Rapid Transit

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by NortheastWind

I created a Flickr account, added the url for a pic but it doesn't show up.

Any advice?

There is a share button that will generate BBCode. They don't allow direct linking iirc.

[thistleclub]

City to Present LRT Communication Strategy after Preliminary Plan Leaked
(Raise the Hammer, Ryan McGreal, Mar 24 2016)

This past Monday, the Hamilton Spectator published an article on a leaked draft of the city's preliminary light rail transit (LRT) plan, which calls for a "transit first" approach that prioritizes LRT to maximize the speed and reliability of the service.

The Spectator has learned that, among other features, the concept proposes to:

• Run LRT on two centre lanes throughout the McMaster University to Queenston Circle corridor except for downtown's International Village.
• Turn International Village from Walnut to Wellington streets into an LRT "Transit Mall" closed to other through traffic.
• Limit left turns to main intersections along the corridor, with side streets and private driveways restricted to right in, right out turns to minimize vehicles crossing the tracks.
• Make King Street two-way between Dundurn and the Delta.
• Create a single traffic lane running in each direction alongside LRT for much of the route.
• Segregate LRT from traffic with a vertical or mountable curb for emergency vehicles.

Ironically, this leak comes a week before staff present an update on the LRT communications strategy to the Light Rail Transit Sub-Committee meeting on March 29. We can't link directly to the report, since the city's committee meeting website is broken-by-design, but the document is item 7.1 under Presentations.

The communications strategy begins with a vision statement:

"Rapid Transit is more than just moving people from place to place. It is about providing a catalyst for the development of high quality, safe, environmentally sustainable and affordable transportation options for our citizens, connecting key destination points, stimulating economic development and revitalizing Hamilton."

The communications strategy is aligned with the recent Citizens' Jury on Transit Report, which was presented to Councillors at the March 2, 2016 General Issues Committee meeting. (It is also impossible to link directly to that report, but a copy has been archived at RTH.)

That report emphasized the vital importance of broad and ongoing community engagement on the LRT project, which is large, complex and potentially controversial.

Communications Strategy

In keeping with this, the objective of the communications strategy is to "build awareness of the project and process" by engaging stakeholders, undertaking market research and informing Hamiltonians about the approach and timelines.

Beyond the Citizens' Jury, engagement will include a website, a project newsletter, social media, LRT Sub-Committee meetings, briefings with councillors, meetings with BIAs and the Chamber of Commerce, meetings with neighbourhood associations and community councils, media interviews, pop-up displays at public events, telephone town halls, media ad buys and a Light Rail Vehicle display.

The presentation also includes a list of "key messages" to communicate about the LRT project:

• LRT is an integral part of a comprehensive economic development strategy to attract new investors, create new jobs and broaden the tax base.
• LRT produces no tailpipe emissions and will help to increase transit ridership and reduce noise and air pollution.
• LRT will be integrated with the city's multi-modal transportation network, including transit, cycling, bike share and walking.
• LRT will also be integrated with regional rapid transit by connecting to the Hunter Street and West Harbour GO stations.
• One of the first details to be presented starting in May will be a preliminary design of the amended LRT route - this is the leaked document that was reported in the Spectator - as well as confirming general stop locations and finalizing a maintenance and storage facility location.

The goal is to visit every property and business along the LRT route between May and June, and to do this twice a year until the LRT is completed. The LRT team will maintain a database of contacts and feedback on operational and other issues.

Environmental Assessment Addendum

The City completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the original LRT route, but that needs to be amended due to the changes in the final LRT route, specifically ending the line at the Queenston Traffic Circle and extending a spur north to the West Harbour GO Station.

That EA Addendum will be completed between September 2016 and Spring 2017, and will include a formal process to provide input with Public Information Centres (PICs), stakeholder meetings and telephone town halls. In a refreshing line, the communications team will also "go where the people are" by visiting public events, trails, bus stops, go stations and malls.

The EA Addendum engagement process should be completed by Spring 2017.

Preparing for Construction

During the pre-construction phase in 2017 and 2018, the communications strategy will be to prepare the public for the impacts of LRT construction. That will include preparing a "business support toolkit", marking the route to identify station locations, support for trip planning (similar to the tool the City developed for commuters during the Beckett Drive closure) and fully-staffed community offices to meet people and answer questions and concerns.

The strategy recognizes that LRT construction will be disruptive to local businesses and is "committed to mitigating the impacts of construction, where practical." That will entail professional training opportunities, market research, advertising and a business support program.

