Is it SkyTrain out and tramways in for Tri-Cities?

By Leneen Robb - Staff Reporter - Now News

Coquitlam Mayor Jon Kingsbury says he no longer wants SkyTrain to Coquitlam Centre.

After returning Sunday from a TransLink-sponsored tour of five European cities, Kingsbury is now calling for tramways, specifically like the ones he saw in Strasbourg, France.

"I'm extremely confident that this is the solution for everyone, that it's a great system," he said yesterday. "It looks good, operates well, and could be a win-win situation for everybody."

That's an about-face from his earlier position, when he, along with Coquitlam city councillors, endorsed a resolution naming SkyTrain as the preferred technology for rapid transit to the Tri-Cities.

Now, Kingsbury says he, along with Port Coquitlam Mayor Scott Young and TransLink vice-president of planning Glen Leicester, will make the rounds to local city councils, to sell them on the Strasbourg-style technology.

Tramways, as they're known throughout Europe, are used mainly in densely populated urban areas. But Kingsbury said they would be appropriate for the Tri-Cities as well, despite the fact that a trip on one would take about 20 minutes from Coquitlam Centre to Lougheed Mall - as opposed to an estimated 12.7 minutes on SkyTrain.

"It will make it in that time (20 minutes) easily," Kingsbury said of tramways. "And that's the biggest thing that Coquitlam council is concerned about, was the time and ridership, because the thing has to be something that people will use and it has to be something that will pay for itself, and this system can generate that."

Kingsbury was less enthusiastic about a report made public Monday by the GVRD.

The report, dated Sept. 20, recommends that preference be given to guided light rapid transit (GLT) or light rail transit (LRT), and that SkyTrain and diesel multiple unit technologies not be explored further.

The report also recommends a northwest corridor route, through Port Moody, over a southeast corridor route, through Coquitlam via existing rail lines.

"I really don't have any use for that report, that thing that's come through there," Kingsbury said. "I mean, that's an antiquated report that will probably just get buried at GVRD, everybody on the (GVRD) board recognizes that that's not their business."

Kingsbury described the tramway-style rapid transit he favours as a hybrid of Skytrain and LRT, and said it would be powered by electricity.

Pushed for an answer on why he changed his very public position of favouring SkyTrain, Kingsbury said, "Well, there's a whole bunch of conditions that will change (with tramways). If the time is right, if the carrying capacity is right, if the vehicle has a separate right-of-way and (is) not just run like a bloody bus - this one is totally, totally different than what I ever imagined, and it will function probably as well or better than SkyTrain, in my estimation.

"So I'm getting what I'm looking for and I think Port Moody's getting what they're looking for and I think everybody's going to be comfortable and happy, and I hope that all the councils take a look at it with an open mind and can deal with this as quickly as possible - so we can get on with building it because the opportunity's there, the funding's there."

Meanwhile, Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini, an outspoken opponent of SkyTrain technology through Port Moody, said yesterday the GVRD report validates his position.

"I think that it (the report) confirms a lot of the things that we've been saying in Port Moody," Trasolini said. "It remains to be seen now how this is implemented."

Trasolini, who does not have a seat on TransLink, said he likes the contents of the GVRD report, but is less sure about the funding of rapid transit to the northeast.

"Sorry for being a bit skeptical, but what there is on the table right now is the $400 million as a result of my motion when I was on TransLink last year - so there's $400 million of secured borrowing plus $170 million from the provincial government, which is a total of $570 million.

"The question that I have is, what can we build for $570 million, and if we need more, who's putting up the money? Those are very important fundamental questions."

He admitted that both guided light rail and light rapid transit are slower than SkyTrain, but said it's not worth spending hundreds of millions of dollars to shave "minutes" off travel time.

"It's a question of balancing costs with length of time that it takes to travel, versus affordability and also environmental concerns," he said.

"Who wants to have the monster SkyTrain coming through their backyard? I mean, it's easy to say 'Well, let's have SkyTrain.' SkyTrain down a railroad track is one thing, but SkyTrain elevated in front of businesses or wiping out businesses in the St. Johns corridor is a different question. That is not acceptable."

Port Coquitlam Mayor Scott Young, who has not taken a strong position for or against SkyTrain, said he supports the GVRD report, in part because building along the northwest corridor wouldn't require an amendment to the Livable Region Strategic Plan - something that would require the unanimous agreement of 21 Lower Mainland municipalities.

"A number of issues have been raised, particularly by Coquitlam, in terms of having concerns over the southern alignment and the pressures that would come to bear on the Riverview lands, Colony Farm, that corridor for future development," he said. "Because in many ways, rapid transit is a tool and a land-shaping device."

Young said SkyTrain being off the table - at least according to the GVRD report - is not a problem.

"I think we need to be practical in terms of what's doable, and I think we need to get on and get a system in place," he said.

He said the funding is not available to extend SkyTrain to the Tri-Cities, but that an alternative technology could be in place by 2010.

ù The GVRD board is scheduled to meet Friday, and the report is listed as an agenda item.