Is it time for a re-think about the Baseline BRT? As the price keeps climbing, I think that it is becoming less likely that it will ever get built as designed. Look at the (new) Phase 1 portion of the project; it simply adds short, curb-side, bus lanes around the Baseline Greenbank intersection. And that is costing $18.5M.
Although the current design is all-singing-all-dancing, I think that it may be too much. What Baseline needs is a way to move buses more reliably along its length – and that can be done with a simpler, cheaper plan.
I suggest that the plan be throttled back to basic side bus lanes. His can fit into the existing Right of Way (RoW) for most of the corridor – resulting in much less requirement for new property acquisitions.
(Yes, I am also including bike lanes, but not segregated cycle-tracks.)
My suggestion for the main corridor would be:
1.5m sidewalk
1.5m east-bound bike lane
4.0m east-bound bus lane
3.5m east-bound general vehicle lane (slightly wider for a buffer to the buses)
3.25m east-bound general vehicle lane
1.5m central median
3.25m west-bound general vehicle lane
3.5m west-bound general vehicle lane (slightly wider for a buffer to the buses)
4.0m west-bound bus lane
1.5m west-bound bike lane
1.5m sidewalk
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29.0m width required – any additional RoW is padding between bike lane and sidewalk.
Obviously, there will likely be some added width required around intersections, but not as much as the current plan would demand.
Benefits:
- Buses will have continuous, mostly unimpeded lanes from Heron Station to Richmond Road.
- These lanes would line-up with the existing Heron Road bus lanes and the new bus lanes at Greenbank, requiring less re-working of the road pattern.
- Bus timing will become more consistent.
- Bus stops remain on the sidewalks, and can be located anywhere, allowing more flexibility to adjust their position.
- Cycling will be safer, with continuous bike lanes set 4-metres away from the majority of traffic.
- With a bus every 10 minutes, or longer, few buses will pass a moving bike – but the lane width still allows space.
- Cars will be able to merge out onto Baseline Road more easily.
- Less additional property required.
- Less expensive than the proposed Complete Street BRT plan.
Disadvantages:
- Some traffic may interfere with the bus lanes, particularly near/at intersections.
- Bike lanes are not fully segregated.
Although side bus lanes are not ideal, they are much better than what buses need to contend with today. We can wait forever to get ‘perfect’ median bus lanes, or we can actually improve transit (and cycling) now, for a lower cost.
City Council should be asking staff for information about alternatives like this as an option. The fact that there is a 7-year-old approved plan should not lock the buses into mixed traffic forever.