Quote:
Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut
I'll concede Skytrain's lower operating cost, but I don't understand this fixation on grade separation - not when the Corridor's ROW practically makes it grade-separated already.
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I'm fine with a streetcar running down Arbutus corridor. My one caveat is that it flows smoothly -- which means integrating timing of crossings with nearby traffic lights so the train minimizes stops and cars don't miss a green light.
My thinking is that if for political reasons this can't happen in the next 10 years, and such a semi-controlled environment could be automated with nothing more than the 'Tesla autopilot' TODAY (well, it affordably could have been automated in 2000).... why not just put the money into automating bus routes one at a time. Start with simpler routes like on university campus or the C## shuttle buses around False Creek. Gain something unique/worthwhile/useful (fully separated route), and don't just spend money to look pretty.
As it is, the bus route does a better job than the train route simply because wherever the road and ROW diverge, the stops on the road would be more popular because they're near where people want to depart/arrive.
(fyi: our electric buses are amazing in energy efficiency per passenger
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transportation#Buses
Better than trains on dedicated track, given how many people fit standing)
To me, LRT is just an arbitrary vehicle. I don't care if it is rails, wheels, feet, flying.
Investing in grade separation is a fundamental asset. You can send vehicles down the fully separated ROW as fast as you want, as often as you want. You control everything about it together. Even if you have one crossing on a ROW, that can be the spot that shuts down the entire line.
It is separate from the road/sidewalk network. You don't have to negotiate who has what priority when -- which leads to fewer longer trains to minimize disruption of crossings. You keep flowing even when the road network is 'jammed' (traffic everywhere slows at once, perhaps due to a single bottleneck)
It's important to consider Grade Separation an asset in its own. Consider highway tunnels: how much smaller/cheaper can they be if all vehicles using them are electric? what if they were a zone where all vehicles were controlled by a computer in harmony? It's not transit/trains vs. cars.
Look at a map and generally you'll see a grid of perpendicular roads, such that the entire 2D surface is connected by roads. This is smart, it's exponentially better than everyone having to traverse a single ring road. Well adding another layer of traffic, say tunneled or elevated grade separated ROWs allow more than 2D connections. If you build a lot of them, you span 3D space and traveling between any 2 points becomes exponentially faster/cheaper which is another definition of overall capacity.
In a way, sidewalks are an extra dimension on our road network. Pedestrians do have to stop and wait to cross traffic normally. But in a traffic jam someone in a Taxi will automatically abandon the ride and walk to their destination. It's faster because the sidewalk network can disconnect from the road network, and walk through the stopped cars.
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