News1130 is reporting that a new organization has been formed along West Broadway in Vancouver in an effort to keep future SkyTrain construction from creating economic chaos like it did along Cambie Street with the Canada Line. Merchants say they want the planned rapid transit line out to UBC built in such a way that it won’t hurt business.
They’ve seen the horrible times Cambie business owners have gone through due to Canada Line construction, and they don’t want the same thing to happen to them. Carl at ‘Salsa & Co.’ says he’s concerned that they’ve heard nothing so far from TransLink. “Well, I mean it’s still up for debate on what kind of train they’re putting through.”
He says many merchants think a street level train would be good for business, while digging up Broadway for a tunnel or an elevated line would be bad for business. A grass-roots town hall meeting to discuss concerns about possible Broadway rapid transit will be held next Tuesday evening at St. James Community Square.
Ken Hardie with TransLink says the project is in the very early stages and public consultation will happen later this year. TransLink has just awarded a contract to a company to begin the process of reviewing the options along the corridors to UBC. It will include consultation with many groups.
Hardie says it’s a ‘blank slate’ at this point, and he says no decisions have been made yet on where the line will go or on how the line will be built.
Photo: Stephen Rees
Last modified: April 7, 2009
For the record, I’m not totally sold on the idea of a Broadway Skytrain. But I don’t need to get to UBC everyday either.
That said, if they elected to go with a street-level train to avoid a Cambie-style massacre, what would be the likeliest location/route?
Good luck! An above ground train is an eye sore….merchant voters vs a large number of resident voters….who do you think is going to win this political game?
Abe Smith – I wonder if people from San Francisco consider their cable cars to be an “eye sore”.
Light rail, above ground, is cheaper, less environmentally destructive, and can eliminate the need for dedicated stations (have fun finding a lot of extra room for a station on the West Side).