SkyTrain marks 30 years of service, what does the future hold?

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s been 30 years to the day the very first SkyTrain went down the tracks and there is no disputing the service has changed the face of the region.

Ryan Berlin, a Director at Urban Futures, a consulting and research firm points out the transit line has sparked a lot of growth.

“SkyTrain has been transformative. Corridors have developed that would have otherwise remained fairly suburban.”

Even as we see the redevelopment of Oakridge Centre in Vancouver or Brentwood in Burnaby and Berlin sees expanded rapid transit opening new areas as fixed rail spreads in Surrey and along the Broadway Corridor.

“We may see an extension of the line in Richmond at some point down towards the southern part of Steveston.”

Long-time Regional Planner Ken Cameron for three decades and was on the GVRD Board back in the 1980s when SkyTrain was conceived.

“It certainly was a monumental decision but it was a decision that was not made as a result for a sober search for the best possible option. It was decision made at a political level, more or less, sold to the region.”

At the time, Ontario-owned the company that manufactured the SkyTrain and Cameron adds there was pressure at the time to go with the technology used today.

“The chairman of our board at the time was asked to visit the test track and I was told to go along with him to make sure he didn’t sign anything, so there was a lot of tension around the decision. The SkyTrain technology that was chosen was not really designed for a regional transit system, it was essentially a people mover.”

“Rapid transit is the holy grail of transit in many people’s minds and getting the agreement to build the Expo Line was a very important milestone.”

What do you think about the service?

Despite all its recent woes and breakdowns over the last year or so, public opinion of the SkyTrain isn’t that negative.

“I do like the SkyTrain because it’s easy and it’s accessible once you understand where you’re going. But at first, it’s challenging, especially when they’re making challenges within the system,” says one woman at the Broadway Station.

And many people we talked to wouldn’t make many changes to the system. “Not really. I think it could use a good cleaning every now and then, it does smell after a Friday or Saturday night but other than that you can’t complain,” adds another rider.

“I think it’s a good system. I think it’s very reliable but I don’t like how short it runs on the weekends, especially the Expo and Millennium Lines — it doesn’t run nearly long enough,” points out one man.

“The Compass Card is confusing and I don’t really see how it’s going to work, but the transit system in Vancouver is one of the best.”

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