Quote:
Originally Posted by LikeHamilton
Bay Street does not need an LRT stop!
Bay Street to the middle of the west bound platform is only 315m walking distance at James (west of).
Bay Street to the middle of the east bound platform is only 430m walking distance at James (east of).
Bay Street to the Queen Street platform is only 420m on the west side of Queen.
(Measurements done on Google Earth)
I really do not expect any of these to be moved. The vast majority of people should not have any problem walking these distances, especially a student! People going to First Ontario Centre (Copp’s) will go through Jackson Square like they do now, go to a restaurants, maybe shop and then go outside on Bay Street. People who want to have cheap parking will still park behind City Hall and walk the 500m to 600m to Copp’s.
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The issue isn't the straight line distance, it's the items that are a bit out of the way. Imagine someone going to FOC. They'd have to walk from James St 10 minutes. It's also become one of the densest areas of the city, which makes it silly kind of to not have a high capacity transit line outside it. Imagine walking out of the McMaster Grad residence and seeing the LRT train pass you, only for you to have to walk all the way to Queen St to catch the LRT to McMaster main campus. It's a 7 minute walk, then a 10 minute LRT ride. So 17 minutes. Alternatively if this downtown campus had a stop it would be an extra 2 minutes of riding, so 12 minutes. That's a 5 minute difference each direction, for a total of an additional 10 minutes, for thousands of people. Which is crazy when you realize the entire drive is 8 minutes. If you want to convince people to take transit rather than drive, you need a comparable or great alternative. 8 minute drive vs 12 minute LRT is comparable, 8 minute drive vs a 7 minute walk in the cold plus 10 minute train ride for a total of 17 minutes (if the LRT is there when you get to the stop) is a tougher sell. People will still do it. But transit is all about frequency and accessibility. If it's inconvenient, less people will take it. I imagine many will make the walk, but it just seems silly when it's such a busy intersection and only getting busier.
It already sucks for me, because I live on Bay St N, so I've gotta walk 12 minutes to King St. If there is no stop at Bay, it will take me more than half my trip just walking to the LRT. I'm hoping the improved bus network resolves some of this, but as it is, Central Neighbourhood actually has a tough time of getting on the proposed LRT.