Light rail on rail trail?

[Nedroj]

[b] a couple seabuses.....I'm in......

That keeps popping around in my head too, for many years now.

Water taxi's, Lake Bus'

Now that’s a good idea, have Vernon, Kelowna, west Kelowna, peachland/summerland, and penticton stops.

I wonder if we could perhaps buy back one of those fast cat passenger ferries we sold off dirt cheap.

[Urban Cowboy]

a couple seabuses.....I'm in......

That keeps popping around in my head too, for many years now.

Water taxi's, Lake Bus'

Now that’s a good idea, have Vernon, Kelowna, west Kelowna, peachland/summerland, and penticton stops.

[b]I wonder if we could perhaps buy back one of those fast cat passenger ferries we sold off dirt cheap.

Nope won't work. They were sold in the first place because they made too big waves, which probably irked the North Van types, so you'd see the same here with the lake shore property owners.

[Grandan]

Not all LRTs are super expensive. Vancouver and Calgary LRTs were expensive because they had absolutely no rail bed infrastructure and had to purchase a lot of land. They both required tunnels and other expensive things to work within dense cities.

Ottawa was able build their first O-Train LRT for less than 100 million. They were able to do that because they used an existing rail bed. Kelowna would also use an existing rail bed which would hugely lower costs.

Edmonton was also able to build their first LRT for less than 100 million back in the 1970s and they also used an existing rail bed.

A Kelowna LRT makes sense since it would connect 4 major destination hubs: downtown, central park shopping area, UBCO, and the airport. Anything that takes cars off of Harvey is a good thing.

Its a nice idea but there is little development beside the rail bed as it stands. A huge area of land beside the tracks is ALR land. I suppose that getting off the train and walking to Orchard Park from Dilworth and the rail trail intersection would be a popular trek.

If an LRT is built, it would need to be 2 tracks wide or at least have numerous passing lanes. It is not going to work if the train has to run on the basis of shuttling from Vernon to Kelowna.
I rode on the light rail that runs from Brunswick Md to Washington DC. There is a huge population that the train services but the numbers of passengers was not large. It took as long on the train as by car, the advantage was wifi on board allowing people to work for an hour on the train before they got to work and avoid the headache of traffic which is so much greater there than here it is laughable. They also do not have the topographical barriers that we see here with the numerous ridges and valleys that are impassable. Once the north end connector is pushed through the congestion on Spall will subside for a time. Plan for future LRT and keep the option open but don't bet the farm on it in our lifetime.

[Terris]

Given the rapid technological advances occurring with autonomous vehicle systems, I feel it would be wiser and more cost effective, to plan and establish the routes and requirements now for this type of regional service, using existing highways and roads.

This paradigm shift would also free up land currently being used simply to park our vehicles or those large plots used by car dealerships.

It would also reduce the costs and the need for policing and ambulance services and create more green spaces downtown.

Win, win, win I say...

The rail trail could be useful on a smaller scale for autonomous vehicles, say as a tourist service to the recreational areas in lake country for example or for downtown access to and from the airport and UBCO.

I don't foresee a future for mass ownership, and/or private operation of, petro-powered vehicles in large urban areas much beyond 20-25 yrs from now anyways...

[sillykitty]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Another factor.. a lot of places that have LRT have very high parking costs for folks driving to work.
Ours is not high enough to make folks consider alternatives.

[dirtybiker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM

Best post on this thread yet !

[RustyCrayon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM

Exactly!

[techrtr]

I'd love to see a return to more rail travel. Don't think Kelowna's big enough to make it profitable yet. It might get used a lot during the summer by tourists, but during the winter I bet it would be empty. Maybe Basran's thinking that all of those people driving in from Lake Country every day might take the train to work rather than drive.

Abbotsford or Chilliwack to Vancouver would be awesome though.

[Whyme2]

This thread is a joke. While we are considering forms of transportation, why not a Bullet Train. Osoyoos to Vernon in under 40minutes give or take.

[dirtybiker]

Yup, Business class air travel within the Valley makes just as much sense.
Little junket passenger planes hoping from town to town.

Yup, that'll fly.

[dle]

I'd love to see a return to more rail travel. Don't think Kelowna's big enough to make it profitable yet. It might get used a lot during the summer by tourists, but during the winter I bet it would be empty. Maybe Basran's thinking that all of those people driving in from Lake Country every day might take the train to work rather than drive.

Abbotsford or Chilliwack to Vancouver would be awesome though.

We used to - came right on through to Kamloops - passenger trains with compartments and berths....but it got too expensive, probably because no one was using it once we built better highways, and the Coq. Notice I did not put those two together - to me "better highways" does not = Coq but that's just me. It's only good a couple months of the year.

Anyhoo, I would love to see rail travel come back - I love the trains! It's so quick to fly to the Coast though so I doubt we will see it again. I have going across Canada by train on my bucket list...I would like to get off where ever I want, explore around for a few days, then get back on and chug off to the next place I want to see. The Mountaineer through the Rockies would be cool too but it's VERY expensive and you don't get to sleep on the train and it's just a short little trip for the cost.

[GordonH]

Via Rail still operates the closes station is Kamloops, as a kid passenger trains (Via-Rail) went via Salmon Arm (you get on or off)... Revelstoke & east.

Some day I'm planning on taking the Mountaineer.

[AlienSoldier]

VIA rail is federally owned, its schedule and stations were designed to help federal politicians win votes. That's why instead of going to larger towns such as Kelowna and Thunder Bay it goes through smaller places. It supports those area's where air and bus travel might not be as convenient.

a light rail network through Kelowna would be brilliant, it can help ease congestion as people might have a viable alternative to cars (provided the route is close to major locations).
It can also spur growth and a lot of jobs are created to build and maintain the operation.
The main drawback to light rail is that it is at street level, going through intersections can slow it down. Major cities build tunnels or bridges over intersections for these vehicles to stay on schedule and provide reliable service. If you have reliable service, people will be drawn to it, if not then no one will use it.

Its time for Kelowna to think like a City and act like one. This is one thing that all City's must do to ease congestion and support growth.

[Because_They_Lie]

IF you support Okanagan light rail you will in essence be supporting United Nations Agenda 21/Agenda 30. This will indicate to the "Decision Makers" that you are happy to give up your sovereignty as an "independent driver". Mark my words, this light rail offer might sound appealing but its only a stepping stone to the United Nations development of sustainable cities. Cities in which you are no longer sovereign. Look deeper and think long term. I say a LOUD NO!