Hello everyone,
Rail for the Valley is hosting a fundraiser at Corkey’s pub in Chilliwack on May 21, from 5pm-8pm (there will be live music after 8).
This will be a great opportunity to meet with fellow advocates and to simply have a good time. I hope to see you there!
Facebook event link:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=115151648523819
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On March 25, Peter Holt, an influential advocate for passenger rail, made a presentation to the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce regarding the need for passenger rail in the South of the Fraser River communities. Brian Lewis of the Province was there and this is what he had to say…
If more of our federal, provincial and municipal politicians who represent constituents south of the Fraser River thought like Wayne Gretzky, then moving throughout this vast and fast-growing region would be as enjoyable as it once was watching the Great One score hat tricks.
“Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it is now,” was Gretzky’s advice to fellow hockey players.
But his straightforward lesson still applies to far more than jocks chasing a little rubber disc on the ice. It’s also tailor-made for public transportation planning, for example.
This is why engineer and community-rail guru Peter Holt used the Gretzky analogy in his recent presentation to the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce when he spoke about why he and many others strongly feel that the Fraser Valley’s best long-term transportation solutions are riding on the rails.
The eloquent ex-Brit and former Royal Navy engineering officer has an extensive professional background that includes a number of senior roles in Canadian aerospace programs and with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Since moving his family to Surrey in 1997, Holt has focused on regional issues and served as executive director of the forward-thinking Surrey Board of Trade between 2004 and 2007. That’s where he also furthered a keen interest in urban and regional growth, public transit and, of course, trains.
On the nostalgic side, he’s an enthusiastic spokesman for the Surrey-based Fraser Valley Heritage Rail Society, which is well along in restoring one of the original cars from the old B.C. Electric interurban rail line that ran from downtown Vancouver and up the Fraser Valley to Chilliwack from 1910 to the early 1950s.
On the practical side, Holt sees the “Fraser Valley Heritage Railway” and its refurbished vintage rolling stock as an excellent medium for creating awareness of the potential to fully restore the 103-kilometre right-of-way, which is still owned by the B.C. government, to accommodate a new, state-of-the-art community rail system.
Not only is the interurban right-of-way a wholly-owned public asset, Holt points out, but the legal authority to use it for public transit has also been established.
An introductory “heritage tourism” service during the summer on part of the line could be introduced by late 2011 for as little as $700,000, he suggests, and the City of Surrey is very serious about backing the initiative.
But the primary goal for Holt, his rail-heritage pals and a number of Valley rail advocacy groups, is a full community-rail service that would link SkyTrain in Surrey with Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
Holt told the Chilliwack business group that about 20 years from now, another 400,000 people will be living in the Fraser Valley. That’s equal to another city roughly the size of Surrey today.
But, he warns, expanding the road system to accommodate this growth will be much more expensive and far more environmentally damaging than choosing a community-rail option.
“Of course cars are more convenient today, but as our roads become more congested and expensive to expand, people will have to look at other transit options,” Holt says.
In other words, plan transit based on where it’s going, not where it’s at today.
That’s how politicians can score with taxpayers. blewis@theprovince.com
http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/columnists/story.html?id=d9192722-fe39-4e68-945b-80f2d3c37047&k=84094
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By all accounts, the rally was a success!
We handed out hundreds of leaflets, got media attention (CBC and News 1130), and overall raised a whole lot of awareness. There were large numbers of people of all ages taking the train; Bombardier’s volunteer conductors were kept busy with crowd control!
Thank you to all our volunteers!
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Spread the word, Invite your friends in Vancouver – this is not just a Rail for the Valley event
Granville Island, Vancouver
Saturday, March 20, 2:00pm Granville Island Olympic Line Station
(Click here for the event on Facebook)
This may be your last chance to experience Vancouver’s state-of-the-art 2010 Streetcar while it’s still in operation. (Rides are free!)
The Streetcar Demo has been a phenomenonal success, but the trial is slated to end on March 21. In light of its success, there is a major push on to extend the service indefinitely. Such a small line (only 1.8 km long, from Granville Island to the Olympic Village) could end up being the tiny seed that begins the construction of a light rail and streetcar network eventually encompassing the whole of Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Click here for more background:
Streetcar named desire shows transit future (The Province, Feb. 28, 2010)
http://www.theprovince.com/news/world/Streetcar+named+desire+shows+transit+future/2623789/story.html
So, LET’S RALLY, and Ride the Rails on Saturday March 20 the first day of spring, in support of Light Rail and streetcars for Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Take the whole family, and make it a day. After the rally, visit Granville Island on the first day of spring!
GETTING THERE
For the time being (at least until March 21), getting to Granville Island is transit-friendly:
1) Get onto the Canada Line (If you’re take Skytrain, the connection to the Canada Line is at Waterfront Station)
2) Get off at Olympic Village Station (6th Ave).
3) Ride the Olympic streetcar!
CARPOOLERS: let us know if you need a carpool, or if you can carpool somebody. railforthevalley@gmail.com
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Two events upcoming! One of them is in Abbotsford, the other is in Vancouver.
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Event 1
Friends of Rail for the Valley ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Tuesday, March 16, 7:00pm
On March 16th we will be holding our first Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Friends Of Rail For The Valley Society. Here we will discuss progress of the campaign, society details, future direction, and other related issues. This is a very important meeting for our Society.
We will also need to elect some more directors, so please consider that, and also invite anyone you think would be interested in helping out.
-Paul Gieselman (President)
Get involved in the community effort. We need your help!
There will be refreshments. Bring a friend. Membership is $10, and you can sign up at the AGM.
