The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[goodgrowth]

10 min frequencies is when it becomes a game changer.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

10 min frequencies is when it becomes a game changer.

This. Toronto has regular bus routes that are "FS" at minimum during rush. That's Frequent Service by which the TTC means running less than 10 mins apart. Not BRT. Regular bus routes that go into subdivisions.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

20 mins???

I wouldn't call that BRT no matter what the definitions say.

Yeah it sucks! The infrastructure isn’t used anywhere close to its full potential.

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

^ Saskatoon's current Express Buses and the BRT initiative have a range of differences that make them not comparable with each other.






That seems to be Saskatoon's plan, spending $150 million on it's BRT system in the next couple years, with couple stretches with dedicated lanes for now, new ones added later. The BRT system is built to be expandable and as it becomes busier and warrants more dedicated lanes, more investment will take place on the system.



True, as a comparable example, Richmond Virginia's BRT development study plan from a few years ago suggested they would have a 65% increase in bus speed and 33% decreased travel time for riders with BRT.

BRT would create additional opportunities to increase system‐wide efficiency for city transit and further improve service on local bus routes as well as increase ridership of their overall city transit system.

http://www.ridegrtc.com/media/annual_reports/BRT_FAQ_7-20-2015.pdf

Kingston's system is much closer to the "BRT" than "express buses" according to that description.

It's not an insult; Kingston is pretty unanimously regarded as having the best transit system of any small (<400k or so) city in Canada.

[SteelTown]

Province wants to help Hamilton get LRT off the ground, mayor says
Provincial and federal governments say they're talking LRT, but still need full proposals

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/...gEx9mszGp5QewEePfMIPO_UWNKDtWTPRsBG1Xcs0

Hamilton's mayor says the province wants to make light-rail transit (LRT) happen with a mix of provincial, federal and private-sector money, and he expects the province will say more "in the coming weeks."

The feds and the province, meanwhile, are in talks, but both say they still need more details before committing.

Fred Eisenberger said during his annual state-of-the-city question-and-answer session Wednesday that the province hopes to get the project going under a different funding model. This would include money from Ottawa and the private sector.

"I'm more hopeful today than I have been in the last couple of years," Eisenberger said of the project's future.

In a statement Thursday, the Ministry of Transportation says it's looking at several projects, including LRT, bus rapid transit (BRT) and more GO service. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario is doing a technical review of these options right now, the ministry says.

As for Ottawa's involvement, "while the federal government has expressed an interest in an LRT project for Hamilton, the province has not received a firm funding commitment or funding proposal towards this. Moving forward, we will explore all options to leverage our $1 billion in funding with any potential funding partners, including the federal government, in an effort to get transit built for the people of Hamilton."

Announcement soon?

Meanwhile, federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, a Hamilton native, says she's been in regular contact with Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney about LRT, as well as Hamilton businesses. But she wants more information.

"I look forward to receiving a full proposal for this project so that we can finally move things forward," she said.

"Having grown up in Hamilton, I understand how important good public transit is to the city in terms of creating jobs, attracting businesses and helping people get around in faster, cleaner and more affordable ways."

McKenna has long said she's open to putting federal money into Hamilton LRT, but that the province hadn't asked for help. The comments show that — informally at least — the two are in talks to work on the project together.

Eisenberger said during Wednesday's Cable 14 session that "I'm anticipating some sort of an announcement from the provincial government soon."

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Province wants to help Hamilton get LRT off the ground, mayor says
Provincial and federal governments say they're talking LRT, but still need full proposals

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/...gEx9mszGp5QewEePfMIPO_UWNKDtWTPRsBG1Xcs0

Hamilton's mayor says the province wants to make light-rail transit (LRT) happen with a mix of provincial, federal and private-sector money, and he expects the province will say more "in the coming weeks."

The feds and the province, meanwhile, are in talks, but both say they still need more details before committing.

Fred Eisenberger said during his annual state-of-the-city question-and-answer session Wednesday that the province hopes to get the project going under a different funding model. This would include money from Ottawa and the private sector.

"I'm more hopeful today than I have been in the last couple of years," Eisenberger said of the project's future.

In a statement Thursday, the Ministry of Transportation says it's looking at several projects, including LRT, bus rapid transit (BRT) and more GO service. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario is doing a technical review of these options right now, the ministry says.

As for Ottawa's involvement, "while the federal government has expressed an interest in an LRT project for Hamilton, the province has not received a firm funding commitment or funding proposal towards this. Moving forward, we will explore all options to leverage our $1 billion in funding with any potential funding partners, including the federal government, in an effort to get transit built for the people of Hamilton."

Announcement soon?

Meanwhile, federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, a Hamilton native, says she's been in regular contact with Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney about LRT, as well as Hamilton businesses. But she wants more information.

"I look forward to receiving a full proposal for this project so that we can finally move things forward," she said.

"Having grown up in Hamilton, I understand how important good public transit is to the city in terms of creating jobs, attracting businesses and helping people get around in faster, cleaner and more affordable ways."

