[St. John's] Transport development (Highways, Airport, and Public Transit)

[statbass]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

wait, what? $800 for a round trip to Moncton..small city regional flights are killer

These flights will run from Mon-Fri and will be focused primarily on business clientele. If you factor a flight from Moncton to St. John's with, say, a 2-3 hour stopover in Halifax (possibly both ways) then it would be more beneficial, from a business perspective, to fly direct. It'll be interesting to see how well it does... I'm not sure how much business interaction there is between St. John's and Moncton, but I'm sure (or at least hope that) both airport authorities did their homework on this.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

There's a great discussion of the Moncton to St. John's flight in the atlantic canada form. The general consensus is that while it's a great idea, an 800 buck round trip flight to and from will not work considering how relatively cheap the Halifax to St. John's route is.

...and considering I just purchased a round trip flight to Los Angeles for $900.

I see this as an opportunity now for AC or WestJet to put on a flight from Moncton to St. John's at a much lower price.

[jeddy1989]

FINALLY THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IT!!!!! and talk of TRAMS! from CBS! oh my! how exciting!

We don't ride Metrobus, but you should, candidates say

The frontrunners for the St. John's mayoralty admitted during a debate they do not often ride a Metrobus — but they want a better public transportation system for the northeast Avalon.

"The last time I rode on a Metrobus was 2001 ... Before that, in the 1960s," Dennis O'Keefe, the incumbent mayor, told a forum in St. John's on Tuesday night when he was asked to say when he last used the bus.

Read our live-blog recap of Tuesday night's debate
"I have to say, I'm not a common rider, I will admit to that," said Coun. Sheilagh O'Leary, who agreed with O'Keefe that a plan is needed to get more people on buses in and out of the city. [Challenger Geoff Chaulk did not attend the debate.]


Mayoral candidates in the Sept. 24 election from St. John's, Paradise and Conception Bay South took part in the debate, which was sponsored by the St. John's Board of Trade and the provincial chapter of the Canadian Home Builders' Association.

Dan Bobbett, who is running for mayor in Paradise, likes the idea of a Metrobus expansion that served commuters in towns outside the capital.

"I think there should be direct routes taking you from, say, C.B.S., through Paradise, and take them to the major locations, like Avalon Mall or the Village mall," he said.

C.B.S. Mayor Woodrow French said planners should look to bigger centres like Toronto for regional transit models.

"We've got a lot of space out there," said French.

"Why can't we put in a tramway? Why can't we do something like that, which is going to get people into St. John's within half an hour?"

All the candidates agreed that there needs to be more regional co-operation on transit and other issues, including the economy, although O'Keefe said he would like to see something more official.

"One of the biggest disappointments in my term of office currently is the lack of a regional plan, and that is the responsibility of [the Department of] Municipal Affairs," he said.

"It's been delayed and delayed and delayed," said O'Keefe, adding that individual municipal plans should fall under the guidelines of a larger regional plan.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...ebate-911.html

[BigRedSpecial]

I saw that... I was shocked! It's only talk but that's more than we've gotten in the past.

Love CBC's headline on the article though... Even the media thinks mass transit is for losers.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by BigRedSpecial

I saw that... I was shocked! It's only talk but that's more than we've gotten in the past.

Love CBC's headline on the article though... Even the media thinks mass transit is for losers.

There is a reason it is called by some as the "Loser Crusier"

[BigRedSpecial]

Hahaha.

So, I guess we have a "chicken vs. egg" argument... does the image have to change before people will take it seriously, or will new routes improve the image?

[jeddy1989]

here's the news announcement from NTV, also with a video at St. John's international.

Quebec Airline to Offer Direct Flights From St. John’s to Moncton

Moncton may not be the most exotic destination, but a new daily direct flight to St. John’s is being welcomed as another option for travellers. Quebec-based airline Pascan announced the new service Tuesday. NTV’s Dave Squires reports.

http://ntv.ca/quebec-airline-to-offe...ns-to-moncton/

[kwajo]

We don't ride Metrobus, but you should, candidates say

This is the biggest issue with transit planning facing small Atlantic Canada-sized cities, the fact that none of the decision makers ever use the systems or that view it as an option only for those who can't afford a car. When I lived in St. John's I used the Metrobus nearly every day and I found it very usable, but it definitely has room to improve. The best course of action would be to implement changes to the city's antiquated surface parking requirements downtown that parallel changes to the transit system to foster better density improvements and traffic reductions.

