Transport Action BC

The City should do all it can to encourage employers (including City Hall) to allow employees to receive transit passes or cash in lieu of employer-provided parking.
The City should get out of the business of providing off-street parking through the Downtown Parking Corporation. The provision of off-street parking by the City suggests that the City endorses automobile use.
A tax on parking is not acceptable unless it is applied to all lots above a given size in the region. Taxing only downtown parking or parking in the City would give suburban merchants and businesses an unfair advantage over the relatively transit-friendly city. Parking costs must be paid directly by the motorist, not passed on to all customers in the price of goods.
Commercially provided bus shelters must meet standards for weather protection and provide accurate, easy to read transit information in return for the privilege of selling advertising.

Bus service on major trunk routes in the City of Vancouver should be returned to pre-1980 levels. Current service levels to downtown and UBC are often inadequate for existing demand, let alone new riders. Improved headways will reduce delays at transfer points and make transit more competitive.
It would be more productive to improve service on existing routes than to introduce community bus routes in the City. Community buses may be applied in certain areas such as Spanish Banks but are unlikely to provide widespread utility.

Transport Action BC supports the measures presented in the report Transit Priority: Programs That Put People First, prepared for BC Transit in October 1994.
HOV lanes should be installed where the volume of people carried in transit vehicles exceeds that of automobiles on a per lane basis.
HOV lanes in the City should be open to buses and vanpools only in order to achieve maximum benefits and simplify enforcement and motorist comprehension.
Where congestion in the curb lane has a severe effect on buses, that lane should be designated for buses only (e.g. Granville from 5th to 16th).
Commercial vehicles, including taxis should be banned from the Granville Mall for safety and congestion related reasons. Only vehicles serving Mall infrastructure, such as Canada Post and BC Tel, should be permitted.
Upkeep of the Granville Mall (painting of street lights, graffiti clean-up, etc.) needs improvement. Better, whiter street lighting would help improve the night-time atmosphere.
Robson Street, between Howe and Hornby, should be returned to a transit mall, as designed and originally operated.

A suitable replacement for the trolleybus, one which provides all of its positive characteristics, has yet to be found. Transport Action BC appreciates City Council's support for the continuing operation of trolleybuses in Vancouver and hopes this will continue.
New downtown routes serving Yaletown, False Creek North, etc. should be trolleybus operated.
An articulated trolleybus was tested in Vancouver in 1974 but none have ever been ordered for Vancouver. Articulated trolleybuses should be considered again for use on frequent routes where ridership is limited by capacity (e.g. 3 Main/Robson, 8 Fraser/Davie, 9 Broadway, 10 UBC, 20 Granville/Victoria). The City should suggest that BC Transit test a low-floor, articulated trolleybus in Vancouver.

Plans for the False Creek heritage streetcar should be pursued with the goal of linking the South Shore of False Creek to Main Street SkyTrain Station, Gastown, Yaletown, the waterfront and Stanley Park. Recently retired PCC streetcars may be available from Toronto for use on this line.
Light Rail Transit (LRT) on the Broadway-Lougheed route is a priority. Consideration should be given to skipping the interim installation of Rapid Bus service in order to allow the more rapid construction of LRT and limit service disruption to new transit riders.
On-street corridors for LRT in the downtown area should be designated and protected for future use. This would help determine the locations of future amenities downtown.

The City policy of favouring pedestrians over other traffic does not seem to have been put into action.
Existing traffic circles used for traffic calming in Vancouver can have negative impacts on pedestrians since they do not slow cars enough and distract the attention of motorists from crossing pedestrians. Larger diameter traffic circles or the use of traffic circles and corner bulges in combination could alleviate these problems.
Traffic signal response times for pedestrians are often excessively long, especially during periods of light traffic. A maximum acceptable delay for pedestrians waiting at signals should be established.
Delayed walk signals which give priority to turning cars should be replaced with an immediate walk phase and a delayed automobile turning phase, as found in Montreal.

Do residents favour new community bus service or better service on the existing network?
Is there support for the creation of reserved bus lanes on major corridors?
Who should run transit? Province, region, municipality? Would valuable provincial funding be assured if a lower level of government provided the service? What about regional fare integration for a municipally operated service?
If the trolley system were abandoned, would the additional noise, fumes and vibration from diesel or natural gas buses be acceptable?
Can the False Creek Streetcar line and its prospective extensions be put forward as a plebiscite for the next civic election?

Vancouver transportation plan suggestions