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An edited version of the following letter appeared on the
Vancouver Sun letters page.
The article "Freeway to Frustration" included a
quote from a driver you interviewed who suggested that "they
have to start getting ideas from the Americans". By this, he
presumably meant that we must build more and bigger roads. This
is ironic, since many American cities - including the freeway
capital of the world, Los Angeles - have recently built new urban
rail systems and have plans for extensions or new lines.
The Lower Mainland has the unique advantage of having spent
relatively little money building freeways (mere billions, rather
than tens of billions). I suggest that we should skip the Los
Angeles experience and go straight for the cheaper,
environmentally superior solution: a network of rapid transit
lines fed by frequent bus service which would be extremely
competitive with the private car, and as a side effect would
provide more room for those who need to drive. The result would
be more livable neighbourhoods, reduced noise and pollution, and
fewer injuries and deaths.
As a start, two light rail lines could be built, one from
Vancouver to the airport and Richmond, the other from UBC to
Lougheed mall area, for a total cost less than the cost of
upgrading highway 1 (reported to be $964 million). This cost is
predicated on a simple at grade light rail system constructed for
approximately the same cost per unit distance as other recently
built systems. In contrast, a recent report prepared for BC
Transit gives cars the priority, suggesting a less convenient and
vastly more expensive grade separated route because an at-grade
route might have a negative impact on car usage!
Or would you, the taxpayer, rather continue to subsidise
private car usage to the tune of $2.7 billion per year? (Source: "The
cost of transporting people in the Lower Mainland", GVRD
report)
James Strickland
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