Cascadia Report

Category: Vancouver

  • Remove freeways, sure. And provide alternatives

    Seattle’s waterfront is in political limbo since voters this month rejected replacing the viaduct with new freeways either in a tunnel or overhead. Maybe the idea of a freeway itself is the problem.

    Cities from New York to Seoul have replaced freeways without seeing massive traffic jams. In Cascadia, Portland opted for the first MAX line instead of building a new freeway. Vancouver has survived with almost no freeways, yet traffic and sprawl there isn’t much worse than in many American cities.

    One of the comments on this article correctly points out that cities should be in the business of providing incentives and new options, not eliminating them. That’s why adding transit and building more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods is important.

    To get there the author suggests congestion pricing, of course, and a “parking cash-out” system. Here’s his definition:

    Businesses could be required to give employees commute allowances instead of free parking. Employees could use the allowance to pay for the parking they used to get for free, they could use it to pay for transit, they could keep part of the allowance if they car-pooled to work, or they could keep the entire allowance if they walked or bicycled to work. It is estimated that this policy could reduce commuter traffic (and peak demand for road space) by about 20%.

  • Cascadia cities need a safety valve

    Sure there’s healthy rivalry in Cascadia among Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. But between Portland and Vancouver, Washington?

    Willamette Week explores the idea that smug Portland benefits in many ways from the Vancouver on the other side of the Columbia River.

    Strict growth rules have helped make Portland into what’s widely considered a development model. Maybe Clark County, Wash., which has nearly doubled in population since 1990, now functions as a safety valve for Portland?

    What if the region’s success at controlling growth while still maintaining one of the nation’s more robust economies is because of…Vancouver? Or more specifically, because Vancouver has fewer land-use laws and limits on growth? Has Vancouver become a convenient place to handle Portland’s overflow, for those who wanted to live, work and play in the area, but who also wanted a bigger yard, lower taxes and a house on a cul-de-sac? All this so Portland could build its light rail, trams and condo towers.

    The point is just as valid around the Puget Sound area and in the Lower Mainland. Dense development makes transit and the infrastructure to preserve open space feasible. Where is the safety valve for the region?

  • It’s official: Vancouver is sprawling

    Vancouver, with its gleaming downtown and light rail projects, may be an urban planner’s dream. But new census data show its growth is similar to that south of the border.

    Over the last five years, Vancouver’s population has grown in line with the overall province’s rate and more than half has gone to the new supply of housing downtown. Meanwhile Surrey has grown by nearly 14 percent as residents chase affordable family dwellings. The pattern makes it hard for even ambitious transit projects to accommodate lifestyle patterns and relieve the cost of living or the environment.

    Similarly, Seattle is a shrinking part of the metropolitan area. Both cities are examples of why development incentives and transportation infrastructure need to be in sync.

  • New Vancouver terminus could boost traffic

    Moving the terminus of Seattle-to-Vancouver trains to Surrey would boost tourism and make adding to the timetable more feasible, according to a report in a Canadian paper.

  • Vancouver transit planning may go regional

    A package of reforms could make Vancouver’s transportation planning even more regional.

    Under a new plan, the elected 12-member board of directors of TransLink — which already leads planning for the metro area — would be replaced by a three-tiered system of appointed and elected leaders. The area governed by the agency would expand, reaching from Pemberton to Hope.

    The proposal apes ideas under consideration for the Seattle area,where at least six agencies control transportation. Sound Transit, the most visible, has an 18-member board made of 17 elected officials from the region and the state transportation secretary. None is directly accountable for transportation issues across the entire region.

    The revamped Vancouver agency would have greater power to direct development around transit infrastructure and hopefully more efficiently manage the growing population. Critics question the accountability and funding mechanisms. But the key lesson is that politically fractious metropolitan areas need a regional government that can make regional decisions.

  • New trains may get a step closer to Whistler

    Plans for expanded train service between Seattle and Vancouver might be the first step toward extending the corridor north.

    train inches into stationRelocating the current terminus from downtown Vancouver a few miles southeast to Surrey would be a start. The change would eliminate the need to rebuild a bridge, cut the total travel time to Seattle and save more people in the metropolitan area a trip downtown to board, according to a local newspaper report Tuesday. SkyTrain would still provide a link to downtown.

    Most importantly, serving more people in the area would build public support for trains. That’s critical since funding for improvements would come from Canada. The new station could spur transit-oriented development in the area and eventually boost ridership from the Vancouver-area by 7 percent, assuming five trains a day to Seattle, according to a report by the Washington transportation department (it’s in Appendix E).

    British Columbia has studied options to implement train service to Whistler that’s competitive with driving. Though the cost would be high, it could become realistic as the financial and time cost of driving rises. The Washington study bases projections for future ridership between Seattle and Vancouver on a series of projected fares and similar calculations of return on investment could be made further north.

  • Support in B.C. key to regional transport

    It’s easy to get carried away with dreams of improved train service across Cascadia. The latest example: the plans to add another daily train between Seattle and Vancouver.

    One key to making these transportation dreams come true is political will in British Columbia. Before any talk of things like Vancouver and Seattle jointly hosting World Cups, fans of regional integration will need to pry funding from B.C.’s Liberal-party government — which has shown so little interest in investing in public facilities like trains. In multiple reports last week the B.C. transportation ministry spokesman explained that the latest deal is simply to add a single track in Delta, B.C. Clearly it’s only a start.

    Yet that’s the true significance of the second-train plans, which will make travel more convenient for Vancouver residents. Hopefully this small project will build public support for the investment and the government will follow.

  • Why Fairmont isn’t quite on top

    Fairmont Hotels & Resorts wants to be seen as an “unrivalled global presence.” Yet a few recent visits suggest why it’s not quite there.

    Friday night I stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront, which is the highest-rated of the company’s properties in downtown Vancouver. Desk service was professional, the room was comfortable and the city-and-harbor view was great — all as expected. But when the elevators went out of service at around 10 p.m. — leaving at least 15 people waiting in the lobby — there was no explanation. The next morning two of the elevators were still offline. There was no apology and management didn’t give the impression that they were especially concerned about the inconvenience.

    Similar service at Fairmont’s hotels at Whistler and in Seattle has also cost the chain. This is part of the reason why so many in Seattle were concerned when Fairmont took over management of the Olympic Hotel (a replacement Four Seasons is under construction). Don’t get me wrong: Fairmont is still a great place to stay, it’s just not quite top-of-the line.

  • Countdown to 2010 Olympics begins

    A clock is being unveiled in Vancouver today to mark the countdown to the 2010 Olympics in exactly three years.

    The Vancouver Sun has an update on the events venues as part of its ongoing, upbeat coverage. The occasion seems mostly ignored by Washington and Oregon media — even a Bellingham Herald story today on an Olympian athlete missed the connection. It seems that the rest of Cascadia is a slow to capitalize on the games and the publicity around them.

  • B.C. opposition proposes alternative energy fund

    British Columbia would set aside C$50 million from oil and gas royalties to fund research in alternative energy, under a plan by the opposition party.

    The NDP proposal also faults the government’s support of a massive roadway project in the Vancouver area, saying that it downplayed the environmental effects by including Washington’s more-rural Whatcom County in its projections.