McKenna has long said she's open to putting federal money into Hamilton LRT, but that the province hadn't asked for help. The comments show that — informally at least — the two are in talks to work on the project together.

Eisenberger said during Wednesday's Cable 14 session that "I'm anticipating some sort of an announcement from the provincial government soon."

Didn't Ford kills this? I guess he needs the votes now.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Didn't Ford kills this? I guess he needs the votes now.

I think he really just wanna get the economy restarted. PC has no place in Hamilton Centre, and this won't affect any of the PC-NDP swing ridings either.

[SteelTown]

I doubt Doug Ford cared if Hamilton got LRT or not; its Donna Skelly that is pissing all over LRT. She was against LRT when she hosted a show on CHCH, against LRT when she became a city councilor, during the last Mayoral election, she endorsed a candidate whose central platform was to kill Hamilton's LRT project and finally, she has stated that she's against LRT as MPP. It's likely her strong effort that rammed the LRT project off rails.

But lately, it seemed like Doug regretted the decision, and as soon as he heard the Feds might be interested in funding Hamilton's LRT, he jumped right into supporting Hamilton's LRT. It's his chance to reverse his government effort to kill Hamilton's LRT project. During this whole saga and even in that news article above, Donna Skelly's name hasn't popped up once. It's likely Doug told her to zip it and sit in the corner.

[J.OT13]

Doug Ford and his "four cents on the dollar" crap. How will this, cancelling the Hamilton LRT, stating bogus numbers in the middle of a bidding process and reviving it a year later, cost us? 50 cents on the dollar and two years delay (if the exact same project is put up to tender, otherwise it could be more).

It's not just money, but the Province also lost a whole lot of credibility. What a screw-up.

[Innsertnamehere]

yup. My bet is Donna Skelly pushed for it, and Dougie complied.

As soon as Mulroney had to be escorted out of the cancellation announcement by police I think the PCs realized it was a mistake.

Getting Federal funding helps save face as the PCs can say "well we are still giving you your billion bucks and you are filling the funding gap". The idea of private funds for it is also right up Doug's alley - recall his brother's idea for privately funded subways from about a decade ago.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

yup. My bet is Donna Skelly pushed for it, and Dougie complied.

As soon as Mulroney had to be escorted out of the cancellation announcement by police I think the PCs realized it was a mistake.

Getting Federal funding helps save face as the PCs can say "well we are still giving you your billion bucks and you are filling the funding gap". The idea of private funds for it is also right up Doug's alley - recall his brother's idea for privately funded subways from about a decade ago.

That's how Montreal got the REM, not private financing, no transit.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by p_xavier

That's how Montreal got the REM, not private financing, no transit.

Hamilton's example is a little different, a private developer is offering to kick in something like $200 million to the project if they get to develop the remnant parcels that the LRT needs for construction. It's a much smaller involvement than what is involved in REM.

[J.OT13]

Some Ottawa developers contributed $30 million (of $80 million) to extend Trillium Stage 2 one extra stop to Riverside South. Far less than the REM or Hamilton, but better than nothing.

https://ottawaconstructionnews.com/local...um-line-to-the-heart-of-riverside-south/

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Hamilton's example is a little different, a private developer is offering to kick in something like $200 million to the project if they get to develop the remnant parcels that the LRT needs for construction. It's a much smaller involvement than what is involved in REM.

I support the plan. If I were LIUNA (the private partner in this deal, it's LIUNA pension fund more specifically), I would throw in a caveat that there's no building height limit from a certain distance from an LRT station.

[FrAnKs]

.

[J.OT13]

Surprised no one posted this: Bloor-Yonge Station set to be expanded.

Context


Line 1 platform improvements


Line 2 additional platform (similar to Union a few years ago)



https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2020/10/ttc-board-considers-plans-expand-bloor-yonge-station

[J.OT13]

I found this website listing all station improvements along the TTC subway system:

https://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects/Station_Improvements/index.jsp

[Innsertnamehere]

And hints that 2 Bloor East is going to be redeveloped as a part of the project. The city budgeted with retaining the building above but the landlord has expressed interest in redeveloping in tandem with the city's work, saving the city a frig ton of money.

Likely a few new 50 tallest proposals in that one, if not a new #1 tallest proposal.

[Andy6]

That's good I guess. The Bloor-Danforth platform at Yonge Street is one of the most cramped spots in the whole system. On the other hand its grubbiness is one of the few remaining reminders of the sleazier, funner, non-condo-infested Toronto for which a certain nostalgia is developing. The upper part they already expanded once, but I suppose that must have been nearly 30 years ago now. At that point I seem to remember they were talking about having a centre platform as well, with doors opening both sides, but that would have been very expensive.

[JHikka]

That Line 2 station platform is probably the most crowded during these COVID times...during standard pre-COVID rush hours it was very cramped to say the least, so happy to see this station being expanded.