Vancouver Transportation
Managing Transport Challenges When Oil Prices Rise - New Report
"Managing Transport Challenges When Oil Prices Rise, was commissioned by the Government's New Zealand Transport Agency as a response to rising petrol prices . . . The report calls for a fundamental shift in the Government's transport solutions - away from building more roads toward investing in alternative transport and maintaining existing roads."
Note that the newspaper headline below focuses on pricing, but the report is calling for a fundamental change in direction for infrastructure spending.
Now if this was only a Canadian government report, New Zealand has taken a significant step towards dealing with the reality of peak oil with this. But note that the direction is similar to what the Premier's Climate Action Team (CAT) reccomended to deal with global warming:
“Unfortunately, far too often, development patterns result in urban sprawl that creates an unnecessary increase in transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.” P 32
“Paying attention to the underlying development path offers the potential for the kinds of transformative changes in emission-causing activities that will be required to achieve climate-change goals” p 31
"Double the transportation mode share of cycling and walking in BC" p 32
http://www.livableregion.ca/blog/blogs/index.php/2008/08/06/half_baked_climate_action_team_report_re
The positive direction for dealing with global warming is the same as dealing with peak oil. What are we waiting for?
Drivers to pay for oil shock
EMILY WATT - The Dominion Post | Friday, 22 August 2008[snip]
The independent report, Managing Transport Challenges When Oil Prices Rise, was commissioned by the Government's New Zealand Transport Agency as a response to rising petrol prices.Petrol peaked at $2.19 a litre in July for 91 octane and has since fallen, but the report, by transport consultants from McCormick Rankin Cagney and academics, says high oil prices are a serious and urgent risk and predicts petrol will rise to $2.80 by 2014.
New Zealanders would be particularly stung by rising prices because of their over-reliance on cars. Currently 80 per cent of the population travel by private car and only 4 per cent by bus. Fourteen per cent is commercial.
The report calls for a fundamental shift in the Government's transport solutions - away from building more roads toward investing in alternative transport and maintaining existing roads.
It says most of the recommendations are low-cost and can be afforded within current land-transport budgets. Charging motorists the true cost of parking and using roads will raise funds to invest in alternative transport.
Drivers will be further discouraged by reallocating road space and slowing traffic to make roadways more pedestrian-friendly. Rather than widening roads, it says one existing lane should be for buses or car-pooling, leaving less room for private cars and making efficient options even more attractive.
[snip]
THE REPORT RECOMMENDS
* Fewer parking spaces in cities and higher parking fees
* Road pricing so drivers pay directly for the roads they use
* Charging businesses for how many car parks they provide to help fund road maintenance
* Encouraging businesses to offer cash or public transport subsidies instead of company cars and car parks
* Requiring new workplaces to provide showers and lockers so people can walk or bike
* Turning roads into cycle and pedestrian-friendly streets – reducing speed of traffic
* Tax incentives for fuel- efficient vehicles
* Encouraging denser land use with a mix of housing, retail and commercial properties so people have less need for cars
* More investment in public transport – bus and carpool lanes, park and ride stations, buses and trains, and electronic ticketing
see full article at http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4664442a6000.html
The full report is available at http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/research/reports/357.pdf
Cultivating the Web to Debut at Slow Food Nation
Cultivating the Web was created by the folks at Eat Well Guide (EWG), North America’s premier free online directory for finding local, sustainable food.
MLA Guy Gentner's SFPR vs Short Sea Shipping Report
Earlier I posted a Province article on this, but did not know the whole report was up on the web. I really think this is worth a careful read, and if you agree send Guy a note of thanks! You can reach him on his website, the link is at the bottom of this excerpt.
Rebuttal of the South Fraser Perimeter Road Project Assessment Report, 2008
In order to address the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) report on the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) as released July 25, 2008, I must begin by asking the question — what is the purpose of the road?
The purpose, as I understand it, is to provide a transportation route connecting Delta Port with the South Fraser dock and ultimately the Port Kells switch yard for the movement of containers by truck. The solution, as proposed by the dusted off 20 year old perimeter plan, tweaked a bit to give a token nod to environmental concerns, is in fact the most expensive and environmentally damaging option that the Campbell government could have chosen. That viable alternatives were not given due consideration, is the most shocking aspect of the report.
My critique is that the SFPR, if it moves forward as proposed, is not part of a comprehensive regional plan for moving goods. It is an old plan that will not address today’s concerns. What follows is only one aspect of many that rightly questions the methodology and the scope of the EAO report and its approval of a destructive route through Delta and North Surrey.