Metrolinx also pledges to work with community organizations to ensure that local benefits include jobs, apprenticeships and "social procurement," which means taking local social benefits into consideration when making hiring, purchasing and procurement decisions.

Communication is Essential

Over the past few years, we have often lamented the fact that the City's Rapid Transit engagement strategy, so broad and inspiring in 2008, fell silent in 2011 when the project ran into political turbulence.

As the months ground on, much of the goodwill the City had accumulated during its engagement heyday evaporated. Confusion, misinformation and nonsense quickly emerged to fill the void, and the City remained silent in the face of a growing barrage of anti-LRT FUD.

That cannot be allowed to happen again, and the City's LRT communications strategy comes not a moment too soon. If anything, it should have already been in place and under active engagement before we got to the point of having a preliminary design document to release - albeit as a leak to local media.

The result is that the City has at least provisionally relinquished its own ability to frame its approach to LRT planning.

As we have learned from other cities that have implemented LRT, it is vitally important for the City to be engaging with the public continuously through a variety of channels and formats to keep receiving feedback and building consensus. That way, when a controversial but important decision is at hand, there is political space for Council to make the right choice.

When important operational decisions are released through media leaks rather than developed in an open, inclusive process, it feeds into the knee-jerk fear and cynicism that drives opposition to change.

If what the Spectator has reported is, indeed, the direction Metrolinx and the City are going, it looks like they are paying attention to the success criteria of LRT in other jurisdictions. That is encouraging, but even good policy decisions are better when they're made in a more public, inclusive way.

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by NortheastWind

I think the train needs to go down King then swing over to Main just west of Walnut.

Nah, keep the LRT along King, but turn Main into 2 way as well.

[thistleclub]

Coming to grips with LRT’s traffic impacts
(Hamilton Spectator, Andrew Dreschel, Mar 27 2016)

Visually the most spectacular feature of Hamilton's LRT system is sure to be the new bridge which will connect the Main West section of the route to King Street by spanning the Chedoke Expressway.

The latest design shows the flyover starting east of Macklin Street on Main and touching down near Breadalbane Street on King, a block west of Dundurn.

But for all its visual impact, the new bridge may be the most straightforward piece of the $1-billion LRT puzzle.

That's because the only vehicles using it will be the light rail trains, meaning no existing traffic will be disrupted or displaced.

The same can't be said for the rest of the 11-kilometre route from McMaster University to the Queenston Traffic Circle, or for the northern spur to the James Street GO station.

As the scale of the project sinks in, it's increasingly clear LRT is going to radically rattle, shift and shape travel patterns and habits in the lower city. Not only during the five-year construction period starting in 2019, but permanently once the trains are running in 2024.

We'll get a comprehensive picture of the size of the fallout in September when a staff study on full traffic impacts is released.

According to Paul Johnson, the city's LRT co-ordinator, the study will look at LRT's impacts on roads and vehicle movement due to shifting capacities and all the other side effects, as well as how best to manage the changes.

But Hamiltonians will probably get an early inkling of what's coming down the pike when the design recommendations for LRT are unveiled for political and public feedback in May.

Briefly, if the new Transit First option, which places priority on the right-of-way of trains, prevails, LRT will run on two centre lanes throughout the corridor with traffic alongside for most of the route.

The plans for Main West show two lanes of eastbound traffic and two or three westbound lanes, while King is mostly shown as two way with a single lane of traffic in each direction.

Additionally, downtown's International Village could be closed to all through traffic except for LRT and pedestrians. And left turns along the corridor will be severely restricted in order to minimize vehicles crossing the tracks and slowing down trains.

Naturally all this creates major consequences for traffic flow.

According to recent planning documents, traffic circulation will have to be changed to accommodate right in, right out turns at side street intersections and private entrances.

If International Village is turned into a Transit Mall new delivery and loading arrangements will need to be made.

With limited left turns and the potential closure of some intersections on Main West, alternative driving routes in and out of Westdale Village will need to be considered.

On top of that, the Transit First option apparently assumes the city's existing truck routes will be "generally unchanged," and westbound sections of King currently designated a truck route will remain so where it's converted to two-way traffic.

That alone could have a huge, rippling impact on motorists and the movement of goods.

King currently is a truck route from Queen Street to Highway 403 and from Wellington Street to Centennial Parkway, well past LRT's eastern terminus.

As a 2010 staff study noted, virtually all industrial, commercial and consumer goods and materials in Hamilton reach their destination by truck. The report figured about 2,300 trucks a day use the truck routes between Victoria Avenue and Dundurn.

