Quote:
Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut
How do you figure that? Hastings is similar to Broadway (and also goes straight into downtown), so grade separation at least until Willingdon seems necessary.
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I think Hastings and Broadway are vastly different.
The difference is that Hastings isn't a huge employment center and has fewer residents.
The 009 travels 10km and has a catchment of 204K residents and employees. The 095 has a 17km length and passes 201K residents and employees. And that counts passing through the core of downtown and SFU for the 095. There are a lot more jobs on the 095 than the 009, but again, the 095 passes through the CBD.
If we count just residents, then the Broadway Corridor has 118,000 riders vs Hastings at 78,000, and Hastings is 7km longer.
There is already a Skytrain option just south of most of Hastings, and another line just south of that. It seems a little over redundant.
And unlike other LRT situations, where losing lanes greatly impacts congestion, I don't think anyone considers Hastings to be the best route to drive through the city as it is. If the curb lanes transformed into 24 hour dedicated LRT tracks, really no vehicle lanes would be lost.
I'm not saying it's ridiculous to put Skytrain down Hastings, but in it's current state, it seems prime for LRT. It could also serve as an LRT trunk line and have branches off it on streets like Main, Commercial, and Renfrew. Those lines could be used to increase distribution capacity around the east side to and from existing Skytrain lines.
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