The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[Coldrsx]

Real Estate Matters: LRT a boon to nearby homeowners

Property values set to spike when new lines complete

BY SCOTT BOLLINGER, EDMONTON JOURNAL JULY 8, 2014


As we enjoy (and endure) a megaproject, city-building frenzy like we haven’t seen since the 1970s, Edmontonians could be forgiven for asking a few impatient questions.

Will the construction ever stop? Will the traffic never cease? And how many dump trucks does this town HAVE, anyway?

As we build the downtown arena, complete the north and east legs of the Anthony Henday ring road, and sharpen shovels for the LRT line to Mill Woods, homeowners might have a more practical query: what’s in this for me?

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/homes/buy...+Matters+boon+nearby/10011517/story.html

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Hamilton's ridership did not actually decline. Its per capita ridership decline did, as ridership grew slower than population growth.

Also, I think you will find that gas prices really do not have much of an effect on most people choosing to take transit or not.
If transit is not a convenient and viable option for you to commute to work, then even high gas prices are not going to make you switch. A few people will, but not as much as we may think.

Hamilton has also been starting to improve some services, so hopefully this will start some service expansion.

Yes, per capita ridership was the discussion of the original post I had responded to, I just didn't use the term in my response.

I didn't have an opinion about fuel prices - I've yet to see evidence that's had much effect on local transit use (maybe it's out there, I've never looked). I agree with you that convenience is key - access and frequency are so important.

The issue in Hamilton has been incremental changes when there are some large ones that could improve bus service immensely in many parts of the city. City councilors have balked at spending the money to make improvements - some of them get it, but some do not. This was evident regarding some recent suburban transit expansion plans that got watered down because of cost concerns. In real terms, the HSR's budget has shrunk over time. It has some ambitious plans for the future, regardless of what happens with LRT/BRT, and I'm hopeful that the next council will start seeing the benefits of making those investments but we'll see... while other cities have made service improvements a priority, Hamilton has lagged.

[SteelTown]

Hamilton's Bike Share is being rolled out in Hamilton this summer


Hamilton Bike Share
https://twitter.com/SoBiHamilton/status/488340049701134337/photo/1


Andrew Pettit
https://twitter.com/4Pettit/status/488442544280178690/photo/1

[caltrane74]

New Multi-Level Go Concourse being built underneath the existing GO Concourse.

The higher level is the concourse for access to trains going to York Region. The lower-lower level is the retail concourse.


From Metrolinx



More photos here

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/metrolinx/14490336394/in/set-72157644915719928/

[Innsertnamehere]

its the York street concourse (as in on the York street side of Union, not the Bay street side), not just for trains to York region lol.

[caltrane74]

Too many "Yorks" in this place.

[WhipperSnapper]

Imagine the comparisons to another city if we kept the name York when we incorporated.

[ScreamingViking]

The "big dig" under Union is impressive. It will be a stunning difference when it's all complete.

I kind of wish they'd dug down to add a level of tracks there though instead of retail... with all the additional GO services coming in the future it would have made a lot of sense.

[SignalHillHiker]

God, this publication... I hate them.

Overcrowded streetcars, disinterested drivers part of the rolling horror show on Queen

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/14/...art-of-the-rolling-horror-show-on-queen/

BUT at least they're not recommending ripping them out as the solution.

[Mikemike]

What's wrong with that column? Both his diagnosis and his proposals are reasonable.
He would like the coty to to ban left turns that block streetcars and make some streets car-free during peak hours, and have TTC provide better customer service.

All reasonable.

[Coldrsx]

Choo choo'ing forward!













edmonton.ca

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Mikemike

What's wrong with that column? Both his diagnosis and his proposals are reasonable.
He would like the coty to to ban left turns that block streetcars and make some streets car-free during peak hours, and have TTC provide better customer service.

All reasonable.

Maybe he's mad because he think it's wrong for people in Toronto to be complaining about their streetcar service when there are cities in the world (like his) who are unfortunate enough to not have any.

[SignalHillHiker]

No, I just hate that newspaper.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

God, this publication... I hate them.

Overcrowded streetcars, disinterested drivers part of the rolling horror show on Queen

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/14/...art-of-the-rolling-horror-show-on-queen/

BUT at least they're not recommending ripping them out as the solution.