The scope or parameters of the SFPR project immediately takes for granted that there will be a road. From the beginning, the outset was pre-determined. The purpose as given in the terms of reference by the Ministry of Transportation is to
"…determine the most viable alignment for the corridor between Highway 91 and Highway 15 for a high standard (80 km/h) four lane facility with accesses restricted to appropriately spaced and located signalized intersections which in the long term are proposed to be converted to interchanges." (MOT Infrastructure Website — see References)
The project was subject to review under both the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act (BCEAA) and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) as a single harmonized review. As a result of a “harmonized review” the CEAA requires consideration of the rationale or need for the project and alternatives as part of the environmental assessment. Consequently, the provincial Ministry of Transportation included, and summarily dismissed, alternatives to the project such as increased use of rail and transit in its application.
For example, one striking alternative was virtually ignored — Short-Sea Shipping.
The 138 page EAO assessment gave the short-sea shipping alternative six lines of consideration. While citing the Greater Vancouver Short-Sea Container Shipping Study, a study by Novacorp with the newly named Port Metro Vancouver, Transport Canada, and FREMP (2005), the EAO assessment rejected short-sea shipping because
"it would not provide for goods leaving the Lower Mainland (i.e., requiring access to Highway 1) nor would it address the 50% of goods that move by truck, or traffic bound for the ferry terminal." (SFPR Report 2008, p.23)
However, that is not what the Novacorp study concluded. It is as if the Campbell government did not read the report at all or worse, deliberately ignored the findings of the Novacorp 2005 study. There are two important aspects to short-sea shipping that I will outline below: the economic viability and the environmental impact.
The study looked at viable “market penetration” and compared goods movement transit times, dwell times at the container terminals, and delivery costs compared to transporting goods by road. Short-sea shipping is deemed by this report to be a very viable alternative to goods movement by truck along the region.
"The Consulting Team has researched and analyzed the opportunities for such an integrated facility. The commercial advantages of this concept (and for a location with adjacent or nearby container businesses) are primarily related to the savings in drayage (trucking) costs around and amongst the congested road network of the region." (Novacorp 2005, p.14)
To make short-sea container shipping work up river, barge movements could not be less than 100 containers, return trip. However, Port Metro Vancouver says it could move much more. Chris Badger, Manager of Port Metro Vancouver Port operations, transportation, logistics and marketing stated that it’s highly feasible to take 200 trucks off the road in one barge pulled by a tug (Vancouver Sun, March 06, 2008). Gordon Houston, President and Chief Executive Officer, Port Metro Vancouver stated that it is feasible for a tug to pull 500 containers up the Fraser River (Delta Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, April 23, 2008).
The costs of tug and barge were calculated at four hours travel time between Roberts Bank and Fraser Surrey Docks (FSD); in other words, the calculation would be the equivalent of removing 25 containers along River Road per hour with every barge. Cost differences between Roberts Bank and FSD were very competitive.
"The comparison leads to the following preliminary conclusions:
• at barge-load volumes of 100 containers per round trip, short-sea service is at a distinct pricing disadvantage compared with truck transport;
• at barge-load volumes of 200 containers per round-trip (i.e., 100 containers each way), short-sea services on all routes become more price competitive, and on selected routes become directly competitive, with truck transport; and
• as barge-load volumes increase to 200 containers and higher per round-trip, short-sea services are expected to offer price advantages versus truck transport on some routes and become directly price competitive on other selected routes." (Emphasis mine, Novacorp 2005, p. 56)
[snip]
Full text at:
http://www.guygentner.ca/content/rebuttal-south-fraser-perimeter-road-project-assessment-report-2008
Rail for the Valley Update - Prepare for Sept 13 Rally
From Rail for the Valley:
Two important items (please read):
1) Preparing for September 13 - Chilliwack forum and rally - planning meeting on September 2
2) FLOOD THE PAPERS - SEPTEMBER 3 - Everyone can participate!
1) PREPARING FOR SEPTEMBER 13 - Chilliwack forum and rally
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With September coming, our campaign is beginning to reach another level. Recently, Rail For The Valley was voted TOP CLIMATE ACTION PROJECT IN BC by readers of The Tyee Newspaper.
People, this is it. Simply put, we have built stronger and stronger momentum and we need to now take advantage of it and seize the day. Tomorrow is not good enough.
The provinical government has just announced yet another "study" looking into passenger rail service for the Fraser Valley, that right now is set to be completed AFTER the provincial election. Here's an article from the Province: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=1ef2fd2a-629b-416b-bd49-21797f0b5dbf
This is not acceptable.
This issue has already been "studied" to death. The government is feeling the pressure now, big-time, because of our actions of this past year.
We must not let up.
This fall, with local elections coming up and possibly a federal election, we really have the chance to blow this issue out of the water. We absolutely must get our local politicians to - not just agree with us - but be truly forceful advocates for passenger rail and transit in the Fraser Valley.
