Latest news with #ExpoLine
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
B.C. provides peek into $2.95B SkyTrain tunnel, set to open in 2027
VANCOUVER - The British Columbia government has provided a glimpse of progress on the Broadway subway tunnel, which is set to expand Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain capacity significantly in 2027. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth led a media tour of the construction of the tunnel, part of a 5.7-kilometre extension of the SkyTrain Millennium Line from VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus Street on Vancouver's West Side. Farnworth says the $2.95-billion construction project also features a 700-metre stretch of elevated track before the route plunges under Broadway, and about 750 workers are involved. He says the new Millennium Line extension and its six stations will be able to carry triple the capacity of the 99-B rapid bus service currently operating the route. The cost of the project is slightly more than previous estimates, but Farnworth says small overruns are common in underground construction but it's largely been kept under control. He adds that the Millennium Line extension is on track to open on time in the fall of 2027. The Millennium Line extension and an extension of the Expo Line to Langley are slated to expand SkyTrain capacity by more than 27 per cent. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
B.C. provides peek into $2.95B SkyTrain tunnel, set to open in 2027
VANCOUVER – The British Columbia government has provided a glimpse of progress on the Broadway subway tunnel, which is set to expand Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain capacity significantly in 2027. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth led a media tour of the construction of the tunnel, part of a 5.7-kilometre extension of the SkyTrain Millennium Line from VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus Street on Vancouver's West Side. Farnworth says the $2.95-billion construction project also features a 700-metre stretch of elevated track before the route plunges under Broadway, and about 750 workers are involved. He says the new Millennium Line extension and its six stations will be able to carry triple the capacity of the 99-B rapid bus service currently operating the route. The cost of the project is slightly more than previous estimates, but Farnworth says small overruns are common in underground construction but it's largely been kept under control. He adds that the Millennium Line extension is on track to open on time in the fall of 2027. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The Millennium Line extension and an extension of the Expo Line to Langley are slated to expand SkyTrain capacity by more than 27 per cent. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025.
Los Angeles Times
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Culver City, don't roll back your ambitious safe street redesign
In 2021, Culver City rolled out one of the most ambitious street redesigns in the region. The idea was simple but radical in an area that has long catered to motorists and become mired in car traffic. Why not carve out space on some streets to make it easier and safer to walk, bike and take transit so residents, workers and visitors don't have to drive? In the heart of its downtown, near restaurants, apartments, studios and government offices and the Expo Line, Culver City removed a car lane in each direction and replaced them with protected bike and bus-only lanes. The project, called Move Culver City, was a 1.3 mile pilot project, quickly built for relatively low cost with paint, removable planters and plastic bollards. The goal was to test the theory that if people are given quality transportation choices, they will use them. And that's what happened. A review of the project after a year found an 18% increase in people walking and 32% more people biking through the area. At the intersection of Culver Boulevard and Main Street, the number of bikes counted. nearly doubled. Bus travel became faster and ridership increased more on the corridor compared to citywide. People said they were biking, walking and taking transit more often in the area, according to the review. They felt safer, more comfortable and noticed fewer speeding cars. As for traffic? It moved faster in the morning hours, and in the evening it took drivers about two minutes longer to pass through the area. Two minutes. That's a minor inconvenience. It certainly seems like a fair trade off to make the corridor safer and more convenient for alternative modes of transportation — which was the purpose of the project. But instead of making the changes permanent, a new, more conservative majority on the City Council may roll back the street redesign at its meeting Monday night in response to motorists complaints that the project has made traffic worse. That would be a shame. Over the last several years, Culver City has been a model of forward-thinking urban design. Previous leaders recognized the city had transformed into a hub for tech giants and streaming studios, creating thousands of new jobs. But the pace of residential development hadn't kept up. That drove up housing costs and worsened traffic and pollution as commuters drove into the area for work. The city couldn't widen any more streets (and that doesn't solve traffic anyway) or build more single-family subdivisions. City officials decided to create a denser, transit-friendly, walkable, bikeable center that would allow more people to live in the city and give commuters more options to get to their jobs. The vast majority of Culver City is still car-centric, but this small section shows how urban Los Angeles can build more affordable, equitable and environmentally responsible communities. Yet even the modest encroachment of Move Culver City may be too much for opponents of the project, who seem particularly offended by the bus lane. There is a proposal to add back a car lane and make buses and bicyclists share a lane, which would dissuade all but the most confident cyclists and slow the buses, thus making alternative modes of transportation a lot less appealing. And for what? So some drivers can get to their destination two minutes faster. Like most communities across California, Culver City has plenty of plans detailing its commitment to bike lanes, public transit and sustainable city design as strategies to reduce greenhouse gases from vehicle pollution to help fight climate change. But those plans are meaningless if elected leaders don't have the political backbone to see them through. What's the big deal, you might ask, if one small city rolls back one small bus and bike lane project? It's significant because road redesigns are always going to controversial and challenging in an urban landscape designed for, but now overwhelmed by, cars. In Los Angeles, agencies have backed off plans to add protected bike lanes and bus lanes to placate motorists. In 2017, after a teenager was killed crossing Vista del Mar near Dockweiler Beach, the city removed traffic lanes and redesigned the street to make it safer. But commuters browbeat city leaders until they reversed the project. Since then two more people have been killed by vehicles while crossing the street. We will never have safe streets and quality transit if the region's political leaders scrap or scale back projects when there is opposition to change. Move Culver City is a success and a model for a cleaner, greener, more livable region. It would nice if Culver City leaders could recognize that.