I don't see the issue with that article either. It was on-the-money in describing my mostly-daily 501 Queen Car trips while I lived in Toronto. I was on the east side, so the CAMH passengers part was not part of my experience, but the rest perfectly described the indignities of the system. In two years I never once encountered fare enforcement and I also observed that drivers routinely forfeit revenue by encouraging passengers to use the rear doors - even those that needed to pay - was a common occurrence as well. The author did omit entirely the risk to passengers of cars speeding by open streetcar doors - cyclists too - and barely begins to describe the frustration of short turning streetcars.

[ssiguy]

Toronto should have streetcar ROW on every route but that would take balls and that's lacking from all the Toronto politicians regardless of political stripe.

Thins will certainly improve when the new streetcars finally start rolling out in a few months. The capacity will only increase slightly as the vehicles are larger but conversely there will be fewer of them plying the road.

They will, however, be more comfortable, quieter, handicapped accessible, have more doors with all door entry/exit. The part about being handicapped accessible is not only a giant leap forward for mobility for disabled persons but it will greatly increase the speed.
You have to be a mountain goat to climb the stairs to get on the streetcars and have to wait for everybody to do. It can take forever to board a streetcar especially at rush hour and at major points like subway stations. The new vehicles are completely low floor so one just easily steps on or off at any of the 4 double doors. It will save a lot and so while your trip may not be any less crowded it will certainly be faster and more pleasant.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

God, this publication... I hate them.

Overcrowded streetcars, disinterested drivers part of the rolling horror show on Queen

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/14/...art-of-the-rolling-horror-show-on-queen/

BUT at least they're not recommending ripping them out as the solution.

Maybe they should revive a novel old concept: replace the busiest streetcar line(s) with a subway, just like they did in the 50s when they built the initial Yonge Subway line. It would also act as the long-awaited downtown relief line.

[Doady]

I think the new LRVs should improve things. Let's wait and see before making drastic decisions. The Queen streetcar isn't the busiest line in any case. That's King.

I actually think there should be the Waterfront West LRT to Port Credit, and that would remove the Queen streetcar west of Humber. A shorter Queen route with new LRVs should have less problems.

[Innsertnamehere]

Building the DRL is key, but I'm doubtful we will see it beyond phase 1 with the most recent funding package.

The Ontario budget passed today as well by the way, meaning that an additional $29 billion in funding for the province is now available.

[matt602]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Maybe they should revive a novel old concept: replace the busiest streetcar line(s) with a subway, just like they did in the 50s when they built the initial Yonge Subway line. It would also act as the long-awaited downtown relief line.

They've been planning to do that for almost half a century now. Unfortunately in Toronto, every new municipal and provincial government changes or gets rid of previous plans entirely. There's even a rough in station for a Queen Street subway that never got past the first station:

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5006.shtml

Toronto has known what it needs to do for decades now, the problem has always been with actually getting those shovels into the ground.

[J.OT13]

Two rock bolts pierce downtown Ottawa parking garage during tunnel excavation.

This is the 2nd set beck related to tunneling for the downtown subway (first being a road collapse back in February).

When building subway tunnels in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, do these kinds of things happen often? What kind of tunnelling method do you guys in the big three usually use? I assume cut and cover and/or tunnel boring machines as opposed to our current mining technique.

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Ottawa LRT excavation pierces parking garage wall downtown

Ottawa Citizen
Published on: July 16, 2014, Last Updated: July 16, 2014 9:06 PM EDT

Tunnelling for Ottawa’s light-rail transit project hit a bump Wednesday night in the form of a parking garage wall.

Two rock bolts being used during the excavation process penetrated the parking garage wall of the Sun Life building on the corner of Queen and O’Connor streets downtown, a few blocks from Parliament Hill.

Details of how much of a hole were made by the long bolts, which are typically used to stabilize things such as walls, were not immediately provided by Rideau Transit Group, which is in charge of the city’s biggest infrastructure project.

“There are no risks to the integrity of building’s foundation and there was no other property damage,” said Gary Craig, acting director, rail implementation office, in a statement to the Citizen.

“RTG staff are working on a revised methodology to install the rock bolts to ensure there is no re-occurrence.”

He said city staff were working with the property’s owners — Bentall Kennedy — to ensure all necessary repairs get done. Those repairs will be paid for by RTG, Craig said.

A security guard at the building and a staff member at the YMCA located in its basement both said they didn’t feel anything unusual.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-lrt-excavation-pierces-parking-garage-wall-downtown