Obviously, there are routes other than King in play.

But LRT's reduced traffic lanes could mean cars and trucks will be seeing more of each other in tighter quarters — especially if Main East is converted to two-way traffic as some transit advocates argue it should be.

Officially, the big debate over converting Main has yet to take place.

But it's coming. As surely as LRT is creating both excitement and anxiety, it's coming.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^Dreschel with his usual negative slant.

Oh no...where will all the trucks go?!

What do ya say, Foxy?

[mattgrande]

So, because King Street winds a bit, and Main is straight, building on Main Street is about 200 metres shorter than King. If my math is correct, that works out to a savings of about $20million.

(Note: This is assuming the price of about $100m/km cited in this page is correct)

[CaptainKirk]

Yeah, agreed. A bit alarmist and sensational. A bit.

Yes, it's obvious that traffic will be impacted. That's not only old news but an integral part to the whole process of a transformative transit project.

[ScreamingViking]

According to recent planning documents, traffic circulation will have to be changed to accommodate right in, right out turns at side street intersections and private entrances.

The horror. The horror.

For the one-way stretch of King St., over the past 60 years, turns have been restricted to left-only from the south side and right-only from the north (with the opposite for those accessing one-way Main)

Traffic will adjust so long as the network provides the right options.

[thistleclub]

Looming LRT construction jumpstarts trash-free alley plan for King St. businesses
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Apr 10 2016)

Downtown King Street businesses will test-drive an alley rejuvenation experiment that includes backdoor storefronts during LRT construction.

Two groups representing core businesses have scored $40,000 in city funding to help transform a historically trash-choked series of alleys stretching behind north-side King Street buildings from James to Wellington streets.

A trash-free alley is "critical" for access and deliveries during years of planned construction on a $1-billion light rail transit line set to start in 2018, said Kathy Drewitt, who heads the downtown BIA.

It may be important beyond the build, too, if the city adopts a yet-to-be-confirmed LRT "transit mall" plan that would close a narrow downtown section of King to car traffic.

Regardless, the alley could serve both trucks and customers, Drewitt suggested.

"We're saying why not clean up the backs of your buildings, let your customers come in the back door," said Drewitt, who acknowledged a converted alley entrance wouldn't be possible for all businesses, depending on building configuration.

But she argued making the alley "people-friendly" will make King Street construction easier on all shop owners. "This could be a pilot for the city. If this works in the next two years, they could stretch this into the other alley ways all along the LRT route," she said.


Read it in full here.

[Beedok]

People friendly alleys is a great way to cram more city into the city. Victoria was really nice with all sorts of alleys and courtyards tucked away to explore with shops in them.

[thistleclub]

AECOM awarded transit contract from Metrolinx with CA$100-million maximum value
(AECOM Newsroom, Apr 14 2016)

LOS ANGELES (April 14, 2016) — AECOM (NYSE:ACM), a premier, fully integrated global infrastructure firm, announced today that it has been selected to provide technical advisory services on the Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in Mississauga and Brampton, Canada, and the Hamilton LRT project in Hamilton, Canada, for Metrolinx, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

The seven-year contract has a CA$100-million aggregate maximum value. The Hurontario LRT and Hamilton LRT projects are part of the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario’s history and are expected to have an impressive impact on regional transit by providing crucial links between many of the existing lines, as well as on the local economy, by creating jobs and attracting more investments in the area.

AECOM will lead the development of the reference concept designs, project specific output specifications and related design and planning activities; provide assistance with the Alternative Financing and Procurement request for quotation/request for proposal development and related in-market support; and support the construction and implementation phases providing technical compliance oversight and acting in an associated advisory role.

“We are excited to be a part of such important infrastructure projects for Ontario, which will improve mobility for people moving through these corridors and connect them to the region’s existing transit lines,” said Michael S. Burke, AECOM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This is a great opportunity to again demonstrate AECOM’s proficiency in delivering complex and essential transportation projects around the world.”

The Hurontario LRT project will consist of 20 kilometers (12 miles) of new light rail installation along Hurontario Street from Port Credit GO Station to Brampton Gateway Terminal. Twenty-two stops and a service loop in the downtown Mississauga City Centre/Square One area will be included, as well as a maintenance storage facility in the Highway 407 area. An estimated up to CA$1.4 billion capital cost will be provincially funded.