Los Angeles Times
25-02-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Editorial: Culver City, don't roll back your ambitious safe street redesign
In 2021, Culver City rolled out one of the most ambitious street redesigns in the region. The idea was simple but radical in an area that has long catered to motorists and become mired in car traffic. Why not carve out space on some streets to make it easier and safer to walk, bike and take transit so residents, workers and visitors don't have to drive? In the heart of its downtown, near restaurants, apartments, studios and government offices and the Expo Line, Culver City removed a car lane in each direction and replaced them with protected bike and bus-only lanes. The project, called Move Culver City, was a 1.3 mile pilot project, quickly built for relatively low cost with paint, removable planters and plastic bollards. The goal was to test the theory that if people are given quality transportation choices, they will use them. And that's what happened. A review of the project after a year found an 18% increase in people walking and 32% more people biking through the area. At the intersection of Culver Boulevard and Main Street, the number of bikes counted. nearly doubled. Bus travel became faster and ridership increased more on the corridor compared to citywide. People said they were biking, walking and taking transit more often in the area, according to the review. They felt safer, more comfortable and noticed fewer speeding cars. As for traffic? It moved faster in the morning hours, and in the evening it took drivers about two minutes longer to pass through the area. Two minutes. That's a minor inconvenience. It certainly seems like a fair trade off to make the corridor safer and more convenient for alternative modes of transportation — which was the purpose of the project. But instead of making the changes permanent, a new, more conservative majority on the City Council may roll back the street redesign at its meeting Monday night in response to motorists complaints that the project has made traffic worse. That would be a shame. Over the last several years, Culver City has been a model of forward-thinking urban design. Previous leaders recognized the city had transformed into a hub for tech giants and streaming studios, creating thousands of new jobs. But the pace of residential development hadn't kept up. That drove up housing costs and worsened traffic and pollution as commuters drove into the area for work. The city couldn't widen any more streets (and that doesn't solve traffic anyway) or build more single-family subdivisions. City officials decided to create a denser, transit-friendly, walkable, bikeable center that would allow more people to live in the city and give commuters more options to get to their jobs. The vast majority of Culver City is still car-centric, but this small section shows how urban Los Angeles can build more affordable, equitable and environmentally responsible communities. Yet even the modest encroachment of Move Culver City may be too much for opponents of the project, who seem particularly offended by the bus lane. There is a proposal to add back a car lane and make buses and bicyclists share a lane, which would dissuade all but the most confident cyclists and slow the buses, thus making alternative modes of transportation a lot less appealing. And for what? So some drivers can get to their destination two minutes faster. Like most communities across California, Culver City has plenty of plans detailing its commitment to bike lanes, public transit and sustainable city design as strategies to reduce greenhouse gases from vehicle pollution to help fight climate change. But those plans are meaningless if elected leaders don't have the political backbone to see them through. What's the big deal, you might ask, if one small city rolls back one small bus and bike lane project? It's significant because road redesigns are always going to controversial and challenging in an urban landscape designed for, but now overwhelmed by, cars. In Los Angeles, agencies have backed off plans to add protected bike lanes and bus lanes to placate motorists. In 2017, after a teenager was killed crossing Vista del Mar near Dockweiler Beach, the city removed traffic lanes and redesigned the street to make it safer. But commuters browbeat city leaders until they reversed the project. Since then two more people have been killed by vehicles while crossing the street. We will never have safe streets and quality transit if the region's political leaders scrap or scale back projects when there is opposition to change. Move Culver City is a success and a model for a cleaner, greener, more livable region. It would nice if Culver City leaders could recognize that.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
L.A. County's first safe parking for homeless people living in RVs opens in Crenshaw
