Winnipeg City Transit/Rapid Transit

[1ajs]

cars are king in this city duh we already knew that would be nice to get it balanced but thats going to take years to do but still a goal for this city to set!

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by newflyer

Really?? There were plans??

Please share.

Where exactly was this transit line going to run. Where were the stations to be located?? How many stations would there be? What were the stations going to cost?? Did the city have all the nessesary land or would they have to purchase any land?? How much of the line would be designated transit line.. how much would be diamond lanes. Where would the rapid transit line run in downtown and how would it have linked to the south line? What was the projected total cost.

I never heard any real plans... just some general concepts and the sounds of forumers wetting themselves. Perhaps you have better sources than I do.

no...there were plans...i saw them...i wish i had scanned them.

the line ran along the rail corridor down pembina through osborne village...it became designated lane after that, to graham i believe...it was also designated lane on pembina south of jubilee as i recall.....the typical stop was drawn up as well....i'll search my office to see if i can find them.

your defence of katz and his visionary transit plan is comical.

cutting centre venture and arts funding so he can put 2 million in the bank for rapid transit is ridiculous....pure political games....only 25 more years of that and he will have the 50 million that murray had secured and katz threw away 3 years ago.

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by trueviking

no...there were plans...i saw them...i wish i had scanned them.

the line ran along the rail corridor down pembina through osborne village...it became designated lane after that, to graham i believe...it was also designated lane on pembina south of jubilee as i recall.....the typical stop was drawn up as well....i'll search my office to see if i can find them.

your defence of katz and his visionary transit plan is comical.

cutting centre venture and arts funding so he can put 2 million in the bank for rapid transit is ridiculous....pure political games....only 25 more years of that and he will have the 50 million that murray had secured and katz threw away 3 years ago.

I am not saying there weren't plans, but I know I never saw them. What I do remember Murray the snake oil salesman trying to sell some fangled BRT on guided tracks with actual stations, and even mention of a bridge crossing Main Street ... with very little details of cost or actual plans of how it would be layed out. If you say you saw them I will have to believe you, but I still maintain Murray was blowing sunshine out his butt to try to save his deflating political career.

The fact that you ignore that Katz has already invested more real money in Winnipeg Transit than Murray did in his whole stay as mayor is what is really comical. Your selective point of view always amazes me.

As far as Katz's recent budget I am disappointed to say the least, but nobody here can suggest Winnipeg Transit hasn't recieved a great deal of fundung under Katz. Some 130 million plus .. as well as a rapid transit fund which has already eclipsed Murray's meger contribution to his famous magic BRT line.

[Spocket]

Um, no and no.
Murray had more money in the pot for BRT than Katz does because Katz is using what was a dedicated fund for rapid transit for other things.

As for this $130 million you keep talking about...where ? I haven't seen any real improvements. Where are the bus shacks, the replaced bus fleet, dedicated lanes...anything ? I hear we have a new articulated bus but that doesn't quite strike me as a $130 million dollar investment.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by newflyer

I am not saying there weren't plans, but I know I never saw them. What I do remember Murray the snake oil salesman trying to sell some fangled BRT on guided tracks with actual stations, and even mention of a bridge crossing Main Street ... with very little details of cost or actual plans of how it would be layed out. If you say you saw them I will have to believe you, but I still maintain Murray was blowing sunshine out his butt to try to save his deflating political career.

The fact that you ignore that Katz has already invested more real money in Winnipeg Transit than Murray did in his whole stay as mayor is what is really comical. Your selective point of view always amazes me.

As far as Katz's recent budget I am disappointed to say the least, but nobody here can suggest Winnipeg Transit hasn't recieved a great deal of fundung under Katz. Some 130 million plus .. as well as a rapid transit fund which has already eclipsed Murray's meger contribution to his famous magic BRT line.

There were renderings because we saw them on this forum. They were mostly the "artist's conception" sort of thing that don't bear any resemblance to what would actually be built. I think the reality of Winnipeg is that maintaining existing infrastructure is always going to eat up the lion's share of any money that is available. Layering whole new types of infrastructure on top of what already exists (especially notoriously expensive types like rapid transit) is realistically a non-starter and a misuse of resources in my opinion. The best plan is to make some incremental improvements in the existing system, such as dedicated lanes where they are cheap to build, better scheduling and route interconnections, and more comfortable buses.

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by Spocket

Um, no and no.
Murray had more money in the pot for BRT than Katz does because Katz is using what was a dedicated fund for rapid transit for other things.

As for this $130 million you keep talking about...where ? I haven't seen any real improvements. Where are the bus shacks, the replaced bus fleet, dedicated lanes...anything ? I hear we have a new articulated bus but that doesn't quite strike me as a $130 million dollar investment.

Yes, and yes.. look into the facts.

I said real money .. not some fague political promise to spend money on a plan which from what I can tell didn't really exsist, beyond it was to consist of the letters B..R..T.

[newflyer]

For those of you who don't recall...

Originally Posted by wags_in_the_peg

37 new heated shelters for bus riders

Winnipeg Transit riders will be able to wait comfortably inside 37 new heated bus shelters this winter as the city begins to roll out some of the transit-system enhancements announced 18 months ago.

In February 2006, the city announced $143 million worth of improvements to Winnipeg Transit, including new conventional and diesel-electric hybrid buses, more dedicated bus lanes, new information kiosks, electronic arrival-time displays, upgraded bus stops at busy interchanges and new heated and unheated shelters.

