Wednesday, July 27, 2011

LRT - still no answers

I had a list of 20 questions about the LRT plan that I posted here about eight weeks ago, I have yet to get any answers from anyone for any of the questions.

The proposal to spend around $1 billion on a very flawed idea seems utterly insane to me.  Worst of all, there is no ongoing debate about major aspects of the proposal.  There are some voices speaking out pointing to the problems, but no one seems willing to defend the LRT proposal.

  • No one can show that the LRT will make any improvement to transit in this region - the BC Transit power point presentation does not show any data on how they came up with their numbers and does not address their errors in the presentation.
  • There is still the issue of the recommendation coming from a subsidiary of the company most likely to build the LRT.
  • There is no discussion of the impact to traffic in the CRD due to the loss of lanes on Douglas.
  • There is no comparison between the LRT proposal and improvements to the roads.
  • The financial numbers quoted for the benefits of the LRT are a black box with no indication of how they were created.   Based on the best current research out there, the numbers seem to be fundamentally flawed.   There is no debate on this.
  • The LRT will cause a significant rise in property taxes - is this what people want?   I understand BC Transit believes that the revenues from property taxes are too low and need to rise just on principle.
  • No one is stepping forward and saying they are avoiding using transit because it is a bus and will shift to the LRT if it is built.   Seriously, I have not heard of one person saying they would change their commuting if the LRT is built.   If you are out there and driving and will only change once there is an LRT, please let me know.  Even better, write a letter to the editor to let all the CRD know.
  • All the evidence seems to be pointing to the LRT causing a fall in transit use in this region.  The evidence I refer to is that the LRT has a lower capacity than the existing buses and the plans to make most trips on transit require a transfer.  Transfers are known to be a for transit use.

In general, the LRT proposal is badly thought and without any data to show the reason why it is a good solution.   All I can assume is that the supporters of the LRT have no data to show their idea makes any sense and are keeping quiet in hopes of getting the project to go ahead no matter what the public thinks.

If my concerns and issues were addressed, I would be a most enthusiastic supporter of the LRT.

1 comment:

David Bratzer said...

I live in Saanich. Unfortunately, I will rarely, if ever, use the LRT.

I go to West Shore about a dozen times per year. Usually the trip is to go to Costco to purchase bulk household goods. I can't see myself taking the LRT with so much stuff to carry on the way back.

We made a deliberate choice to live close enough to my place of employment (downtown) that I can bike into work. In order to do that we had to pay more for our house than someone in Colwood, but the flip side is that we pay less for transportation in terms of vehicles and gas.

If I wanted to take the LRT to work, I would have to bike to Uptown, lock up my bike, take the LRT downtown and then walk to my work. A twenty minute bike ride would become a fifty minute trip.

Obviously the decision to go with LRT is not going to be based on my personal lifestyle choices. That said I can't help feeling there are many others with similar living situations as me.