OP-ED: Trains Impress, Stations Don’t

By James Fletcher

After two weeks of operation, the new Canada Line from Vancouver to Richmond will see an increase in the number of passengers this week as people return to regular school and work schedules.

It is also time to offer a review of the new rapid transit service, while recognizing that some of the bugs are still being worked out of the system.

Overall, the Canada Line provides fast, convenient service from Richmond and YVR airport into downtown Vancouver. The trains are more spacious, have wider aisles, designated bicycle areas, and more handgrips for standing passengers. The extra space will be most appreciated by parents with strollers and those travelling to and from the airport with large luggage. Technophiles will also be pleased to hear that their mobile phones work underground in all stations and trains.

Large electronic display boards and platform announcements tell passengers the destination for each train, and how long they will wait before it arrives. These features should be provided on the rest of the SkyTrain system.

While the design of the trains and platforms is very good, the design of the stations fails to live up to the same standard. Some problems, such as the insufficient number of ticket machines and the poorly designed signage that is difficult for many to read, are relatively easily fixed. Other design and architectural issues will likely be difficult and expensive to remedy.

A glaring example of poor design is the inexplicable failure to provide a direct underground connection from the Granville Station on the Expo Line to the City Centre Station on the Canada Line. Passengers are forced either to navigate a poorly marked and circuitous route through the Bay and Vancouver Centre Mall, or to go up to Granville Street and walk a block to the other station before descending to platform level.

The reach and accessibility of several stations could have been greatly improved by providing several access portals. Instead, passengers are often forced to cross wide avenues such as Pacific Boulevard, West Broadway, King Edward, 41st Avenue, Marine Drive, and No. 3 Road in Richmond. For elderly or disabled passengers, or those with small children, or simply those trying to catch a connecting bus across the street, it is an unnecessary inconvenience.

Although some of the larger and busier stations have included space for commercial tenants, it was disappointing to see that the Canada Line failed to include commercial space in more of its stations. The presence of lawful commercial businesses helps to make passengers feel safer using the system, especially at night, and discourages loitering, intimidation, vandalism and other criminal behaviour from taking hold.

The architecture of the stations also leaves much to be desired. Built of glass and concrete, the stations are utilitarian and functional, but fail to engage with their surroundings or provide a welcoming or hospitable public space.

Unlike many of the Millennium Line stations, none of these cookie-cutter stations are landmarks or places of interest. They are much closer to the tubular steel frame stations on the original Expo Line, and unfortunately, this represents a step backwards for Vancouver commuters.

The Canada Line stations are small grey concrete boxes with low ceilings, no ornamentation or public art, and the interiors feel very cold and sterile due to the blue, white, and grey tiles. They are uncomfortable and inhospitable places if you need to wait for a ride from a friend or a connecting bus. Some benches, public art, landscaping, and shelter from inclement weather would certainly help.

The Yaletown-Roundhouse station is a vivid example of broader architectural failings repeated along the length of the Canada Line. Situated in what was once a very attractive and welcoming little square at Mainland and Davie, the station snubs the red brick, black iron, and wood beams of Yaletown in favour of grey un-textured concrete and glass. No architectural concessions are made to the trains and loading docks of Yaletown’s railway past or even the adjacent Roundhouse Community Centre for which it is named.

The Canada Line is Vancouver’s shiny new train set, and we should celebrate this $1.9 billion investment in Vancouver’s future. But when you first set foot in its terminus at Waterfront Station, it is more than a little sobering to realize that the quality of the space and amenities provided by the CPR to the traveling public 99 years ago still exceeds what we are willing to provide today.

James Fletcher is the editor of the Think City Minute.