This morning, transit director Dave Wardrop said 104 new shelters -- including 37 heated structures -- were completed this year as part of upgrades to bus stops along major routes such as Pembina Highway as well as downtown.

The city has spent approximately $7 million on transit improvements this year, aided in part of federal gas-tax revenue as well as provincial funding.

But the new articulated diesel-electric "bendy buses" won't be on the streets until one of the new hybrid vehicles undergoes a cold-weather test run this winter.

Yes .. all those new busses including hybred units and new heated shelters have a cost. The city is also expected at add GPS linked electronic diplays to major downtown stops later this year... letting passengers know the ETA for there bus.

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by Andy6

There were renderings because we saw them on this forum. They were mostly the "artist's conception" sort of thing that don't bear any resemblance to what would actually be built. I think the reality of Winnipeg is that maintaining existing infrastructure is always going to eat up the lion's share of any money that is available. Layering whole new types of infrastructure on top of what already exists (especially notoriously expensive types like rapid transit) is realistically a non-starter and a misuse of resources in my opinion. The best plan is to make some incremental improvements in the existing system, such as dedicated lanes where they are cheap to build, better scheduling and route interconnections, and more comfortable buses.

I agree... and the addition of the airconditioned new articulated buses will definately add to the comfort of our transit.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by newflyer

Yes, and yes.. look into the facts.

I said real money .. not some fague political promise to spend money on a plan which from what I can tell didn't really exsist, beyond it was to consist of the letters B..R..T.

Good grief, didn't you read any other comments in this thread ? You managed to even quote one right above yet you missed the very first sentence. For a little more detail (and so as to address the second line of the quote) read what TrueViking had to say about the matter. If you don't want to take my word for it then fine but there are others who seem to remember as well. The money wasn't just a 'vague political promise'. Have you not been paying any attention at all ?

And as to these great improvements : Well, where are they ? Come on now, you keep blathering on about how things are so much better now so , where are these improvements ? They coming tomorrow ? Next week ? Next year ? It's not really a momentous cash infusion of about $140 million bucks if it's spent over the course of a decade. After all, the city spends millions every year to operate transit and that includes having to buy new buses, replace shelters, so on an so forth.

So far, lemme see here : okay, we've got an articulated bus (is it actually part of the every day fleet yet ?) and drivers have to waste time and endanger their passengers by calling out every stop name.

[rypinion]

They have redone a number of bus shelters and signs, especially downtown. The transit website has photos of some of the new shelters and bus lanes.

The quote from newflyer doesn't quite work though - none of the new heated shelters worked this winter. There was a free press article about it a while back.

[The Jabroni]

^Yeah, although they were working intermittently, the rest weren't even working because they didn't even connect the power to those heaters.

Hell, even the lights weren't working inside the shelters and the new bus stop terminal signs.

[Pootkao]

Originally Posted by rypinion

The quote from newflyer doesn't quite work though - none of the new heated shelters worked this winter. There was a free press article about it a while back.

He's the king of ideology without the facts to back it up.

[1ajs]

[Jimbo]

The thing I hate about heated bus shelters is it's just a place for those annoying bums to collect in.

They'll huddle in a busshack, asking for money.
Or you'll just find one passed out in one.

[1ajs]

i can't stand those shelters they smell like ass

[The Jabroni]

Yesterday, I walked into that exact bus shelter in front of the Concert Hall, and damn, it smelt like ass and road salt.

It was horrible.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by The Jabroni

Yesterday, I walked into that exact bus shelter in front of the Concert Hall, and damn, it smelt like ass and road salt.

It was horrible.

My senses totally came alive reading that.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by Andy6

There were renderings because we saw them on this forum. They were mostly the "artist's conception" sort of thing that don't bear any resemblance to what would actually be built. I think the reality of Winnipeg is that maintaining existing infrastructure is always going to eat up the lion's share of any money that is available. Layering whole new types of infrastructure on top of what already exists (especially notoriously expensive types like rapid transit) is realistically a non-starter and a misuse of resources in my opinion. The best plan is to make some incremental improvements in the existing system, such as dedicated lanes where they are cheap to build, better scheduling and route interconnections, and more comfortable buses.

So how's our situation any different than in Toronto? Didn't they close the newest leg of the subway system for those same reasons?

To be honest, aside from Vancouver's Olympic cash injection I’m not sure how any Canadian city can pay for new infrastructure.

In terms of cheap transit solutions the best thing we could do is revamp the Crosstown buses and turn them into super expresses. I should be able to take the 77 Crosstown North and travel unimpeded between regional shopping centres.

As it stands now, the 77 is probably the worst thing done in the name of compromise.

[The Jabroni]

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

In terms of cheap transit solutions the best thing we could do is revamp the Crosstown buses and turn them into super expresses. I should be able to take the 77 Crosstown North and travel unimpeded between regional shopping centres.

As it stands now, the 77 is probably the worst thing done in the name of compromise.

The 77 IS the worst thing done in the name of compromise.

The current route as it stands is horrible, as it runs through the North/Northwest Winnipeg suburbs in the most "zig-zaggity" way.



Now a modded route (avoiding the northwestern suburbs in Yellow)


Or just for the hell of it, a Crosstown Direct - East/West route (yellow/green via Point Douglas, blue/green via St. Boniface)

[1ajs]

the 77 is the way it is cause it serves so many students