It all starts in Chilliwack this September 13. Next up, Abbotsford.
If you live near Chilliwack, WE NEED YOUR HELP distributing colour pamphlets to thousands of Chilliwack citizens ahead of the big Sept. 13 public forum and rally. We also need help in organizing and volunteering for the event itself.
We will be holding an important planning and organizational meeting on Tuesday, September 2 at 7:00pm in the Chilliwack Public Library. Everyone is welcome. Again, if you want to get involved, NOW IS THE TIME!
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 at 7:00pm in the Chilliwack Public Library.
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2) Rail For The Valley - FLOOD THE PAPERS - September 3
ONE YEAR AGO TO THIS WEEK, in a spirited effort for our fledgling movement for passenger rail, dozens of people across the Fraser Valley flooded their newspapers with Letters to the Editor in support of passenger rail for the Fraser Valley.
That one big effort stampeded the issue into prominence in newspapers across the Fraser Valley. Brian Lewis of The Province commented: "If local politicians at all levels have any interest in re-election, they'd better start paying serious attention to a growing groundswell in the Fraser Valley."
Now, one year later and our movement strong, it is time for us to write some more letters - to put the issue permanently on the front-burner
ahead of local elections this fall. By each of us taking just 15 minutes of our time towards this one small act of writing a Letter to the Editor, together we can make a big difference.
This is an EMAIL event, so EVERYONE CAN PARTICIPATE NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE!
Go to www.railforthevalley.com, and click on "Rail For The Valley Campaign" to find instructions and newspaper email addresses. Thanks!
Macquarie model has one foot in the grave, the other foot on a banana skin
As reported earlier, the NY Times named Macquarie as one of the foreign banks with the most to lose from the subprime meltdown. Now this article explains, if I understand correctly, that Macquarie specialized in pulling similar repackaging tricks with questionable P3 assets. (That is, re-selling the paper to people who did not understand what they were buying.) But the party seems to be over for that shell game too.
What does this mean, simply that the public will need to basically co-sign for any financing involving Macquarie and take on virtually all the risk. There are no more sucker investors out there to transfer risk to, not once they read report like the one below. That seems to be what the One Bridge Crown Corporation is for.
It used to be that toll revenue was seen as very secure, but now that peak oil and global warming are the forces shaping decisions who would want to bank on it? Now more than ever "it's dreaming to imagine smart international operators won't build a dozen escape hatches into any PPP scheme to ensure they don't end up carrying the losses, if things go awry."
Thanks to Ned Jacobs for finding and circulating these articles!
Macquarie model has one foot in the grave, the other foot on a banana skin
Michael West
August 1, 2008 Sydney Morning HeraldIF THE Macquarie model is not dead, it is surely comatose and dangling upside-down with its claws superglued to the perch.
Despite touting a glamorous 14% yield, the latest stapled infrastructure float, BrisConnections, has tanked 60% on its sharemarket debut.
The main reason is that people have twigged to the financial engineer's lurk of the manufactured yield. That is, they now understand they are simply being given back their own money after the Macquarie machine had slapped the structure together, raised debt with their equity and stripped out the fees.
This one is an embarrassment for the Queensland Government and the state's largest fund, QIC, which is a major shareholder. However, the Government could boast, at a stretch, that it has got its financing for the $5 billion Airport Link project and that the fate of BrisCon and its shareholders is incidentally a matter for the private sector.
After all, retail investors are said to account for only 12% of the issue. Much of the rest is lumped with the underwriters, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and assorted Macquarie vehicles. Especially the latter.
It's a tad hard to tell from the cluster of nominee companies on the BrisCon top 20 shareholders list, but it appears Macquarie in-house entities account for 26%, or one-quarter of the $400 million issue.
The two tranches to come will make BrisCon a $1.2 billion issue but there is a prospect that, unless the stock bounces, investors will be reluctant to throw good money after bad. If market conditions deteriorate further it could even go to zero with $2 still to pay.
[snip] Full story at
http://business.smh.com.au/business/macquarie-model-has-one-foot-in-the-grave-the-other-foot-on-a-banana-skin-20080731-3o10.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Brian Rudman: Tunnel vision over PPPs is wrong
Wednesday August 13, 2008 New Zealand HeraldAnother election and once more politicians on the right are dangling the carrot of public private partnerships (PPP) for building roads and other infrastructure before a drooling commercial audience. Last week the National leader promised a John Key Government would "make greater use of public-private partnerships".
[snip]
Financial observers noted that the failure of other PPP projects such as Sydney's Lane Cove Tunnel and the Cross-City Tunnel now make investors nervous.
It wouldn't be so bad if it was only the private investors that suffered, but the public partner is too often the fall guy. Earlier this year, the British Government had to bail out the banks funding the private consortium that went bust modernising the London underground to the tune of $4.65 billion of taxpayers' money.
