This letter is in response to the headline “Car is still king,” and that transit is making little gain against vehicles, published in the Dec. 6 issue.
Now that there is a “RapidBus” that travels from the new park ’n ride at 202 St. in Langley to Lougheed Mall/Lougheed SkyTrain station as a result of the new Port Mann Bridge opening, why not extend transit service to Abbotsford’s Sevenoaks exchange? Much like the Valley Connector tying Abbotsford to Mission and the West Coast Express, this could be Abbotsford’s answer to Mission’s WCE to downtown Vancouver.
Who says the exchange has to be at Sevenoaks even. Why not pave that open field at the corner of Simon Ave. and Trethewey St. into a bus loop that has laid bare and weedy all these years? After all, it is in “Clearbrook high density,” according to Google Maps. Engineer a safe path to Highway 1 (I’m thinking Maclure) and provide the benefit of relatively easy access to Metro Vancouver’s TransLink system.
In fact, link all the cities with park ’n rides and exchanges. Even though we likely won’t get the fantasized “SkyTrain-down-the-middle-of-the-highway” option, we can at least make an effort at viable substitutions.
I believe in transit, but since there is no practical and direct alternatives to Metro Vancouver other than a Greyhound bus or the awkward to access West Coast Express, I find it way too convenient to spend extra money on gas, insurance, and tolls using my car to get into and out of Metro Vancouver contributing to road congestion.
Ian Dyck