[jeddy1989]

Policy Briefs: Why public transit should be a priority in St. John’s

With the upcoming municipal election in St. John’s, the issue of public transit is one that has received considerable attention and debate among the various candidates. Questions have focused on how to improve on existing services, expand ridership and promote sustainability and importance as an economic and environmental driver, as well as exploring potential avenues for funding. The St. John’s Transportation Commission, along with various community organizations, have sought public feedback through surveys and online forums as a means of garnering input from riders and residents alike. While ridership numbers remain steady, existing taxation regulations, accompanied with limited funding opportunities and innovation, have made it difficult to expand the public transit system in a way that can be beneficial to all.

Currently, transportation services are not included or covered under the province’s Gasoline Tax Act or the Highway Traffic Act, meaning Metrobus Transit are unable to receive tax exemptions, unlike other provincial jurisdictions that provide small rebates or other financial incentives as a means of strengthening their public transit systems. Currently, the Government of Ontario has in place a Gas Tax program, in which it re-invests a small portion of its gas tax revenues to a number of transit systems through the province’s various municipalities.

Promoting and expanding public transit services through a more rigorous marketing campaign to engage new riders could equally be beneficial to the city’s local economy from an urban planning perspective, such as tackling or improving issues related to traffic congestion or limited parking spaces due to continued developments in the housing and retail sectors.

A report published by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) in 2009 found that problems stemming from traffic congestion and lack of direct investment in public transit services was costing the city of Toronto upwards of $4.4 billion in lost productivity. While St. John’s may not face the same level of public demand or regional diversification as found in Toronto, continued housing developments and new subdivisions, coupled with large retail centres, could make it a growing problem for the city.

The city of St. John’s is expected to lead in economic growth in 2013 as a result of oil and gas production, as outlined in a recent Conference Board of Canada report, and therefore it is critical that different options be explored in terms of reforming public transit to improve services, while finding new sources of public or private funding to make these changes a reality. Equally, investments in public transit can also be eco-friendly, as various studies have found that it can lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in air quality by reducing the number of private vehicles. Recently the city announced that Metrobus Transit would be moving into a new $34 million dollar facility that utilizes green-based technologies, much of which was supported by federal funding.



Alleviating the existing tax burden, combined with a modest reduction in licensing fees, would provide Metrobus Transit with additional financial resources that could be directed to a number of areas. This could include infrastructure-related projects, such as repairing or building new bus shelters, improving wireless services for riders, enhancing machinery or purchasing new buses for the purposes of route expansion. The city should also explore other investment opportunities such as networking with neighboring urban communities as a means of expanding ridership and promoting their services to a wider range of customers.

With new revenue streams, Metrobus Transit can also explore other areas, such as re-working their existing route and scheduling system to increase ridership, while better accommodating more remote parts of the city that may not avail of these services directly. Clearly, expanding and enhancing public transit services can have significant environmental and economic benefits, and through proper strategic planning and coordination as part of ongoing urban development, it should be prioritized as a critical service that can benefit the people and the city alike.

http://themuse.ca/2013/09/12/policy-...y-in-st-johns/

[jeddy1989]

Metrobus Wins International Award

Metrobus has won an international award. It has won a COLLOQUY Loyalty Innovation Award for its Air Miles Reward Program. Metrobus General Manager Judy Powell says the program has resulted in an increase in ridership. She says they're the only transit operation to award Air Miles for every ride people take. The campaign resulted in a 6 per cent gain in 2012 ridership.


The last two summers have been Metrobuses best on record.

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...38944&latest=1

[rthomasd]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

A new document has appeared on the Gov't website outlining this year's construction,
http://www.tw.gov.nl.ca/publications..._Underpass.pdf

Visited the TG Highway site today. Not much to show for the 2013 season. Here's a few pics of the ONLY work done so-far for all of 2013.

Captain Whelan area



Collector Road



Pennywell Road

[statbass]

A picture of the CBS bypass extension from Legion Rd overpass. It looks like all that's left to do is paint lines on the road.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

Visited the TG Highway site today. Not much to show for the 2013 season. Here's a few pics of the ONLY work done so-far for all of 2013.

Captain Whelan area



Collector Road



Pennywell Road

No wonder building roads takes forever in Newfoundland...they basically have to mine their way through rock to build roads.