A commentator in the Independent observed: "the Metronet loans would have been much cheaper to finance had the whole thing been done through the public sector, yet under the terms of the PPP, the Government was obliged to redeem the great bulk of them in any case.
"The primary justification for the PPP - that it would transfer the risk of the project on to the private sector, be more efficient and enable expenditure that the public sector couldn't otherwise afford - was shown to be a sham".
Proponents will argue that nothing like that could happen here. But it's dreaming to imagine smart international operators won't build a dozen escape hatches into any PPP scheme to ensure they don't end up carrying the losses, if things go awry.
When the Waterview PPP steering group was announced, I pointed to comments made by Mark Binns, chief executive of Fletcher Construction, the country's largest construction contractor, writing in the Herald during the Eastern Highway furore in November 2002. The PPP concept, he said, "is not the panacea for the country's significant infrastructure requirements".
He talked of the skyrocketing costs involved in the initial bidding and then for both the successful bidder and the Government, the costs and time delays involved in pinning down all the legal agreements.
[snip]
Full story at
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10526676
Sustainable Transportation needs Transport Heroes
This coming Sunday, August 24th, transit bloggers Paul Hillsdon and myself, Karen Fung, would like to invite members of the public to participate in a unique event called Transport Hero Camp.
This is a three-hour participant-led open session around Sustainable Transportation. What makes this unique is that this event is part of a Youth Summit sponsored by the Canadian Urban Transit Association and hosted in part by TransLink and BC Transit. The aim with this Youth Summit is to inspire and support youth from across Canada (aged 17-25) in brainstorming and launching projects on sustainable transportation in their hometowns.
Many participants this weekend will undoubtedly go on to become transportation advocates and industry professionals in the years to come. We're inviting you as community members to the this open session to seed the sort of leadership that will be required to bring make sustainable transit a reality in the future - leadership based on openness, transparency, collaboration and dialogue. We think you have great stories to share, valuable experiences that everyone can learn from, and - above all else - we want to have fun!
Bring your Super Hero cape and whatever it is you use to channel your creativity, and we hope to see you there!
Details: Sunday, August 24, 2008, 1:30 to 4:45. UBC Gage Tower, Isabel McInnes room. (Google Map)
- More info at Transport Hero Camp Wiki
Flyer E901
Brill Badge
AaverageJoe has added a photo to the pool:
The Canadian Car Brill badge on the front of 1948 vintage Vancouver trolley bus #2040.
BC Hydro Transit
AaverageJoe has added a photo to the pool:
The BC Hydro Transit logo on the front of 1954 vintage Vancouver trolley bus #2416.
the barber's bust stop
mordechai dangerfield has added a photo to the pool:
Zoom Airlines Goes Bust
Zoom Airlines B767-300ER
I saw this story on the CBC this evening and no doubt it will be all over the press in the morning. As usual passengers were given no warning as creditors slapped court orders onto planes.
I travelled by Zoom for the first - and only - time this year, when I went to London and back from Paris. They were very cheap compared to Air Canada and generally similar in terms of service quality, although the planes seemed a bit shabby and the interiors worn. I did wonder about their viability - I have been writing here for some time about the effect of rising fuel costs on airtlines - so I loaded up on flight insurance before we left. As usual the tv news managed to find some tearful people who were trying hard to make other arrangements, and finding the price of last minute ticket purchases to get home very expensive. It is not as if this was an unfamilar story - any more than the Gulf Coast being the target of hurricanes, but as usual many are unprepared.
There will be other similar stories in the coming months. More airlines will go to the wall. Demand for air travel has also started to decline, as the economy begins to adjust to the new reality. But I wonder how long it will take for the boosters - the people who back Gateway and airport expansions - to wake up?
Death leads to call for physically separated cycling network
SURREY - The recent tragic death of a cyclist in Surrey has city council candidate Paul Hillsdon leading the call for safe cycling facilities across the city. The cyclist, in his 50’s, was hit from behind by a Honda Accord in Newton, and was pronounced dead at the scene. One of Hillsdon’s main platform pillars is sustainable transportation and his vision for cycling is bold - putting safety of the rider first and foremost.
