THE UËE OF EXISTING RAIL RTGHIS-OF_WAY TN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH AND NORTH AMERICAN LTGHT RATL TRANSIT SYSTEMS: EXCELLENT OPPORTUNTTY OR POTET{TTAL PROBLEM? BY STEVEN HOBSCIN A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Geogral>hy University of Manítoba Winnipeg, Manitoba (c) April L992 NflonarLibrav Bibliothèque nationale H*H du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographic Services Branch des services bibliograPhiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Otlawa, Ontar¡o Ottawa (Ontario) K1A ON4 K1A ON4 Your hte Volre télerence Our l¡le Nol.e télércnce The author has granted an L'auteur a accordé une licence irrevocable non-exclus¡ve licence irrévocable et non exclus¡ve allowing the National Library of permettant à la Bibliothèque Canada to reproduce, loan, nationale du Canada de distribute or sell cop¡es of reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou his/her thesis by any means and vendre des copies de sa thèse in any form or format, making de quelque manière et sous this thesis available to interested quelque forme que ce soit pour persons. mettre des exemplaires de cette thèse à la disposition des person nes inttáressées. The author retains ownership of L'auteur conserve la propriété du the copyright in his/her thesis. droit d'auteur qu¡ protège sa Neither the thesis nor substantial thèse. Ni la thèse ni des extraits extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de celle-ci ne otherwise reproduced without doivent être imprimés ou his/her permission. autrement reproduits sans son autorisation. ISBN Ø-315-78Ø1Ø-X Canadä THE USE OF EXTSTING RAIL RIGHTS-OF-I,IAY IN TITE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITTSIT AND NORTIT AMERICAN LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEMS: EXCELLENT OPPORTI]NITY OR POTENTIAI PROBELM? BY STEVEN IIOBSON A Thesis submitted to the Faculfy of G¡aduate Studies of the Universify of Manitoba in partial fuifillment of the reguirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS @ !992 Ps:rrission has been granted to the LIBRâRY OF THE UNT\aERSITY OF lvfA¡\TTOBA io lend or sell copies of this thesis, to the N¡\TIONAL LIBRARY OF CAÀIADA to mic¡ofil¡r this thesis and to lend o¡ sell copies of the filn, and UNT1ÆRSITY MIG.OFITMS to publ.ish a¡r absaact of this thesis. The author resen¡es other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor exte¡rsÍve exbacts from it may be printed or othenvise reproduced wÍihout the autho/s per:nission- ABSTRACT ïn North America arrd thie Urrited Kingdorn, a r'enewed interest, in the pctential abilíty of rail transport to sol-ve urban transport problems has par'tially manifested itself in support for Light Rail Transit (LRT). For nany of the LRT lines that have been constructed/will be constructed, existing rail rights-of-way have been/will be a vital ingredient in the planning and construction process- This can be attributed to the sirnplified task of construction and lower construction costs afforded by their u.se. Experience gained with the Miami "MetroraiI" rapid transit systen, however, suggests that existing rail alignments do not necessarily serve the best interests of the travelling public. The thesis exami-nes the Calgar-y LRT and the planned "Vancouver-Richmond Rapid Transit Project" and argues that in each case, greater enphasis upon a etreetcar' Ét1r1ç of oFeratiotr migirt be a betier' I-eciprs fot' LRT suecegis than simply using existing r'ai1 allgmnents for engineering and financial simplicity. l_I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wculiì like t.r-r exiend sir¡c:ere thanlis -bo iny ihesis ad.¡isor, Dr- Richar'd i-l- Foster'- His invaluable suggestions and advj-ce (in ]roth academic and administrati.¿e matt=rs), and enthusiasm for the project made life so much easier. I would al-so liire to give thanlçs and appreciation to Dr'- Ramesh C - Tiwari and Dr'. Allan M - Lansdown for kincli-y consenting to be examiners for this thesís- In addition I wish to acknovrledge the financial assistance of the University of Manitoba and the Cauadian Transportation F"esearch Forum- Finally, Ï dedicate thís thesis to my best friend Linda, whose encÕuragement and suppor'i nade it all possi]:l-e - 1rt CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii CONTENTS iv LÏST OF TABLES vii LÏST OF FIGURES viiÍ -1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION I Introduetion ¿ Literature Review cl -t c) Theeis Limitations ILì Definition of Terms 1Cr Methodology and Data Sources D1 ïhesis Organisatlon q/1 CHAPTER TT¡IO: UNDERSTANDTNG LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT 2â A Brief History of Urban Transportatlon 27 The Pedestrian City The Horse-drawn Omnibus The Horse-drawn Tram (Horsecar') 30 Ihe Cable Car L]I Electric Tram (Streetcar) Õ¿ Ih"Ihe Motor Bus 34 The Trol-Iey Bus ÕE Other Rail Transport 36 The Automobile (Motor Car) *.rÁ1 What is Líeht Rail Transit? É.1./1 /1 Why Lieht Rail Translt? IV Page CHAPTER THREE: A SURVEY OF NORTH AMERICAN AND BRTTISH LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEMS 7A Canada: Edmonton {I Boston /o United States: 17 Buffalo TJ-ì Cleveland Dallas oo Los Angeles B9 (1 Pittsburgh È¡tta Portland 4"7 Sacramento IUI San Diego 105 San Jose IUc) Uníted Kingdom: Manchester l{Ð Sheffield r- 1B West Midlands (Birminghan) LLLI öf) Other Systems I¿U1-û Conclusions '1 1'7 CHAPTER FOUR: CASE STUDY A _ THE CALGARY LRT l_s0 1'11t Background to the Calgary LRT I¿ 1. J ?E The System 1'JJ South Corridor AJJ Northeast LRT l-¿rO r Da.