The Hamilton LRT project will include approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) of new light rail that will connect McMaster University through downtown Hamilton to Queenston Circle as well as a connection to the West Harbour GO Station and potentially the waterfront. The project also includes a high-order pedestrian connection to the Hamilton GO Centre Station, and a maintenance and storage facility. The estimated up to CA$1 billion capital cost for this project will also be provincially funded.

[thistleclub]

Via AECOM Canada Careers :

Senior Program Manager – AFP Technical Director, Hamilton LRT in Mississauga, Ontario

Requisition/Vacancy No. 130699BR

Position Title Senior Program Manager – AFP Technical Director, Hamilton LRT

Job Category Program and Project Management

Business Line Transportation

Country Canada

State/Province/Region CAN - Ontario

City Mississauga

Why Choose AECOM? AECOM is a premier, fully integrated professional and technical services firm positioned to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets around the world for public- and private-sector clients. With nearly 100,000 employees — including architects, engineers, designers, planners, scientists and management and construction services professionals — serving clients in over 150 countries around the world, AECOM is ranked as the #1 engineering design firm by revenue in Engineering News-Record magazine’s annual industry rankings, and has been recognized by Fortune magazine as a World’s Most Admired Company. The firm is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, oil and gas, water, high-rise buildings and government. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering customized and creative solutions that meet the needs of clients’ projects. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM companies, including URS Corporation and Hunt Construction Group, have annual revenue of approximately $19 billion. More information on AECOM and its services can be found at www.aecom.com. at http://www.aecom.com

About the Business Line

Transportation

We provide professional services in areas such as aviation, transit, freight rail, highways and bridges, planning, and ports and marine. Our global network of top-tier specialists delivers comprehensive services over the full life cycle of a project to benefit clients in government and private industries.

Job Summary

The Transportation Division of AECOM is actively seeking an AFP Technical Director to provide strategic and day-to-day oversight to AECOM’s Hamilton LRT Technical Advisory Services team and support the growth and development of AECOM’s P3/AFP advisory services practice in the transit and rail market in Ontario. This is an excellent opportunity for the successful applicant to progress their career within a firm that is global leader in professional technical and management support services at the forefront of the P3/AFP infrastructure market in Canada.

The responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Act as the senior accountable leader representing AECOM’s Advisory Services Group, providing strategic technical and commercial leadership of the Hamilton LRT Technical Advisory Services project

• Oversee and be accountable for all aspects of the successful planning, resourcing, and delivery of the Hamilton LRT project

• Be a visible leader and trusted advisor to Metrolinx

• Be a role model by demonstrating and promoting AECOM’s values both internally and externally

• Act as direct interface with the Metrolinx Project Director and senior management of Metrolinx RTI Division on the Hamilton LRT project

• Assure soundness of project delivery approaches and provide quality assurance of project work plans, reports, and technical products

• Provide advice and oversight to the Project Manager on managing budgets and resources on a regular basis and reporting to VP Advisory Services

• Support, as required, other related advisory services pursuits in the market by providing written technical inputs as necessary or serving on review teams

• Collaborate with technical and professional staff across the company in completing assignments

• Lead and mentor direct report advisory services staff

• Primarily work from the Metrolinx Project Office at 36 Hunter Street East, Hamilton by Hamilton GO Centre

Minimum Requirements

• Engineering Degree or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience

• 10+ years of relevant experience

• An exemplary understanding of the P3/AFP models and experience in delivery of projects in the AFP/P3 market

• Previous role in a management or technical role within an AFP/P3 agency, AFP/P3 consultant advisory team, or AFP/P3 bid side team

• Multi-disciplinary engineering and construction experience, focused on railway, commuter, and transit projects

• Experience as the Engineering Manager and/or Project Manager on a large (>$500-million) projects

• Proficiency with project management processes

• Experience with business and contractual agreements

• Excellent communication, interpersonal and teamwork skills in complex and changing environments

• Ability to work independently, strong negotiating, problem-solving and analytical skills

• Skilled in technical and contract writing and preparing and delivering presentations to senior management in client agencies, consultants, and third party stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• LRT project experience

• Experience of working for both Agency and Consultancy

• Existing client/working relationships with Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario

• P3/AFP bid side experience

• Experience in P3/AFP construction monitoring and/or Project Agreement management

• Keen interest in business development and key client/account management

[SteelTown]

Former City Motor Hotel destined to become LRT-bus hub

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/65...e-lrt-bus-hub/

A $1-billion light rail transit line is on track to turn the former City Motor Hotel into a public transit hub instead of a commercial and condo development.