“On average, bikes travel 15 km/h, while cars and trucks go 60 km/h +. Why these two forms of transportation are designated one and the same is beyond absurd,” said Hillsdon. “Surrey has, at best, bike lanes on some roads, and a thin white line of paint is not, and was not in this case, safe to cycle on. If a cycling route is not safe enough for a child or a senior to ride, then it is not safe.” Hillsdon’s vision calls for a three pronged cycling network across Surrey. Neighbourhood roads would be traffic calmed with bike lanes, recreational greenways would meander through parks and natural spaces, while all major arterial streets would feature physically separated bike paths. Physical separation could be achieved through relatively cheap means such as bollards, cement blocks, or even small plant-filled boulevards. “People should not have to fear for their lives on a bicycle. Over 1/3 of all citizens in cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam use bikes as their main form of transport and it’s because the main travel routes are physically separated from the roadway and cars. It’s not rocket science!” “If we want to get people out of their cars and onto bicycles, we need a safe network and this will only be achieved be showing leadership in the region and building physically separated bike routes along major arterials in Surrey. Cyclists like myself will not stand idly by while cars kill us for choosing a healthy, and environmentally friendly, mode of transport.”
We must protest Highway to Hell
Tom Sandborn, Vancouver Courier
Nothing you have not already read here, but this is a neat summary. And, as he says, while they still do not have federal sign off, it seems very unlikely that the civil servants at Health Canada and Environment Canada who raised some very important questions will get any backing from their political masters. Stephen Harper seems to regard the melting of the polar ice cap as simply an opportunity to drill for more oil. The fact that this may also lead to military confrontation with the Russians is probably a bonus from his perspective.
Protest all you like, it will not stop the Gateway. I happen to think that a legal challenge might. Despite the lax nature of the gutted legislation, even the most cursory glance through the documents submitted for the EA shows that there was no due diligence. The gaps and errors are glaring. The whole process was a sham. The government owes the people a duty of care and it is quite clear that narrow vested interest has overridden the public good. And I think it would not be too hard to get a judge to agree and get a writ requiring that they do the job properly. But it would, of course, be expensive. The law is open to everyone, just like the Ritz Hotel.
Train In Motion
leucedeuce has added a photo to the pool:
Skytrain as it leaves the Main St. Station in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
P3 Preferred Bidder announced for PM / Hwy 1
"No details, including price, have been negotiated yet." What the article does not mention is that the federal environmental assessment is not complete, and this could add hundreds of millions to the price tag.
The selected bidder BC Connect includes Australia's Macquarie Group who made the NY Times for being a foreign bank particularly exposed to the subprime mortgage meltdown. Which means that they probably have very little ability to borrow money at reasonable rates. Guess who get to underwrite the whole thing if it goes ahead? We do.
The Vancouver Sun not only has an article about the announcement, but a great bunch of intelligent on-line comments from thoughtful people, like this one:
The Realist
Tue, Aug 19, 08 at 08:19 PM
My only question is; What took so long? To all you psycho-hippy-envirionMENTALists, who are already thinking of chaining themselves to the bridge to stop construction, think about this. The current traffic situation is creating MORE pollution from thousands of idling cars everyday. Think about the amount of pollution they create idling (err crawling) along to get over the bridge everyday. In the perfect world, yes everyone would ride their bike to work. But THIS is Vancouver where it rains. And I live in Langley and work in Burnaby. Also I don't feel like riding a bus for two and a half hours. And somehow dropping my kids off and picking them up from daycare. Sorry but no thanks. But again; What took so long?
Port Mann twinning to start this year
International consortium expected to build and operate controversial project
Allison Cross, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2008METRO VANCOUVER - Construction on the controversial twinning of the Port Mann Bridge will start later this year, the B.C. transportation ministry said Tuesday as it identified a group of companies selected to negotiate a contract to build the project.
The group, called BC Connect, includes Australia's Macquarie Group; U.S.-based Transtoll Inc., Flatiron Constructors Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of a U.S. company; and Metro Vancouver's Peter Kiewit Sons Co.
Kiewit is already upgrading and will operate the Sea to Sky Highway.
The proposed Port Mann Bridge project.View Larger Image View Larger Image
The proposed Port Mann Bridge project."The project details are up for negotiation," ministry spokesman Dave Crebo said, adding that BC Connect was one of three groups vying to be named the preferred proponent. "It is just one step in the process."
No details, including price, have been negotiated yet.
The project is part of the provincial government's controversial Gateway Program, which also includes the widening of the Trans-Canada Highway from the McGill interchange in Vancouver to 216th Street in Langley.
The project has faced significant opposition from some municipalities in Metro Vancouver and environmental groups, claiming that instead of reducing traffic congestion, it will encourage suburban sprawl in the Fraser Valley.
Opponents also say such a massive project dedicated to highway expansion flies in the face of the provincial government's commitment to green projects and infrastructure.
The twinned Port Mann Bridge will be tolled to pay for the project. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon had said the Patullo Bridge linking Surrey and New Westminster would remain as a free option for commuters crossing the Fraser River.
But last month, TransLink began planning for a replacement for the Patullo Bridge, and said it will be tolled as well because there is no other way to pay for the replacement of the aging structure.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said he was discouraged by the Gateway announcement, and knows he is not the only one who feels that way.