[rthomasd]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

No wonder building roads takes forever in Newfoundland...they basically have to mine their way through rock to build roads.

While there was a lot of heavy civil work for the roadbed, that was essentially finished in Jan 2013. The Gov't didn't issue a tender for the 2013 under/over passes till May 2013 and looks like that work is progressing. The timescale seems limited by labour shortages and a Gov't go-slow. It's almost as is they can't work more than one road project in this area at a time and the CBS bypass is getting more than an equal share of the attention.

It would be nice if they could start the Blackmarsh Rd and Topsail Road work in the next few months but I believe that's not till next budget year and this time next year we'll have seen some work on these. The Gov't still maintains a late-2014 opening of the road, but that's impossible - I'd say more like late 2016 at the earliest.

[jjavman]

[QUOTE=rthomasd;6293016]While there was a lot of heavy civil work for the roadbed, that was essentially finished in Jan 2013. The Gov't didn't issue a tender for the 2013 under/over passes till May 2013 and looks like that work is progressing. The timescale seems limited by labour shortages and a Gov't go-slow. It's almost as is they can't work more than one road project in this area at a time and the CBS bypass is getting more than an equal share of the attention.

I wonder if the transport minister living in CBS has anything to do with this ???

[jeddy1989]

We could be getting a new international airline soon!

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

found this on the web:
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...ansion-391377/

Allegiant eyes Canada for international expansion
By: GHIM-LAY YEO LAS VEGAS 11:14 6 Oct 2013

Low-cost leisure carrier Allegiant Air is eyeing scheduled service to Canada as early as the winter of 2014, as the airline prepares to launch its first international service to Mexico in June.

The Las Vegas-based airline will likely begin flights to smaller cities in Atlantic Canada as well as Canada's western regions from Florida, Allegiant's vice president of network and pricing Lukas Johnson tells Flightglobal Pro. Potential Atlantic Canada airports include Moncton, Halifax and St John's, he adds, saying that Allegiant is eyeing routes that airlines do not currently serve. "Obviously, you wouldn't see us flying to Toronto Pearson International," says Johnson.

In line with Allegiant's business model, the flights will bring travellers from these smaller Canadian cities to warm weather holiday destinations in Florida. The earliest the airline could launch these flights would be the winter of 2014, says Johnson. "We are not trying to do the bread and butter WestJet routes," he adds, referring to the Canadian low-cost carrier.

Allegiant currently has authority to operate charter flights to Canada and Mexico, and plans to begin its first international scheduled service to Mexico around June 2014. The airline has applied for approval to launch operations between Las Vegas and Hermosillo and San Jose del Cabo. Johnson says Allegiant has won approval from the US Department of Transportation to begin the flights but is still awaiting the go-ahead from Mexican authorities.

The airline is steadily growing its presence at Florida's secondary airports, specifically Orlando Sanford, St Petersburg Clearwater and Punta Gorda. In August it outlined plans to add 16 new routes from Florida between October and December, bringing the airline's total number of destinations from the state to more than 100.

Allegiant's east coast operations, which includes four airports in Florida and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, accounts for around 40% of its total network now but this will go up to 48% in end-2014, says Johnson. At the same time, the share of its Las Vegas flights is gradually shrinking in its overall network, from 63% in 2007 to 29% in end-2014. This is due to rising airport costs at Las Vegas, he says.

[AnUrbanLife]

A little info on the new airline serving YYT, Pascan.

It looks like prices are out on their booking website and the cheapest seem to be in the $367 price range, for a round trip ticket all fees and taxes included. Also many connections are available from Moncton, like Quecbec city, so it may not be as useless as it first appeared.

In sum, expensive but not ludicrous and hey maybe they'll have sales.

[goodgrowth]

O'Keefe pitches regional approach to ease traffic woes.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...055014?cmp=rss

[goodgrowth]

"Construction on Team Gushue Highway Advances with $9.4 Million in Tender Contracts"

http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releas...tw/1030n07.htm

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

"Construction on Team Gushue Highway Advances with $9.4 Million in Tender Contracts"

http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releas...tw/1030n07.htm

Good stuff. Glad to see some progress, albeit very slow. Is anyone aware what the plan for the collector road is to Pennywell? If they are working on the overpass, I would assume they would finish that as well. Last I remember the vegetation was cut but that was it.

Damn, it takes so long to do highway work in this province...