Urban Connection: Linking Metro-Vancouver

To summarize, Route 1, or the Economical Express Line, may indicate the cheapest route possible from Willowbrook to King George but because it is plotted solely off of land use type and not density, it appears to be a very impractical route even if it could be used as an express line. Similarly, Route 2, or the Density Express Line, shows the route which travels through the densest tracts, but is also impractical as it does not take dwelling unit locations into consideration. Routes 1 and 2 had only taken one factor into account each, land use and density, respectively. Because of this, Route 3, the Least-Problematic line was created. It travels through the least dense census tracts, but has stations at the busiest intersections between Willowbrook and King George. This information (of busiest intersections) was found from the City of Langley Master Transportation Plan. It is at these intersections where I have proposed stations for the new train line. However, because the current Expo line skytrain platforms are 70-metres in length (Chan), plus the size of the station itself, I had to ensure the location of these stations could accommodate this length taking land use, density, and slope into account. Furthermore, the track is built within 75-metres on either side of, what I initially had as, major roads. This almost proved to be a satisfactory line, but some portions of the line strayed off of Fraser Street, running alongside less major arterials. However, just as the City of Langley and Surrey have indicated, I wanted the line to run completely along Fraser Street. After isolating Fraser Street, I was able to produce a map that shows a train route continuing from King George to downtown Langley, entitled the Surrey-Langley Connector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additionally, after conducting a regression analysis on the Langley population using data from 2006 and 2011, I found that there was a 15% of a relationship that census tracts grew due to their location. This implies that growth could occur elsewhere in the future, but for this project, I assumed that growth or decline, depending on the census                                                                                                       tract, was linear. However, by implementing a train                                                                                                         line in close proximity to residents, it may influence                                                                                                         census tracts to sustain or grow, as being located to                                                                                                       a train station promotes accessibility, which is now a                                                                                                       desirable attribute for residential neighbourhoods.                                                                                                         Although Patrick Condon indicates in his book,                                                                                                               Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities, that in                                                                                                           the early twentieth century, streetcar lines were                                                                                                              "provided before roads were improved or land [was]                                                                                                       subdivided for [residential and commercial lots], as                                                                                                       a necessary precondition for development" (18), this                                                                                                       concept is seemingly becoming a norm in modern                                                                                                         day planning as seen with the current                                                                                                                             developments surrounding the Marine Drive Station                                                                                                       along the Canada Line, and the developments                                                                                                               surrounding the Brentwood and Metrotown Stations                                                                                                       along the Millenium and Expo Lines. Therefore,                                                                                                               having a train line from Langley to Surrey could                                                                                                              promote population growth and economic activity                                                                                                          around the lines and especially near stations.

 

This project is a proposal to extend the Expo Skytrain Line from King George to Langley. Changes to this proposed line may arise depending on if it is suitable to keep the train elevated, at grade, or underground from King George. According to Jeff Nagel in his article "SkyTrain to Langley Top Rapid Transit Option for Surrey: Translink," the cost to continue the Skytrain from King George to the Langley core is $2.22B, this includes the added bus infrastructure to carry passengers from King Geroge south to Newton and east to Guilford. However, if this cost is too steep to continue the Skytrain line, a light-rail train (LRT) could be integrated - as is already in discussion between TransLink and the Cities of Surrey and Langley, and the proposed cost to

build an LRT is $2.18B. Although it is found that a lot of people

board transit at certain intersections with Fraser Street, it is

questionable where these riders are taking transit to, and if a

train line would support their travels. With a very similar cost

between the construction of a continued elevated SkyTrain line

and a newly integrated LRT-line, the benefits seem to be in

favour of the SkyTrain. The SkyTrain is able to accommodate

the most amount of people and can transport transients from

Langley to King George in twenty-two minutes. The at-grade

LRT-line, although argued complements the overall

neighbourhood character, is more likely to be unreliable and

will carry less people (Nagel). With the construction of a new

line of any sort comes a myriad of uncertainties, but with a

completed line, Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver

Regionial District will be better connected.