"I joined a significant group of people that have been opposed to the project. The City of Vancouver is opposed. The City of New Westminster is opposed. Environmentalists are opposed to the project," he said.
Corrigan, who also chairs Metro Vancouver's land use and transportation committee, said catering to vehicles will do little to reduce traffic.
"Realistically, no one in the Western world has built themselves out of congestion and no one is ever going to," he said. "The streets in Burnaby, New Westminster and Vancouver can't take the extra traffic. There's no possible way."
Part of the effort should be redirected to creating more independent communities in the Fraser Valley, Corrigan said.
"Don't make a community where they always have to cross a bridge to get to work," he said. "I'd like to see Surrey have its own downtown as vibrant as downtown Vancouver."
The twinning of the bridge may not be a long-term solution, said Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt, but few things are in a growing economy.
"You want to attract goods and services coming to this area," said Hunt, who backs the Gateway project. "When you think the lineup for the Port Mann Bridge (on the Surrey side) is seven miles long on a normal working day, think of all the emissions coming from those vehicles that are idling."
Trucks coming into Metro Vancouver from across Canada and the U.S. are forced to idle in that lineup, costing the economy billions of dollars, he said.
There will be time to allocate lanes on the new bridge to commercial licence holders, cyclists and rapid transit, he said.
"I think the project is good," he said. "It's the right thing to do."
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5a8cc3ba-94df-48f2-b7aa-77737a2ba079
Mark II Manual Override
AaverageJoe has added a photo to the pool:
Vancouver: The manual controls of a Mark II SkyTrain car, complete with throttle, speedometer, horn, phasers and photon torpedoes.
Trucking Companies Take to the Water to Save Fuel
Just another indication that Gateway is a project for a past that has disappeared. The age of cheap oil is over, time to move on to what can work in this new era. Building fatter freeways is now about the dumbest economic move anyone could conceive of, even ignoring the crisis of global warming.
"Britain's waterways are on the brink of an astonishing revival – and some of the UK's biggest trucking firms are leading the way."
The good thing is, at least some of our politicians support shifting to barge from trucks.
Soaring fuel prices and green pressures herald comeback for Britain's waterways
Tesco and Eddie Stobart are among firms taking to the water to beat congestion and reduce costs. Hannah Godfrey reportsSunday, 10 August 2008
PA
Tesco, one of several major firms now using the UK's waterways, transports wine on barges from Liverpool to its bottling plant in Irlam, Manchester, taking 50 lorries a week off the region's roads
Britain's waterways are on the brink of an astonishing revival – and some of the UK's biggest trucking firms are leading the way. The UK's long-neglected latticework of canals and rivers, which once helped to jump-start the industrial revolution, are poised for a renaissance.
Growing traffic jams, rising fuel prices and environmental pressures are driving the boom, according to industry experts, to such an extent that many shipping and barge companies say they have received more inquiries about transporting goods by water in the past 18 months than they have had in 20 years. Some companies that have traditionally used roads are now appointing managers to mastermind their expansion on to water.
Eddie Stobart, one of the country's biggest road-haulage firms, has invested in a port on the Manchester Ship Canal and plans to expand its waterways routes. "It might seem odd that one of the goals of Britain's biggest branded truck company is to get trucks off the road, but that is exactly what we are trying to do," Julie Gaskell, a spokeswoman for the firm, said.
"It seems ironic that we are now looking to revive more traditional modes of transport, but new pressures such as congestion, rising fuel prices and the environment mean the old methods are becoming viable again," she added.
Several major companies, including Tesco and Sainsbury's, have already switched thousands of tons of freight on to ships and barges, while the international courier firm DHL is looking to move urgent mail from central London to Heathrow by speedboat to avoid congestion in the capital. Tesco transports new world wine by sea and water to its bottling plant at Irlam on the Manchester Ship Canal. The scheme, which involves three journeys a week and moves an estimated 600,000 litres of wine along a 40-mile stretch of the canal from Liverpool to Manchester, takes 50 lorries off the roads each week. Tesco says it plans to expand the scheme, saving an estimated 3,500 lorry movements by the year's end.
In London, Sainsbury's is considering shipping goods from a depot in south-east London to stores in west London via the Thames. On the Severn, Cemex, a manufacturer of cement and other building materials, is moving more than 270,000 tons of sand and gravel to its plant in Ryall in Worcestershire, saving around 34,000 lorry journeys a year.
Despite such moves to water, industry experts say the potential is being frustrated by a lack of planning and imagination by the Government, local authorities and British Waterways, the body which runs much of the UK's canal network.
