Shift: London's Rapid Transit Initiative - Page 63

Djeffery · #**1241** Posted **Sep 15, 2024, 10:39 PM**

This was on the Craig Needles Podcast a few weeks ago. Skip the BRT and go right to a subway for the north. Can't argue with this.

https://thecraigneedlespodcast.podbe...eeds-a-subway/

GreatTallNorth2 · #**1242** Posted **Sep 16, 2024, 7:06 PM**

They should absolutely be talking about grade separated rail from downtown to Masonville via Western Road. And the university does not get the deciding vote on London's transit plans.

HuronZephyr · #**1243** Posted **Sep 16, 2024, 8:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

They should absolutely be talking about grade separated rail from downtown to Masonville via Western Road. And the university does not get the deciding vote on London's transit plans.

But the university practically did get a 'deciding vote' when it said nyet to busses running through the main campus with a stop being located outside the University Community Centre and the Social Sciences Centre.

Djeffery · #**1244** Posted **Sep 16, 2024, 10:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuronZephyr

But the university practically did get a 'deciding vote' when it said nyet to busses running through the main campus with a stop being located outside the University Community Centre and the Social Sciences Centre.

Which is why whatever comes should use Western Road, so that the university doesn't get a say. Western wanted a new bridge built in exchange for allowing the BRT through campus. Skip being on campus, have regular transit up the Richmond site, rapid transit up the Western Rd side, and both coming in to whatever type of transit terminal they come up with at or near Masonville.

haljackey · #**1245** Posted **Sep 17, 2024, 2:00 PM**

The north leg won't happen unless the BRT can run on it's own lane. The old Wharncliffe plan had it running in mixed traffic on it's way to downtown. Western Road was recently widened to 4 lanes, so people either need to accept losing that new lane to the bus, or widen again which would need a rail overpass replacement that was just replaced ~10 years ago.

I need to see the routing, and what they plan to do with the mixed traffic section on Wharncliffe before I am waking up to reviving the extremely disliked north leg.

MolsonExport · #**1246** Posted **Sep 18, 2024, 3:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Which is why whatever comes should use Western Road, so that the university doesn't get a say. Western wanted a new bridge built in exchange for allowing the BRT through campus. Skip being on campus, have regular transit up the Richmond site, rapid transit up the Western Rd side, and both coming in to whatever type of transit terminal they come up with at or near Masonville.

I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I was with Western for kibboshing LRT through campus, thereby destroying the possibility of the entire project.

20,000 cars that do not have Western as a destination pass through campus every day. (well, not right now, as the university has seen fit to block access to campus, thereby redirecting these vehicles north and south...and creating epic traffic jams).

If Western Road goes to 2 lanes to accommodate BRT, the already extremely horrible rush hour traffic will be gridlocked.

The city does not have enough through roads (East-West, North-South). It also lacks highways. It also lacks rapid transit. It is extremely sprawly.

jammer139 · #**1247** Posted **Sep 19, 2024, 1:19 AM**

Looks like Hayman Construction got the contract for the new bridge abutments for the widening of the Wellington St bridge over the River. They have made alot of progress with sinking pilings on both the south and north bank.

HuronZephyr · #**1248** Posted **Sep 19, 2024, 8:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I was with Western for kibboshing LRT through campus, thereby destroying the possibility of the entire project.

20,000 cars that do not have Western as a destination pass through campus every day. (well, not right now, as the university has seen fit to block access to campus, thereby redirecting these vehicles north and south...and creating epic traffic jams).

If Western Road goes to 2 lanes to accommodate BRT, the already extremely horrible rush hour traffic will be gridlocked.

The city does not have enough through roads (East-West, North-South). It also lacks highways. It also lacks rapid transit. It is extremely sprawly.

London is such a joke. Always working at cross purposes and caving into NIMBYs and everyone else who wants to block necessary progress. People will not give up their cars for a half-arsed BRT system that won't even begin to deliver what was promised.