ì lrlorthwest LRT -LUùj/ Future Plans L4L 1 /1¡1 Criticism Lnf. South Corridor- LRT LRT atu1 ¡1 0 Northeast '1.4Cl Northwest LRT { Ãt: Transit Mall- IJJ Conclusions IiJO Page CHAPTER FIVE: CASE STUDY B _ THE VANCOUVER-RICHMOND RAPID TRANSIT PROJECT 16r_ Background to the Vancouver-Richmond Rapid Transit Project roo The Project 166 Introduction 166 The Arbutus Corridor 169 Alternative Alignments T7B Project Footnote 186 -l a¡-7 Conclusions -L(J I l alll CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Ir:lrJ BÏBLIOGRAPHY rllìa vl_ LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Lieht rail construction costs per route-kilometre 6 Tab1e 2. Comparison of annual costs for bus 1ane, busway and LRï systems 135 Tabl-e 3. Distanee breakdown of the Calgary LRT L41 vrL LÏST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Miami "Metroraj-I" System Map Ê Figure 2- Lieht, Rail Transit j-n North America and the United Kingdom 6t FiEure 3. Edmonton LRT - System Map (¿L Figure 4. Boston "Green Lj-ne" LRT - System Map 77 Fieure 5. Buffalo "Metro RaíI" LRT - System Map BO FiÊure 6. Cleveland "Green LinelBlue Line" LRT - System Map (JJOE Figure 7 - Dallas LRT - System Map Figure 8. Los Angeles "Metro Blue Line" LRT - System Map a-] I crÊ Figure 9, Pittsburch LRT - System [-lap JJ Fieure 10 - Portland "Metropolitan Area Express" LRT - System Map oo Figure 11. Sacramento "RT Metro" LRT - System Map 103 Figure L2- San Diego "Tro1ley" LRT - System Map 107 Figure 13. Santa Cl-ara County LRf - System Map 110 Figure L4. Manchester "Metrolink" LRT - System Map 7L4 Figure 15. South Yorkshíre "Supertram" LRT - System Map llB Flsure 16. West Mldlands "Mldland Metro" LRT - Syetem Map Flgure 17 . Calgary "C-Traln" LRf - Syetem Map Figure 18. Rapid Transit in the Greater Vancouver Regi-on rt)3 Fieure 19. Vancouver"-Richmond Rapid Transit Project Study Corrldor: Resldentlal Vancouver comPonent 770 viii CHAPTER ONE: ÏNTRODUCTÏON Introduction Since the late 1970s, but partj-cularly from the rnid 198Os, there has breen a r'enewed interest in r'aíl based urban public transport in North America and the United. Kingdom. It has evolved from a growing belief that "the auto alone cannot satisfy Ithe] transportation needs of cities for physical, social, economic, and environmental reasons" (Vuchic, 1981, Þ.460). fndeed, a publication by the United States Department of Tr.ansportation states that "an integrated" efficient, well-managed public transit system is the sine crua non of the more ener'gy-efficient, less auto- and oil-dependent city of tLre future" (Feir.ce 1980, p.9 ) . A dissatisfaction wi-r,h the existing urban transportation ni>: of car- usage on a large scale ancl an inadequate public transport eystem (often bus only) has promÞted many British and Nor'th Arnerican cities to reconsider the value of rail- transportation- There is now increasing necognition that some forn of electr.ified r.ail system can alleviate road traffíc congestion and remove some noise and air pollution from city streets- The fact remains, however, that it is very difficult to persuade motorists to leave their vehicl-es at home and use public iransport instead. In L967, for example, tv.'o nationwide surveys were conducted ín the United States that asked the question: "The auto pollutes air., creates - traffic, demolishes property, and kiIIs people- Is the contribution the auto makes to our way of life wor'th this?" In 80% of the responses the ansvrer' v¡as "yes" (Demaree L97O, p.L26). This is not really surprising. At the heart of the de'bate lies the notion of "freedom" and the tenacity with which we hold on to it - A car permits the individual to move beyond the confj-nes of the fixed routes and fixed schedules of public transport- The problem of promoting the j-ncreased use of public transport aõ a solution to the transportatíon problems that currently plague our cities ís the problem of persuading individuals to forfeit some of their freedom for the sake of the conmon good- The probl-em might, hor,rrever, be ameliorated through improvements to both the quality and quantity of public iransport available- It is possible that an attractive and relatively itrexpensive transportation alternative to the private car could compensate for the loss of freedom that we experience by l-eaving our car at hone, or by not driving aliogether- Therefore, if there is to be a substantial modal shift from the car to public transport systems, then those systerns rnust prove themselves in the eyes of the public- Part of any success rnust rest with the selection of those pu'blic transport routes which best serve the needs of the travelling public- A poorly selected route will probably result in low ridership, will ultimately be refl-ected itr 4 the rouie's degree of success or failure, and can mar the chances of other lines and systens tha'i; ä.r'e in the Fl-anning stages of gaining funding,/voter approval.