It's Saturday afternoon and my 80-something-year-old parents walk three blocks from their home to the Tsawwassen Centre light rail station at 56th Street and 12th Avenue. My mother grasps the handrail for support as she lifts herself onto the tramcar. Navigating around ferry passengers with their luggage nearby, she finds seats for two.
The Bombarier Flexity tram glides down the centre of 56th Street. The tram rocks and weaves its way around the corner as it turns right onto Highway 17 and stops for more passengers at Lois Jackson Station. It gains speed and pulls past rows of budding cranberry fields until gliding into Ladner Trunk Station.
The tramcars fill up with teens on a night out, couples off to a hockey game, moms with strollers and frail seniors.
Next stop the George Massey Station. My stepfather spots the White Rock tram as it pulls away from the opposite platform heading south on its way to Peace Arch Station at the Canada-U.S. border.
My mother looks out the window at the sprawling neighbourhoods below as the tram rises gently onto the 10-lane bridge that spans the mighty Fraser River. A large cargo ship loaded with Japanese cars motors towards Riverport. In the distance the sun is lowering over the delta and there are two rowers racing the fading light.
Speeding cars zoom past the tram but not before they are caught by the bright flash of the TreO toll camera. That will be a $3.15 charge, $5.45 if you don't have a registered license plate.
Next stop Steveston Farms Station. The train is crowded now, but no one minds squishing as there's plenty of wiggle room on this six-car, Canadian-designed LRT. The tram speeds along the track that follows Highway 99 until its last stop, Bridgeport 2.
My parents, who have dressed warmly, take the elevator to the windy Canada Line platform and wait three minutes for the next train. In 20 minutes they are walking into the Orpheum Theatre on Granville Street for an evening of classical music.
At 10 p.m. they repeat the same route, but in reverse. By 11 p.m. they unlock the front door of their Tsawwassen home. Total cost for two seniors: $7.
If only this perfect transportation world I describe was not a dream we could all enjoy a stressfree, affordable, convenient and environmentally friendly commute into the city and beyond.
The reality is a 10-lane tolled bridge is coming to Delta and Richmond. That's not my beef; we need a new crossing. The tragedy is that a light rapid transit system is not included in the $3.5-billion price tag we will all be paying for.
My utopia is not a pipe dream. Get a reality check, politicians. You've failed to embrace the future and it won't be efficient or affordable.
Ingrid Abbott is a broadcaster and writer who hopes to take a tram ride from Tsawwassen Centre to Rogers Arena for the U2 reunion tour when she is 85.
