Quote:
Originally Posted by someguy
I remember seeing somewhere (I think youngregina posted them) some maps of possible route for the city that would be more advantageous than what we have now....
Can someone post those so we can see what's possible?
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youngregina proposed an
express route/park & ride system, as well as an
LRT system:
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Originally Posted by youngregina
I had actually presented some express routes that i thought would be very feasable. Here they are listed;
30 northgate
40 superstore E.
50 wascana veiw
60 university
70 southland
80 normanveiw
90 sherwood/northwest shopping district
these were all based on a park 'n' ride basis. they all circled the downtown in a loop around sask drive, broad, 11th and albert. these routes all took the shortest route possible and stopped every 1.5, 2 or 3 kilometres at highly used intersections. (and yes i went to the traffic count thing on regina's website and based the bus stopes on those figures ). The presentation went over very well and they were very intrigued with what i came up with. But their main question was, "how do we get people out of their cars once they are already in them". ( this question refers to the park and ride design i came up with ). and they also explained how they cant change anything until they get more riders.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by youngregina
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youngregina - Any updates on how your presentation went with the Transit head?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by youngregina
It wasnt me, i think it was caveat.doctor.. correct me if im wrong.
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Me, I was
talking earlier about switching the current loopy routes to a simpler grid layout - from this
to something like this
The existing system does ensure that most residents aren't more than a few blocks from a bus stop, but it means that routes are long and circuitous and indirect, which means it takes extra long to get around. Plus they all force you to go Downtown, ostensibly to boost business/traffic there, but the point of transit is to help people get across the
entire city, as a viable alternative to cars, no matter where they want to go.
The grid offers simpler routes, so no confusing maps to remember - if you know the major streets in Regina, you know the system. Easy-peasy. The routes just go up and down the streets, so you don't have to guess where the bus stops are; and the routes are shorter, so they can run more frequently without having to increase the number of buses or drivers. Just by not having to stop and turn so often makes the routes run more efficiently.
Potentially more transfers to get across town - but since the buses would run so much more quickly and frequently, if you needed a transfer the overall transfer+transit time would still beat the current layout. The transfer points are logical (wherever major streets cross), and naturally are "centres" for the neighbourhoods they're in, and can become focuses for transit-oriented development, eg dense residential/retail/community amenities like parks. It's like every area has its "station". Plus most destinations in the city (eg businesses, schools, workplaces) are along those major streets anyway.
You may also have to walk more, but the distances are in keeping with other systems in Canada with similar layouts - and higher ridership. Plus more walking is good for you (my medical opinion). Though I did keep some local loop routes in there too, eg the Central for all the retirement homes (like the current Heritage line), as well as North, South and South-East loops that connect suburban residential with their respective commercial strips.
It would work better in Regina than the express route/park & ride system youngregina proposed, because the benefits of express routes are gained over long distances point-to-point, eg suburban commuter service (like Ottawa, GO buses, etc). Regina's distances are still too short to justify a system like that - it would take more time for drivers to park and wait for buses than would be gained by the buses running express. Moreover, buses running express non-stop hub-to-hub end up not serving the inner city between those hubs - precisely the market who often need transit most.
Anyway, just my 2c from my own experience knowing what works in other cities - no claims to expertise except being a regular transit user (when I'm not
biking, anyway).
The L-P ran a story last Friday,
"Rising gas prices may make Transit more appealing". There's a comment section you guys should fill out if you have ideas about transit - I imagine the L-P writers would be keeping an eye on it for story leads, maybe a good idea will come out of it.