*Please RSVP railforthevalley@gmail.com, so we know the number of people who will be coming.*
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Event 2
Rail for the Valley – LIGHT RAIL RALLY & RIDE – Granville Island, Vancouver
Saturday, March 20, 2:00pm (first day of Spring)
Meet at the Granville Island Olympic Line Station
More details to come
This is your chance to experience Vancouver’s state-of-the-art 2010 Streetcar while it’s still in operation. (Rides are free!)
Some background (From the Province)
Streetcar named desire shows transit future (The Province, Feb. 28, 2010)
“It’s a tiny 1.8-kilometre Olympic streetcar demonstration project between Granville Island and the Olympic Village that may prove to be the key transit legacy — especially south of the Fraser. The False Creek service also drew more riders than expected and, from day one, it’s been very much “a streetcar named desire” for those in the Valley who call for just such a service on the former Inter-urban rail corridor from Surrey to Chilliwack.”
Yes, Vancouver’s Olympic Streetcar Line illustrates what we can have in the Valley all the way to Chilliwack, very soon and at very low cost, using the already-existing Inter-urban rail line.
The demo project is scheduled to end on Sunday, so let’s get together and have a RALLY FROM THE VALLEY at Granville Island Station on Saturday. (The line was so successful, that there is a small but real chance it could be made permanent. I will keep you posted.)
Take the whole family, and make it a day. After the rally, visit Granville Island on the first day of spring!
Please RSVP railforthevalley@gmail.com if you can make it. More details to follow.
CARPOOLERS: let us know if you need a carpool, or if you can carpool somebody.
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Happy New Year!
The following is a Rail for the Valley media release to kick off 2010.
All aboard – 2010 the 100th anniversary of the Interurban
This new year is a particularly special one for advocates of passenger rail for the Fraser Valley. 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of the initial Interurban rail service that used to connect communities from Chilliwack to Vancouver. So far, the anniversary is being commemorated by the Chilliwack Museum with a special year-long Interurban exhibit. The Rail for the Valley campaign is hoping for much more.
“100 years later, we are waiting for light rail service to re-commence,” said Rail for the Valley founder John Buker, “and we have reason to be optimistic about the future, as the movement for passenger rail continues to grow and politicians begin to climb aboard. Looking back at the past year, we’ve made some large strides towards our goal.”
-On April 11 2009, ahead of the provincial elections, Rail for the Valley supporters organized a ‘historic’ Day of Action, holding up banners in support of passenger rail atop Highway 1 overpasses all the way from Chilliwack to Vancouver, on more than 20 overpasses in all – a feat never before accomplished, thus illustrating the deep and widespread public support for the cause.
[ Coverage and pictures of that event here: http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/highway-1-day-of-action-a-soaking-success/
Link to a CTV news article at the time: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090411/BC_fraser_valley_rail_090411/20090411/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome ]
-During the following election campaign, the BC Liberals announced, through a Rail for the Valley pre-election Questionnaire, support in principle for a demonstration service along the Interurban corridor. (Link here: see page 11/11, BC Liberal response to Q.3.)
-Later in 2009, the South of Fraser Community Rail Task Force, headed by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, was established to help Fraser Valley communities lobby senior levels of government for such a service in a unified way.
Buker‘s message to the public this new year is simple: “100 years ago, the first Chilliwack-Vancouver Interurban rail service began, and it fundamentally shaped the growth of the Fraser Valley. Today, we can rapidly build a new, modern light rail network for the entire Lower Mainland, starting inexpensively with track that already exists, giving the public a real alternative to the automobile. All we need is the political will.“
Rail for the Valley‘s latest online petition for passenger rail service, viewable on http://www.railforthevalley.com, has garnered more than 800 signatures so far, including hundreds of thoughtful comments posted in support.
“We must hold our politicians to account on this, or there will be backsliding. Any shift away from the status quo is naturally resisted by political inertia, and we have to be on the highest guard for it. As we pull out of this recession, the price of gasoline will likely jump dramatically again. With the way the Fraser Valley is growing and the rest of the world is changing, we absolutely must see a fundamental shift in priorities away from incremental and exorbitantly expensive Skytrain expansion, and endless highway expansion, towards beginning right now, today, to build light rail infrastructure for the Lower Mainland, for today and for the future,” declared Buker.
The Rail for the Valley Campaign would like to wish the public and all of our supporters a very Happy New Year, and all the best for 2010.
A BCE Interurban leaves Chilliwack station
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Tagged 1910, 2010, Happy New Year, Interurban, light rail, rail for the valley
An article in the Abbotsford News about the South of the Fraser Rail Task Force, headed by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green.
Letters to the Editor of the Abbotsford News are strongly encouraged! (Email newsroom@abbynews.com)
Excerpt:
A regular train service arrives in downtown Abbotsford from Surrey and Langley, collecting passengers and transporting them to other areas of the city or as far east as Chilliwack.
It may sound like a long-term dream for rail enthusiasts, but according to a newly formed group pushing for the service, it could become a reality sooner rather than later.
The South of the Fraser Rail Task Force is currently looking for the backing of Valley municipalities in its push for rail connectivity.
Should that happen, it wants to see a “demonstration project” conducted on the old interurban line, to determine whether the track is a viable long-term option to help link communities.
The group has been put together by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, and task force member Peter Holt was in Abbotsford on Monday to pitch the group’s case to mayor and council.
Rail for the Valley supporters were part of Saturday’s big Bridge to a Cool Planet Climate Action event in Vancouver. We were even briefly covered on the CTV News.
Special thanks to D’Anne Davis for transportation of banners.
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