A proposal to build a commercial wharf at Staines, near Heathrow, to enable cargo to be transferred down the Thames from Tilbury docks or the proposed Thames Gateway port, saving tens of thousands of lorry journeys around the M25 or through central London, was not pursued by the Environment Agency. The plan would have seen cargo switched to train or road at Staines to be transported to destinations in Wales and the west of England. If built in time, it could have also been used to move materials to and from Heathrow's Terminal 5.
British Waterways regards itself primarily as a "heritage and leisure organisation", and critics say it fails to give sufficient priority to freight. Vital wharves are being sold for waterfront development schemes, according to transport experts. In central Leeds, aggregates firm Lafarge's lease on a wharf on the Aire & Calder canal was not renewed as the land had been marked for development. The firm was forced to build a new wharf outside the city, transporting its sand and gravel into Leeds by lorry.
So many of London's wharves were sold off to developers that those that remain have protected status. In February 2007, the parliamentary transport select committee said that wharf protection should be extended to the rest of the country. The Government has yet to respond.
British Waterways denies the allegations and points to its development of the Prescott Lock in east London, which will enable boats to access the Bow Back river to reach the 2012 Olympics site. It estimates it will save as many as 1,000 lorry journeys on local roads each week. Critics claim planning was poor and all the major excavation work on the Olympics site was completed and rubble removed by road before it came into operation.
Ed Fox, head of communications at British Waterways, said: "Britain is covered with castles that were built in medieval times when people had to protect themselves from invaders, but there are no longer battles, and no one is suggesting that we restore them to their original function. Why should it be different for canals? We can't influence the prevailing economics. The amount of subsidies given to canal transport dwindles into insignificance alongside those given to roads, because canals are not judged to be a transport network."
John Dodwell, chairman of the Commercial Boat Operators Association, said the benefits of the waterways could be realised more quickly if the Government moved to end what he called "business inertia". "In cases where it would cost £11 per tonne to transport some cargo by road and £10 per tonne to transport it by water, companies often stick with road, because it is the tried-and-tested option." He said government incentives would help companies to make the shift to water.
Francis Power, chairman of consultants Sea and Water, says the Government supports transport of freight on water but has failed to take action. "Just saying you support freight doesn't change anything," he said.
Barges, Not Gateway - NDP MLA Guy Gentner
Congratulation to MLA Guy Gentner (NDP-Delta North)! It is about time the NDP started pointing out the blatant contradictions in Campbell's climate policies, instead of shooting themselves in the foot over the carbon tax. (Note - August is a best time of year to quietly drop a campaign and change direction.)
But barges should not be thought of as just an efficient low-carbon way of moving goods around the lower mainland. Logical destinations include Victoria, Nanaimo, and Washington State ports including Seattle. Combine this with increased use of rail for inland destinations, and we could take a very large proportion of heavy trucks off all the major truck routes in the region. This would greatly reduce local pollution and GHG emissions as well as reducing the death rate from crashes. It would also eliminate the rationale for the whole Gateway Program and well as other planned highway expansions in the region.
But there is one big catch, the Gateway Council wants to use short sea shipping as a way to access new industrial areas upstream from the Port Mann Bridge. This means:
- Paving over sensitive undisturbed wetlands and agricultural land for industrial facilities
- Increasing barge traffic (and perhaps dredging) in the crucial salmon habitat in the gravel reach of the Fraser
- Overbuilding container facilities when our present facilities are grossly underutilized and container shipping to North America is on the decline. (This will likely be a permanent decline due to peak oil and global warming. Peak oil means peak globalization.)
Short sea shipping needs to be limited to existing industrial areas on the Fraser. But there are lots of vacant facilities that already have barge facilities. The tugs also need to burn low-sulfur diesel and have modern pollution control, but this can be retrofitted on existing tugs.
Fraser River works as transport route
Environmental impact less when containers put on barges
Brian Lewis, The Province
Published: Tuesday, August 12, 2008A report commissioned by local port authorities but virtually ignored by the B.C. government for more than three years now raises serious doubts about the economic viability of building the $1-billion South Fraser Perimeter Road.
In fact, the holes it opens in the so-called rationale for this 40-kilometre, four-lane truck freeway through Delta farmland and Burns Bog are large enough to drive an 18-wheel container truck through.
Perhaps its biggest flaw is Victoria's failure to look seriously at alternatives for moving more shipping containers to and from an expanding Deltaport at Roberts Bank.
One alternative is to move more shipping containers through Deltaport in the same way both First Nations and the early European settlers moved goods -- by using the Fraser River.
As the 112-page report by Novacorp International concluded in 2005, it is economically feasible to transfer huge numbers of containers to and from container ships at Roberts Bank by using Fraser River barges for ongoing distribution via rail or truck well outside the Greater Vancouver core.
A barge carrying up to 500 containers and towed by one tug is far more cost effective and environmentally friendly than 500 trucks carrying one container each, then driving through farms and communities south of the lower Fraser.