Jose Garcia had been living in his RV for six years and growing tired of the life. "Big problems with the police in the last year," he said. "Sometimes come the police and say we can't stay more. I change a lot of cities." At his last stop he got a $130 citation. Then, with Los Angeles County ramping up its efforts to remove some of the thousands of recreational vehicles parked on its streets, a sympathetic sheriff's deputy told Garcia there was a place where he could park legally. Garcia now resides on a parking lot in the Crenshaw District — L.A. County's first safe parking location for RVs. The one-year, $900,000 pilot project opened in November on county property vacated by the Probation Department when it moved to Downey in 2019. Thirteen RVs now occupy the lot, with one space yet to be filled. Their owners will be able to stay there for up to six months while they pursue permanent housing. All have agreed to surrender their vehicles if and when they get it. Safe parking is one facet of the county's Pathway Home encampment resolution program. In 29 operations since its launch in August 2023, Pathway Home has removed 624 recreational vehicles from the streets while moving nearly 1,100 people into interim and permanent housing. "We tried to be creative with people living in RVs," county Supervisor Holly Mitchell said while sharing a breakfast with its residents in December. Mitchell spearheaded the project in response to a plethora of RVs parked in her district. The 2,245 RVs in the most recent homeless count accounted for a third of the county total. "Those that are living in RVs that the van lords are renting to them, charging them ridiculous amounts of money for something that really isn't habitable, we are really trying to help those people transition to a different form of housing and get those RVs out of there," she said. The safe parking is for a small subset of those RV dwellers who meet two criteria: Their vehicles must be operable, and they must have proof of ownership. The former Probation Department lot offers a hideaway bounded by Crenshaw and Obama boulevards and the Expo Line and is sealed off from a row of apartment buildings to its west by a tall wall and shrubbery. For its residents, the lot is an extension of the low-cost and independent life they had, with improvements such as three meals delivered daily and a trailer with showers and toilets. That's a plus for Maria Valencia, 62, who never used what she called the "poopy" in her 10 years parking on the streets of East Los Angeles. She showered in the RV but used the toilets of restaurants and businesses. Mitchell said that the one-year program could be extended but that the site of the pilot will eventually be replaced by an affordable housing development. Mitchell said she hopes the parking lot will inspire others by then. "While it may not feel like it makes a dent in the 2,000, it will be significant for these 14," Mitchell said. "And this is the first. We need to have multiple safe parking spots I believe all over L.A. County as one of the tools in our tool kit." Four of the spaces will be reserved for RV dwellers from Los Angeles City Council District 10, and the remainder will come from unincorporated portions of Mitchell's 2nd District. The county contracted with End Homelessness California to provide food service, housing navigation and security. Operating as the Shower of Hope, it also runs 24 mobile showers, provides housing for 45 community college students in leased homes and manages two safe parking locations for automobiles. Unlike safe parking for automobiles, which is open only overnight and requires vehicles to leave during the day, the lot will be open 24 hours a day. Electrical hookups are provided, and a mobile bathroom will remain on-site. RV owners can come and go, but the goal is for the vehicles to stay put. "We really want them to stay because you don't want a lot of traffic in a lot like this," said Mel Tillekeratne, co-founder and executive director of the Shower of Hope. "The goal is they stay here. We just want to make sure we engage them as much as possible so we can get them into housing." That's not a drawback for Valencia. "If they let us stay here, I'll be happy to stay forever," she said. "I'm happy here. I don't have to worry about the rent, the bills, the bills, the bills. When I had my apartment, every day the same thing. Even when I paid the rent, I was worried for the next month, working here, working there, working everywhere." As yet, there is no track record on how quickly residents will move on. Both Garcia and Valencia are looking forward to having their own apartments, but it will be hard giving up the homes they've grown attached to. Garcia, who has lived in the U.S. without legal status for 30 years, has had to forgo his apartment search while his case manager helps him gets identification. Valencia said she is in line to get a rental subsidy and start an apartment search but isn't looking forward to surrendering the RV. "It will hurt me a lot," Valencia said. "Because this is beautiful. This is wonderful." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