The city expropriated and quickly knocked down the notorious east city landmark in 2013 in response to community complaints about chronic crime, prostitution and drug use at the rundown Queenston Street hotel.

A protracted battle over compensation was only settled this month for the main claimant, according to an Ontario Municipal Board document. The city has paid $2.3 million to expropriate, including associated damages, said city solicitor Janice Atwood-Petkovski.

The settlement came a year too late for longtime hotel operator Ted Dabrowski, who died on his 98th birthday last March. His nephew, Marek Dabrowski, said he hopes the land is put to "good use," but added he still feels frustrated by an expropriation process the city says was unavoidably slowed by competing claimants.

Dabrowski said his uncle left the hotel in 2013 and "lived in limbo" until August 2014, when he received his first unspecified city payment. "That delay was hard on him."

Coun. Sam Merulla tapped his ward infrastructure fund for the expropriation and originally advocated for two, eight-storey residential buildings with affordable housing, commercial on the first floor alongside a transit hub.

But Merulla said Thursday it appears the original idea of seniors living the condo life above new stores and offices is "no longer practical" based on evolving plans for an east-west light rail transit line that ends at the Queenston traffic circle.

That massive provincially funded infrastructure project — the priciest in Hamilton's history — was only announced after the city started designing a future for the old hotel site.

Merulla said he's not yet allowed to talk about specific LRT design or real estate plans, which are officially under wraps until a public reveal May 4.

But in the past, city transit officials have indicated it would be a challenge to squeeze in an LRT terminal near the east-end traffic circle — in part because of the need to make room for HSR buses that will continue the B-line route to Eastgate Square, not to mention other connecting transit routes. The circle also has several businesses nearby and a hydro corridor and major gas line running through.

Regardless, Merulla said he's not disappointed about the change in plans, noting a "primary rationale" for expropriation was to get rid of a "blight on the neighbourhood."

"The neighbourhood will still benefit hugely from this (public transit) hub," he said.

If the property is indeed used for LRT infrastructure, Merulla said he expects provincial project lead Metrolinx to buy the property from the city. "That means we can again leverage that money for other projects," he said, pointing as an example to plans for yet another expropriation — this time "problem" properties on Kenilworth Avenue North.

[SteelTown]

DRESCHEL: LRT design plans ready for release

http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story...y-for-release/

Whether you're an LRT supporter or skeptic, circle next Wednesday, April 27, on your calendar.

That's the day the city will post on its website the up-to-the-minute design plan for the $1-billion transportation/city-building project.

The blueprint will then be presented to the city's light rail transit subcommittee on May 2 before being rolled out into the community for feedback.

Technically, next week's unveiling will be the first time the detailed design of the 11-kilometre route from McMaster University to the Queenston Traffic Circle has been shared with the public.

But there's a very good chance many of the key elements reported by The Spectator in March via leaked documents will remain unchanged.

Briefly, The Spec revealed LRT planners were considering a new so-called Transit First option that places greater emphasis on the right-of-way of trains.

Among other features, the concept includes:

•Running the trains on two centre lanes — physically separated by a curb from the rest of traffic — throughout the route.

•Turning the downtown International Village from Walnut to Wellington into a transit mall closed to through traffic.

•Restricting left turns along the corridor to specific intersections and u-turns to minimize vehicles crossing the tracks and slowing the trains down.

•Turning King Street between Dundurn and the Delta into two-way traffic, with a single lane running in each direction alongside LRT for much of the corridor.

•Building a bridge connecting the Main Street West section of the route to King Street over Highway 403 from Macklin Street on Main to Breadalbane on King.

LRT co-coordinator Paul Johnson told the LRT subcommittee last month that some of The Spec's information had been overtaken by new plans. He also noted there were pieces missing.

No doubt that's true. The designs from consultant Steer Davies Gleave, which formed part of the leaked package, were from January. The LRT team has had three months to rejig, entertain second thoughts, and float new ideas.

Appropriately enough, The Spec has also picked up some fresh info. Apparently subsequent discussions, if not conclusions, have included:

•Building the spur line to the waterfront and GO station on James Street but using a streetcar system that shares the right-of-way with traffic instead of a segregated LRT.

•Constructing the maintenance and storage facility in the west end of the city instead of the east end.

•Locating most of the station stops along the corridor as much as one kilometre apart.

...

[thistleclub]

Whether you're an LRT supporter or skeptic, circle next Wednesday, April 27, on your calendar.

