The Great Canadian Transit Thread - Page 418

LilZebra · #**8341** Posted **May 6, 2016, 1:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by caltrane74

I know that corner well. Across the street is the Hosteling International hostel.

Kiing @ Church. That must be the 508 route.

caltrane74 · #**8342** Posted **May 6, 2016, 2:29 PM**

I think that's Spadina south of Bloor? Perhaps around Harbord....

niwell · #**8343** Posted **May 6, 2016, 2:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimj_wpg

I know that corner well. Across the street is the Hosteling International hostel.

Kiing @ Church. That must be the 508 route.

It's actually on Spadina just south of Harbord: https://goo.gl/maps/Wk1ACtMHkoB2

You are probably thinking of St James Cathedral which is on the north side of King at Church, and the view you have in mind would be looking south on Church? The church in the picture is the Knox Presbyterian church on Spadina, at least according to google maps!

The new streetcars are only running on the Spadina line (510) and Queens Quay (509) routes right now thanks to Bombardier screwups. I think the 508 route may actually be discontinued now too.

WhipperSnapper · #**8344** Posted **May 6, 2016, 2:39 PM**

666 Spadina in the background

caltrane74 · #**8345** Posted **May 9, 2016, 5:19 PM**

from the UrbanToronto flickr pool.

Union Station by Rodney Gaviola

rike5 · #**8346** Posted **May 10, 2016, 1:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimj_wpg

Kiing @ Church. That must be the 508 route.

Speaking as a non-Torontonian here... are the route numbers perpetually rayed out on the new streetcars? Seems like a pretty basic feature to me.

matt602 · #**8347** Posted **May 10, 2016, 1:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rike5

Speaking as a non-Torontonian here... are the route numbers perpetually rayed out on the new streetcars? Seems like a pretty basic feature to me.

They look fine in person, I think its just an effect that happens when they're photographed. They're your pretty standard LED destination signs, same as you'd find on most buses.

Innsertnamehere · #**8348** Posted **May 10, 2016, 1:35 AM**

Yup, 508 was cancelled, and the 501 has been split in two now. They really should have renamed the 501 lakeshore part as the 508, as they are two separate services that meet at the humber loop.

WhipperSnapper · #**8349** Posted **May 10, 2016, 3:20 AM**

When is the 501 being split?!?

Innsertnamehere · #**8350** Posted **May 10, 2016, 4:08 AM**

It has been for several months at The Humber loop in order to improve reliability. The odd car may still through run, but formally they are two seperated services with a forced transfer from my understanding.

WhipperSnapper · #**8351** Posted **May 10, 2016, 1:00 PM**

Wow. I haven't noticed. It's a good idea.

niwell · #**8352** Posted **May 10, 2016, 1:15 PM**

I usually bike to work but I have noticed that the 501 is considerably more reliable in Parkdale. It still bunches, particularly in bad weather, but not to the extent it used to.

GreatTallNorth2 · #**8353** Posted **May 10, 2016, 3:47 PM**

So just an update from London, the city administration has come back recommending BRT for the city instead of a mix of BRT & LRT. The reasoning is that it will cost less ($880 million vs. $500 million) and in their opinion be just as effective as the LRT. Both plans include a transit tunnel from Victoria Park to north of Oxford Street, which will bypass the traffic on Richmond and the train tracks.

London's "plan for today" instead of "plan for the future" attitude means that it will probably be BRT instead of LRT. We have the most progressive council that we have ever had in London, but still it will be a major fight to get LRT back on the radar. With the province and feds committed to transit, now is the time to build LRT in my opinion as the stars will not align like this again. More info at www.shiftlondon.ca

caltrane74 · #**8354** Posted **May 10, 2016, 3:59 PM**

Wow! that is really stupid.. do these guys know what "free money" means?

MalcolmTucker · #**8355** Posted **May 10, 2016, 5:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by caltrane74

Wow! that is really stupid.. do these guys know what "free money" means?

If they want to do both lines at once, they will need to make a choice. Delaying one line for a while sure, they can spend more for LRT. Really, what benefit does LRT deliver in Waterloo, over a BRT with similarly protected lanes when your capacity needs are low?

caltrane74 · #**8356** Posted **May 10, 2016, 5:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

If they want to do both lines at once, they will need to make a choice. Delaying one line for a while sure, they can spend more for LRT. Really, what benefit does LRT deliver in Waterloo, over a BRT with similarly protected lanes when your capacity needs are low?

I thought this was London, Kitchener-Waterloo is already building an LRT.

MalcolmTucker · #**8357** Posted **May 10, 2016, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by caltrane74

I thought this was London, Kitchener-Waterloo is already building an LRT.

Yeah. But LRT isn't an end in and of itself. What extra benefit comes in KWC? What extra benefit would come in London?

I'd rather have a more extensive (as in longer or additional corridors) higher order transit than higher order transit on rails.

KWC made its decision to provide a shorter corridor on rails. Why should one push for London to make the same decision?

Not every transit line will have capacity needs within the next 50 years to require the higher per vehicle capacity LRT provides.

GreatTallNorth2 · #**8358** Posted **May 10, 2016, 5:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

Yeah. But LRT isn't an end in and of itself. What extra benefit comes in KWC? What extra benefit would come in London?

I'd rather have a more extensive (as in longer or additional corridors) higher order transit than higher order transit on rails.

KWC made its decision to provide a shorter corridor on rails. Why should one push for London to make the same decision?

Not every transit line will have capacity needs within the next 50 years to require the higher per vehicle capacity LRT provides.

London will not be building longer transit lines with the money saved. We will basically be declining free money. If the plan was to build a more extensive network with BRT vs. a shorter LRT line, you might have a point, but thats not the case.

MalcolmTucker · #**8359** Posted **May 10, 2016, 5:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

London will not be building longer transit lines with the money saved. We will basically be declining free money. If the plan was to build a more extensive network with BRT vs. a shorter LRT line, you might have a point, but thats not the case.

There is the assumption that there is enough grant money to fund the full system on the same timelines. That is not known either way. I know the Ontario Government has made a mess of granting by not explaining what is actually meant when a project gets 100% outside funding, but certainly there are cash flow provisions into Infrastructure Ontario/Metrolinx that set certain yearly outlays for populations of certain sizes/service demands of certain ridership numbers.

In that way the 66%/33% for KWC over a longer time frame than the 33% for Ottawa, in a way that lets Ottawa move onto the second phase almost immediately while KWC waits to amortize more of its initial build for longer, as a smaller population with a higher commitment.

That the province hasn't expressed it doesn't mean they have no appreciation for cost. Hamilton's line was truncated to fit within the delivery envelope allocated to the city.

WhipperSnapper · #**8360** Posted **May 10, 2016, 6:25 PM**

Image should not be discounted for these initial transit infrastructure builds. I don't know if lrt is worth the additional costs though.