog.