NDP removing tolls on Vancouver bridges

[maryjane48]

there is no more gas stations in vancouvef city anymore. all gone. i should have been more clear . mass transit and ev type cars only . trying to paint that as ndp paints the bclibs as desperate and weak with no plan but to act like spoiled brats

[hobbyguy]

You mean where Gregor and Derek have been tearing out public parking? I would suggest they park in the stupid bike lanes. Less facetiously, try and find parking near a Sky Train station. Good luck!

The reality is that the dimbulbs that are Vancouver area mayors (except for Surrey and beyond) can't see the forest for the trees because they are too busy playing with their bicycles.

Simple facts:

1. Evergreen Line Sky Train cost: $127 million per kilometer.
2. Approx cost for dedicated commuter rail: $16 million per kilometer
3. Approx cost for dedicated bus lanes: $4 million per kilometer (electrified)

Ever stop to think that instead of HOV lanes and bicycle lanes, how much more efficient transit would be with dedicated bus lanes??

How many more areas can be economically served? Skytrain only averages about 40 kmh. You can get close to that with properly organized dedicated bus lanes. You can build 31 times as much transit using dedicated bus lanes. The new Port Mann could easily accommodate dedicated bus lanes. Dedicated bus lanes are surprisingly efficient: http://activetrans.org/blog/dedicated-bus-lanes-cleveland-major-success Note that buses dedicated for bus lanes are often equipped with devices to control traffic lights - so they don't get stuck at lights.

Instead of looking to tear down the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts (at a cost of $200 million) as dimbulb NDP Gregor plans, convert at least 1 lane each way as dedicated bus lanes. Presto, rapid transit at almost no cost! Dump the Burrard St. Bridge bicycle lane, and dedicate to buses. Run a dedicated lane out to UBC, connect it with the the Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts. Do it ALL for the cost of 2 kilometers of Sky Tran, or just the savings by NOT tearing down the viaducts.

But, dimbulb NDP Gregor prefers bicycle lanes to proper transit planning...

So no, there shouldn't be ANY tolls or mobility pricing. Just mayors that have a clue about what they are doing!

Surrey, by the way, wants LRT, which is much, much less costly than Sky Train, and Surrey has already started building dedicated bus lanes...

Dianne Watts for premier!

[Sparki55]

there is no more gas stations in vancouvef city anymore. all gone. i should have been more clear . mass transit and ev type cars only . trying to paint that as ndp paints the bclibs as desperate and weak with no plan but to act like spoiled brats

There is an esso station in Van, serving gas @ $1.41 a litre.

[Boda]

there is no more gas stations in vancouvef city anymore. all gone. i should have been more clear . mass transit and ev type cars only . trying to paint that as ndp paints the bclibs as desperate and weak with no plan but to act like spoiled brats

There is a gas station at 1205 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Z5.
Corner of Burrard & Davie.

[Carrs Landing Viking]

there is no more gas stations in vancouvef city anymore. all gone. i should have been more clear . mass transit and ev type cars only . trying to paint that as ndp paints the bclibs as desperate and weak with no plan but to act like spoiled brats

There are gas stations all over Vancouver. What planet do you live on?

[hobbyguy]

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/eliminating-tolls-might-be-a-bridge-too-far-for-bc-taxpayers/article36093123/

"All of that aside, getting rid of the tolls on the Port Mann Bridge alone will transfer more than $4-billion in debt from the bridge to taxpayer-supported debt. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver immediately criticized the decision as "high cost and low impact," and said the money would be better spent on "high return on investment decisions," for instance, child care, student housing and education. "It is disappointing that the first major measure that this government has taken to make life more affordable for British Columbians will add billions of dollars to taxpayer-supported debt," he said in a statement.

More than that, though, Mr. Weaver said that tolls are an excellent policy tool to manage transportation demand, which is true when they're fairly applied and when alternatives to driving are readily accessible and reliable. "Transport-demand management reduces pollution and emissions, alleviates congestion and helps pay for costly infrastructure. That's why, at the negotiating table when preparing our Confidence and Supply Agreement, we ensured that a commitment was included to work with the Mayors' Council consultation process to find a more fair and equitable way of funding transit in the long term," he said."

SNIP

"In the meantime, where are we? We have two bridges – both built and financed with the understanding that they would be paid for by tolls, now declared toll-free. We have a 10-year, $7.5-billion Metro Vancouver transportation plan with no sustainable way of financing it in the long term. We have billions of dollars in debt that now belongs to all B.C. taxpayers. And we have taken a step backward on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions."

Gawd, I'm glad I moved away from those idiots in the Vancouver NDP mayor complex.

Consider the dedicated bus lane idea. Low cost, uses existing infrastructure as a base, serves more areas. Do that first, that is, do what you CAN afford you dimbulbs! Yes, it removes some traffic lanes - which is partly what Andrew is getting to, but it offers a viable alternative at the same time. Billions and billions spent on Sky Train doesn't help the folks in Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Maple Ridge, etc. etc. If you don't live near, and work near Sky Train, it is useless!

Then start adding LRT as a replacement for dedicated bus lanes as the routes develop and you have the ridership. The routes can be along the dedicated bus lanes that prove to be most used.

And fer cryin' out loud quit playing with bicycle lanes - a solution to nothing.

[alfred2]

mj lives on ndp fantasy planet. there are plenty of gas stations in van and area

[36Drew]

there is no more gas stations in vancouvef city anymore. all gone

What the hell are you talking about? There's tons of gas stations in the city of vancouver. Theres *one* left in *downtown* Vancouver. That's one more than in "downtown" Kelowna (there's none north of Harvey). "Downtown" is not the entire city - just the downtown core

This is the City of Vancouver (west of Boundary Rd), with both downtown and the west end hilighted for you:

[Queen K]

Ok, MJ didn't quite have this right and ample evidence comes to the fore,

there is no more gas stations in vancouvef city anymore. all gone. i should have been more clear . mass transit and ev type cars only . trying to paint that as ndp paints the bclibs as desperate and weak with no plan but to act like spoiled brats

however, I wish to recount an experience I had when getting off the ferry at the Tsawassen terminal. We had a half of tank of gas and figured it'd be easy to find a gas station once off the ferry. This was not the case for a long, long time. We had a hell of a time finding a gas station and then, one emerged! We stopped in, not easily mind you, and filled up. After that it felt like many kilometers before we even saw anything resembling a gas station. In other words, had I not been able to get to the first station I spotted, we would have run out of gas.

On the second time we got on the ferry at Duke Point,headed for Tsawassen, I had made sure my tank was full before even thinking of getting into the ferry line up. And we checked to see if it was our imagination that we didn't see any gas stations for absolutely kilometers on end. Nope. One easy to get to and then after that? Nada.

Lesson? Have your gps because if you're counting on just seeing one, you may be out of luck for a long, long time. This may give an impression that there aren't that many gas stations. Having done this twice isn't much to go on but I won't leave Van. Island again without filling up.

[Carrs Landing Viking]

I have counted 86 gas stations in Vancouver. So that should end the no gas station in Vancouver theory.

[Urban Cowboy]

Off topic

[GrooveTunes]

Ok, MJ didn't quite have this right and ample evidence comes to the fore,

there is no more gas stations in vancouvef city anymore. all gone. i should have been more clear . mass transit and ev type cars only . trying to paint that as ndp paints the bclibs as desperate and weak with no plan but to act like spoiled brats

however, I wish to recount an experience I had when getting off the ferry at the Tsawassen terminal. We had a half of tank of gas and figured it'd be easy to find a gas station once off the ferry. This was not the case for a long, long time. We had a hell of a time finding a gas station and then, one emerged! We stopped in, not easily mind you, and filled up. After that it felt like many kilometers before we even saw anything resembling a gas station. In other words, had I not been able to get to the first station I spotted, we would have run out of gas.

On the second time we got on the ferry at Duke Point,headed for Tsawassen, I had made sure my tank was full before even thinking of getting into the ferry line up. And we checked to see if it was our imagination that we didn't see any gas stations for absolutely kilometers on end. Nope. One easy to get to and then after that? Nada.

Lesson? Have your gps because if you're counting on just seeing one, you may be out of luck for a long, long time. This may give an impression that there aren't that many gas stations. Having done this twice isn't much to go on but I won't leave Van. Island again without filling up.

There are 3 within 15 min of the terminal. 1/2 a tank of gas should get you to Abbotsford with ease which is only 83km. Do you drive a moped by any chance?

[lasnomadas]

*removed*
Removing the tolls on the Port Man and the Golden Ears is good plan to level the playing field, since there are already shadow tolls on most of the infrastructure that was built during the BC Liberal reign of terror anyway.

[36Drew]

Less facetiously, try and find parking near a Sky Train station. Good luck!

Granted there isn't much parking at some of the stations, you can park and ride at the following spots:

Coquitlam Center - Has park and ride
Port Moody - Has park and ride
Burquitlam - find a side street and park, plenty around but you may have to walk 500m to the station.
Lougheed - If it's the evening, you can most certainly get away with parking at the far end of the mall parking lot. Some limited side-street parking.
Sapperton - Some limited side-street parking. Go to New West Station. (In a pinch, you could "cheat" and pay the day-rate in the Royal Columbian parking - but that's a dick move).
New West - Park and Ride.
Royal Oak - Park on Palm
Joyce - Find a neighborhood street. Plenty of them.
29th - Same
Nanaimo - Same
Main Street - Easypark at Quebec and Terminal
Stadium / Chinatown - Underground below Costco (also good for events at the stadium...)
Waterfront - Impark lot at either end of the train station

I could go on, but you get the point. There's plenty of places to park along the line. If you can't find street parking, then you're going to pay for a spot... or you can catch a bus to the train.

[36Drew]

however, I wish to recount an experience I had when getting off the ferry at the Tsawassen terminal. We had a half of tank of gas and figured it'd be easy to find a gas station once off the ferry. This was not the case for a long, long time.

Just throwing this out there - once you exit the terminal and pass the few gas stations (on band land), you are on a freeway. That's highway 17. You then intersect with highway 99. All around you is basically farmland and swamp.

You won't find any gas stations on freeways (there aren't any on 97c or highway 5...), and they're certainly not going to build any on the farmland or swamp area.