Can't wait until I can move away from this shambolic city.

ssiguy · #**1249** Posted **Sep 21, 2024, 7:59 PM**

One thing that gets me about the BRT is that they never show the vehicles they will actually use.

Are they hydrogen or battery? Are they single or articulated or even double articulated? Will they look like every other articulated bus in the city? Will they have more modern designs that look like an LRT? Will they have a different colour so they are easily identifiable? Will they 2, 3, or 4 entry points? Will they have doors on each side so they can use same platforms for different directions? The silence has been deafening which is upsetting as it makes me think they will just be another standard utilitarian New Flyer.

Brisbane's new Bus "Metro" will be using the nice new Hess articulated battery electrics which look very nice. If you want to see a really cool bus that they use in Europe go look up the Van Hool equi.city24........................really nice! These are the type of vehicles Londoners { ie you guys} should be demanding.

jammer139 · #**1250** Posted **Sep 21, 2024, 9:09 PM**

Probably works great in Brisbane where they don't get 30-40cm of snow in a single storm and meter high snow banks on the curbs or freezing rain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssiguy

One thing that gets me about the BRT is that they never show the vehicles they will actually use.

Are they hydrogen or battery? Are they single or articulated or even double articulated? Will they look like every other articulated bus in the city? Will they have more modern designs that look like an LRT? Will they have a different colour so they are easily identifiable? Will they 2, 3, or 4 entry points? Will they have doors on each side so they can use same platforms for different directions? The silence has been deafening which is upsetting as it makes me think they will just be another standard utilitarian New Flyer.

Brisbane's new Bus "Metro" will be using the nice new Hess articulated battery electrics which look very nice. If you want to see a really cool bus that they use in Europe go look up the Van Hool equi.city24........................really nice! These are the type of vehicles Londoners { ie you guys} should be demanding.

ssiguy · #**1251** Posted **Sep 22, 2024, 3:01 AM**

There is also the smaller version of 18 meters for the Van Hools and London already runs 18 meter articulates. They also use these vehicles in Finland which is also cold and snowy.

Even nearby Cleveland uses more modern buses where the wheels are covered on their successful Healthline BRT. They look much nicer and more modern and are, very importantly, easily recognizable from regular articulated buses.

Djeffery · #**1252** Posted **Sep 22, 2024, 3:31 AM**

I wouldn't be shocked if they haven't even got that far in the plans yet. LTC has already said there is no budget to actually operate BRT at this point, so they probably will just end up re-deploying existing buses until the network is fully built out and the city figures out how to pay for a full network. Don't forget going back to the last Mayor, LTC has been talking electrification, so they probably will be having that debate at some point too.

haljackey · #**1253** Posted **Sep 22, 2024, 2:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djeffery

I wouldn't be shocked if they haven't even got that far in the plans yet. LTC has already said there is no budget to actually operate BRT at this point, so they probably will just end up re-deploying existing buses until the network is fully built out and the city figures out how to pay for a full network. Don't forget going back to the last Mayor, LTC has been talking electrification, so they probably will be having that debate at some point too.

Failure to install gantries if they wanted to go electric- basically could have had a bus streetcar or something?

But ya there's no funding for the buses themselves, just the BRT infrastructure right? I expect to see the route heavily underutilized with old buses for the first couple years as the LTC figures out what to do with it with the funding and organization logistics they have.

It's going to be a future headache for politicians, and I am sure the public and media will go crazy that they built all this BRT for few buses that come infrequently, and might still be late despite their own lane and signal priority.

HuronZephyr · #**1254** Posted **Sep 24, 2024, 9:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djeffery

I wouldn't be shocked if they haven't even got that far in the plans yet. LTC has already said there is no budget to actually operate BRT at this point, so they probably will just end up re-deploying existing buses until the network is fully built out and the city figures out how to pay for a full network. Don't forget going back to the last Mayor, LTC has been talking electrification, so they probably will be having that debate at some point too.

Once again, London is more than a day late and a dollar short. As it always is. Great idea! Let's build a BRT system, but have no funding to operate it! What could possibly go wrong?