That's the day the city will post on its website the up-to-the-minute design plan for the $1-billion transportation/city-building project.

The blueprint will then be presented to the city's light rail transit subcommittee on May 2 before being rolled out into the community for feedback.

Then you get a transfer and wait for your connection.

Merulla said he's not yet allowed to talk about specific LRT design or real estate plans, which are officially under wraps until a public reveal May 4.

[thistleclub]

The Queenston Traffic Circle "LRT-bus hub" is unavoidable and integral from a connectivity standpoint but otherwise a reiteration of the status quo. Under present route alignments, the only bus connections are with the 1/1A/10 routes, which are being replaced by LRT west of the QTC. The HSR could send the Cannon two blocks south on Strathearne to connect, or (less likely and less useful) the Parkdale seven blocks east, but otherwise this will just be a shuttle to/from the Eastgate hub. The same will happen at McMaster, but at least there’s an array of transit synergies at that point (possible shuttle back and forth to/from University Plaza hub, plus West Hamilton/Ancaster/Dundas feeders, plus GO buses).

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

The Queenston Traffic Circle "LRT-bus hub" is unavoidable and integral from a connectivity standpoint but otherwise a reiteration of the status quo. Under present route alignments, the only bus connections are with the 1/1A/10 routes, which are being replaced by LRT west of the QTC. The HSR could send the Cannon two blocks south on Strathearne to connect, or (less likely and less useful) the Parkdale seven blocks east, but otherwise this will just be a shuttle to/from the Eastgate hub. The same will happen at McMaster, but at least there’s an array of transit synergies at that point (possible shuttle back and forth to/from University Plaza hub, plus West Hamilton/Ancaster/Dundas feeders, plus GO buses).

There is lots of time to plan route changes around the LRT route. We are 8 to 10 year and an election away from completion. I hope there will be a lot of changes in HSR routing before then with lots of good public input I see here all the time.

[thistleclub]

Hamilton’s LRT design set to be revealed
(Stoney Creek News, Kevin Werner, Apr 24 2016)

Hamilton’s proposed light-rail transit design includes segregating the rail line from McMaster University to Queenston to allow for trains running on two tracks, while the A-line spur would be a shared traffic system.

LRT design information received by Hamilton Community News, shows the B-line operating from McMaster University to Queenston Circle, with the A-line shown to be linked up along James Street to the West Harbour Go Station, and all the way to the waterfront. But the A-line construction portion still remains contingent on the province having enough funding from the $1 billion budget that was announced last spring by the provincial government.

The LRT system is proposed to be separated on the B-line from other traffic with a curbed barrier. The idea is to “ensure a rapid, reliable and safe LRT system.”

Along the B-line corridor trains will operate on two tracks, one running in each direction in the centre of the road. The design, overseen by consultants Steer Davies Gleave, proposes to convert King Street to two-way traffic from Dundurn and Delta

The design includes limiting left-turn lanes and U-turns, a proposal that has been a controversial aspect of the B-line design since it was initially presented to business people along the corridor a few years ago. Business owners have stated during those public meetings limiting left-hand turn lanes will impact their bottom lines.

Paul Johnson, director of LRT project coordination, said the city is looking at a west location for the maintenance and storage facility rather than in the east end.

“We need to find that land,” said Johnson to the subcommittee.

The proposed A-line, though, would not be segregated from traffic. The idea is to have the LRT line in a “shared system” similar to a street car, with vehicles driving over tracks, and sharing lanes with the LRT.

Johnston said at the March 29 Light-rail transit subcommittee meeting, that the LRT design “may change along the way” through public feedback and technical issues. He said the LRT design won’t be completed until after the summer when all the studies are completed.

He said staff is examining whether or not to convert Main Street to two-way traffic in deference to the project.

Constructing the LRT is scheduled to begin in 2019, and finished in 2024.

The city has been under some criticism for not being “open and transparent” with the LRT design. But Mayor Fred Eisenberger said during the subcommittee meeting that sometimes “information that isn’t ready for prime time” shouldn’t be presented yet.

It is expected that further information about the LRT design will be revealed April 26, and the LRT staff will be making a full presentation on the project at the May 2 LRT subcommittee.

“We will provide as much as we are able to share,” said Johnson.

[Beedok]

The A-line is going to be so tiny. It'll be adorable. (Though not super useful, especially being just a normal streetcar...)

[Innsertnamehere]

Just call the A line a streetcar then. Mixed traffic means it has essentially no LRT features.