Where technical constraints dictate, sections of the line can be built on an elevated guideway or in a tunnel, like SkyTrain. Running at surface, LRT is segregated from car traffic, with driver controlling traffic signals and no stairs at stations. Its flexibility to operate in its own lanes next to traffic, or fully grade-separated, allows for easy integration in diverse urban and suburban settings. LRT is the most flexible urban rail technology and has been implemented in countless cities around the world, including Portland, Calgary and Toronto. I believe neither is suitable for the North Shore, and that LRT best meets our needs. Others have advocated for costly and intrusive SkyTrain technology. TransLink also named this corridor as a priority in their 2050 plan, but only committed to buses for the foreseeable future. So where are we at now? A pair of consulting studies were completed, which re-affirmed the merits of the West Van-Metrotown route but left the rapid transit technology undetermined. The North Shore’s density is clearly focused in a series of hubs along a relatively straight line near the waterfront, while Burnaby’s hubs are some of the densest places in Metro, and offer direct SkyTrain connections to the rest of the region, where much of the North Shore’s workforce is based. This line would generate excellent ridership in both directions, throughout the day, and serve recreational destinations on weekends, when bridge traffic is often at its worst. The inclusion of Burnaby’s residents and jobs raised eyebrows across the region, as the current numbers blow away the UBC subway, while clearly delivering broader benefits, including the potential removal of 50,000 cars from the two bridges on a typical weekday and serving 20 per cent of long-term regional growth (only two per cent at Point Grey-UBC). Since that time, we extended our study to add LRT between Phibbs Exchange and Metrotown, by way of a new or refurbished multi-modal harbour crossing (including trucks and freight rail) with stops at a new PNE West Coast Express station, the Millennium Line at Brentwood, BCIT and the Expo Line at Metrotown. The North Shore, on its own, performed roughly equal to the costly Arbutus-UBC subway proposal, and significantly better than projects in Surrey. The numbers surprised many politicians, who had long assumed that buses would be the ultimate form of transport on the North Shore. My research team had conducted a study to determine the number of residents and jobs that would be served within a short five-minute walk of a light rail transit (LRT) line stretching between Ambleside and Capilano University (400 metres is the critical area for generating ridership). Based on evidence, I said that this needed to get done in 10 years, not in the long term. Four years ago, in this newspaper, I declared that the North Shore needs rapid transit now.
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