This report is now being circulated, thanks to MLA Guy Gentner (NDP-Delta North), who drew on its contents during his rebuttal of the B.C. government's recent acceptance of its Environmental Assessment Office's review and green light on the project.
As Gentner says, the SFPR is an obsolete, 20-year-old idea being rammed down taxpayer throats in today's fast-changing world where very high fuel costs and strong concerns about pollution trump the old-fashioned "rubber-on-the-road" shipping solutions.
"It [the SFPR] is, in fact, the most expensive and environmentally damaging option that the Campbell government could have chosen," he says.
Unbelievably, he points out, the Environmental Assessment Office's review gave just a scant six lines in its 138-page report to the river option called "short sea shipping," which is widely used in Europe and elsewhere.
For one thing, the Novacorp study looked at delivery costs compared to transporting goods by road and found that the economics of short sea shipping do indeed work.
Key executives within the port authority are also on the record for having spoken very favourably about the benefits of short sea shipping.
And environmentalists should absolutely love the concept because the Novacorp study found, for example, that there would be a 277-per-cent reduction in emissions in moving 200 containers by barge from Roberts Bank to Fraser Surrey Docks rather than by truck on the SFPR.
"The assessment office ran rough-shod over community concerns, environmental impacts and economic alternatives," Gentner claims.
Finally, short of SFPR opponents asking for a judicial review, Gentner says that, if his party wins next May's provincial election, it will take a second look at the SFPR project, before its construction begins later in 2009.
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If you have a story idea or note-worthy item about anything going on in the Fraser Valley, you can e-mail Brian at blewis@theprovince.com
© The Vancouver Province 2008
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/columnists/story.html?id=321596e2-b1a7-4877-aa80-c622fb725b71
Time for action not studies
An announcement of yet another study into transit for the South of the Fraser has been greeted with an unusually stongly worded response from an Asper newspaper. The study will look at lots of things, apparently, and include the use of the old interurban line but it is not going to report before the election.
You would be right in thinking that this is not sitting well with advocates for Rail of the Valley. Becuase commissioning a study is the easiest way to put off a decision. It gives the impression of activity when in fact nothing changes. Except in this case it looks like the Minister of Transport is acting with indecent haste to get his favourite highway project moving even though he does not yet have the necessary approvals in place or a P3 partner, come to that. Because Kevin Falcon would much prefer to see much more highway oriented development than a change in direction.
There actually is no reason at all for not proceeding now with a demonstration project. This would not be difficult to do - or much more expensive than the consultants. The difficulty for the government of course is that they could not control the outcome. Becuase even if their favoured consultants do surprise them by admitting that there is a case for rail for the valley. it is easy to bury reports - after all, that has been done more than once on this issue. On the other hand if people show that they will actually use a trial project it is much harder to kill the idea.
This government is no longer popular. Unfortunately, the crunch issue seems to be the carbon tax. And the big pay rise for senior civil servants. Although Campbell’s personal rating is low, so is that of Carol James. And when reporting a province wide poll, no attention is paid to local issues. I think it is probably fair to assume that most people south of the Fraser still think that twinning the Port Mann is a good idea - in just the same way that so many Americans are convinced against all the evidence that drilling in hitherto protected areas will help reduce gas prices. But in both cases, the response ought to be - why are we so unwilling to improve the choice that people have? Yes we are currently car dependent - in both the US and South of the Fraser. So of course we are concerned about traffic congestion and gas prices. Those both have immediate impact on individuals and how they think. But people are also well aware that they have been consistently lied to. That there never was any real doubt about global warming - just a campaign of misinformation funded by the oil companies. They will also recall that building the Alex Fraser Bridge did not cure congestion for very long.
At the polls South of the Fraser next year some other issues will surface - that may not reflect widely outside the region but will certainly affect some formerly safe Liberal seats. Delta will not soon forget the TFN treaty, the power lines and the SFPR. North Surrey will also still be smarting, and places like Bolivar Heights will be a warning to those who live along Highway 1. But also the people who have been asking for improved transit for years will still be wondering why, once again, the City of Vancouver’s West Side seems to get favoured treatment (the UBC tube train) and the lack of basic transit service in Surrey, Langley and elsewhere is once again put on the back burner - even with threats of service cuts if Translink does not get to dip into their pockets again.
There is going to be a rally in Chilliwack on September 13. I hope to see some of you there. And prior to that a letter to the editor campaign - see www.railforthevalley.com, and click on “Rail For The Valley Campaign” to find instructions and newspaper email addresses.
UPDATE Friday 29 August
Nathan Pachal and Joe Zaccaria talk to the Langley Advance
downtown.construction
StuartMatthews has added a photo to the pool:
