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  #21  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 6:43 PM
Halifax Hillbilly Halifax Hillbilly is offline
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Originally Posted by hfx_chris View Post
But I think what Hillbilly was referring to with rail right-of-ways is that the rail line that comes into Halifax around the basin and through the west end is only one set of tracks, and would need special sidings built so trains could pass each other at certain locations, not to mention how would you work it around existing CN and VIA rail traffic. They would basically need to build a second line parallel to the first... would have been a lot easier had the city not let CN tear the second line up a few years back.
Ottawa's O-Train is one set of tracks the entire way except for the middle station at Carleton University, where the trains are timed to pass each other.
The biggest problem I have with that route is that it runs near everything but not really directly by anything. It is close to Dal but any station would be a couple of hundred metres from the main campus, ditto for SMU. It's not really close to hospitals and the station is on the edge of downtown. It's a very peripheral route I wouldn't put a lot of money into trying to make this a rail corridor.
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  #22  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 11:39 PM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
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Again, you keep talking about the Via Rail station, but I don't see what that has to do with anything... build the LRT station IN downtown, like the lands to be vacated when they (hopefully, eventually) demolish the Cogswell interchange.
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  #23  
Old Posted Nov 3, 2007, 3:55 AM
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It's all well and good to build a station right in the heart of downtown, but where would you run the track to connect the rail cut and the new station?!
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  #24  
Old Posted Nov 3, 2007, 10:12 PM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
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What do you mean where would you run it? Halifax does have streets that run in a north-south direction.
Hollis, Lower Water or Brunswick Streets all jump out at me, and would require little (as I see it) in the way of alterations (aside of course for laying the actual track). Hell, Brunswick is wide enough for the north-bound leg, and Hollis could work for the south-bound. The beauty of using Brunswick is you could service Spring Garden with it as well, including a nice new terminal built-in to whatever redevelopment takes place at Queen and Spring Garden.
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  #25  
Old Posted Dec 22, 2007, 12:53 AM
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What about a serious look at putting tram lines in the streets again? Have a like 4 routes spider out from DT, and have another go down Robie, and another go down Quinpool, down Cogswell, into the DT. LRT just doesn't make sense here because of the amount of work/money it would take to put in. Either that or take a page from Bogota, a city in Colombia, with ten times the pop. but no rail, just buses, and they have a 70% ridership. Economics aside, it's cheaper to start off, and can be designed with more freedom.
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  #26  
Old Posted Dec 23, 2007, 4:54 PM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
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If light rail doesn't make sense, how would tram cars isolated to the peninsula make any more sense? Don't get me wrong, I love rail transit and tram cars, but they are very limited in what you can do with them. You can't easily change a route without ripping up streets and laying new track, if there's an accident or major incident you can't do detours, tracks have to be replaced after X number of years. And add to that the price of building a new car barn/maintenance facility somewhere in Halifax, because I don't think either of their Burnside bus garages have the space to accommodate trams and perform maintenence on them; plus I don't know how keep the Bridge Commission would be on the idea of laying track across their bridges.
It's a shame the tore up all of the track and switched to trolley coaches... If anything, all this would be now is an expensive touristy gimmick. Just buy a bunch of new articulated buses, run them on the busy routes (which they should be doing, not buying more conventional 40-foot buses) which are already experiencing overcrowding.
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  #27  
Old Posted Dec 24, 2007, 1:49 AM
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Tram lines have disadvantages compared to buses but they're also more comfortable, cleaner, and the rail infrastructure itself is much more permanent. Building a streetcar or LRT line through an urban neighbourhood where previously there were only buses and where cars can be difficult immediately makes it much more attractive. I think some kind of improved transit line to the North End, for example, could be used to encourage much more infill than would otherwise happen.

Development and transportation projects go hand in hand.
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  #28  
Old Posted Dec 24, 2007, 8:14 AM
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You said it someone. Connect the core of the city better.

You could put the Tram shed up north end, near the bridge, close to the bedford hwy. Make a station there too, to shorten the Link travel time from Bedford.

I'm sorry if you got the idea I was implying to put tracks on the bridges, because that wasn't where I was going with it. I don't know how much the bridges are designed to carry, but it would be tempting fate if you did install a line on either bridge. Improve the ferry times to make up for the former.

I was walking around Dartmouth Crossings today a came to realize it needs it's own FRED. It's a very vehicle minded design, isn't it? You'd figure with all this climate talk, you'd want less cars on the roads. Not more reasons to to use them.

Other than that, the bus service to it has deffinately improved. An idea struck to have a link route run from Sunnyside Mall, down to Woodside ferry, and have Dartmouth Crossings, Burnside, MicMac, Alderney Gate, Penhorn, as stops. It would also lead to less cars on the Circ.

sorry for the long post, I'm not sure when I'm going to have a stable net connection again

Last edited by reddog794; Dec 24, 2007 at 8:26 AM.
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  #29  
Old Posted Dec 24, 2007, 8:40 PM
Halifax Hillbilly Halifax Hillbilly is offline
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Originally Posted by reddog794 View Post
Other than that, the bus service to it has deffinately improved. An idea struck to have a link route run from Sunnyside Mall, down to Woodside ferry, and have Dartmouth Crossings, Burnside, MicMac, Alderney Gate, Penhorn, as stops. It would also lead to less cars on the Circ.
I like that route idea. The crosstown bus service in this city needs to improve a lot. With Burnside/Dartmouth Crossing and Bayer's Lake as major employment and shopping hubs you are going to need more routes connecting suburban centres.

I would also suggest routes from Spryfield heading towards Bayer's Lake, and a route from Clayton Park going over the bridge to Burnside.
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  #30  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2007, 1:25 AM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
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Clayton Park to Burnside service is already provided by the route 52. I know one thing that was mentioned is that the city wants to improve service between Lower Sackville and Bayers Lake, which right now is very difficult to get between.

Interesting you mentioned Dartmouth Crossing reddog - it was touted as being very pedestrian friendly, the developers kept saying they've learned from the mistakes of Bayers Lake... but... I find it very pedestrian un-friendly. There's no crosswalks where you need them, and walking from either Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire or Home Depot to the bus stops is difficult at best. I see the only thing they've learned from Bayers Lake, is that you can't build on either side of a major, heavily used and busy road like Chain Lake Drive. Getting across that street is deadly. At least the streets in DC are easier to cross (even without crosswalks)
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  #31  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2007, 10:21 PM
Halifax Hillbilly Halifax Hillbilly is offline
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Originally Posted by hfx_chris View Post
Clayton Park to Burnside service is already provided by the route 52. I know one thing that was mentioned is that the city wants to improve service between Lower Sackville and Bayers Lake, which right now is very difficult to get between.
The 52 from Lacewood Terminal to Burnside takes about 45 minutes vs. fifteen minutes by car. I realize that buses are generally slower than autos but a bus trip can't be three times longer if you want to attract any choice riders. I think Metor Transit will have to look at offering more service across the MacKay Bridge to better serve Burnside.

Lower Sackville to Bayer's Lake sounds like a very good idea.

How much new routes can be expected from Metro Transit?? New buses are on the way but they will still have to deal with overcrowding on some of the core routes. It might be a while before we see expanded bus service.
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  #32  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2007, 5:49 AM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
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Don't hold your breath on new routes. Yes new buses are coming into service (and have been for a little while), but a lot of those are already earmarked for replacements. I can think of at least 10 buses which have been retired in the last couple of months. Plus as you said, some of the core routes are experiencing overcrowding, so they'll have to also deal with increasing trip frequency to alleviate those problems first, before thinking about many new routes.

The MacKay bridge was without a doubt one of the most under-utilized corridors around. They finally started making use of it during off-peak times with the route 16 Parkland, connecting Lacewood with Highfield and the Bridge terminal. I suppose that's one quicker way to get from Clayton Park to Burnside, via the route 16, but by the looks of the schedules it would involve about a 20 minute stopover at Highfield to catch either the 52 or 64 into Burnside.
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  #33  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2007, 2:12 PM
Halifax Hillbilly Halifax Hillbilly is offline
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Originally Posted by hfx_chris View Post
Don't hold your breath on new routes. Yes new buses are coming into service (and have been for a little while), but a lot of those are already earmarked for replacements. I can think of at least 10 buses which have been retired in the last couple of months. Plus as you said, some of the core routes are experiencing overcrowding, so they'll have to also deal with increasing trip frequency to alleviate those problems first, before thinking about many new routes.
I've been hoping for them to deal with the overcrowding on the 1 since I came back into the city three years ago. I guess I shouldn't hold my breath on that one either, as Metro Transit has put in several new routes in that time but not once has done anything about the problems on the 1 or other routes. I think this time though they are getting near the breaking point on a couple of routes and they have no choice but to increase capacity.
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  #34  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2007, 9:08 PM
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One point that makes me wonder is why isn't there an intensification of routes during peak times? With more buses on the roads wouldn't it push cars off. Not literally, but where people would be more inclined to ride the buses, because it's harder for a car to get around all the buses, i.e. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I still believe in a DC FRED, as well as a BL FRED. Have dedicated buses for your major shopping/business areas. I'd also love to see FRED expanded downtown. An alternative to trams, DT... for now.

HillBilly you raise a good point, shouldn't the drive of any mass transit, be to have shorter travel times than cars?
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  #35  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2007, 2:36 AM
Halifax Hillbilly Halifax Hillbilly is offline
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Originally Posted by reddog794 View Post
One point that makes me wonder is why isn't there an intensification of routes during peak times? With more buses on the roads wouldn't it push cars off. Not literally, but where people would be more inclined to ride the buses, because it's harder for a car to get around all the buses, i.e. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I still believe in a DC FRED, as well as a BL FRED. Have dedicated buses for your major shopping/business areas. I'd also love to see FRED expanded downtown. An alternative to trams, DT... for now.

HillBilly you raise a good point, shouldn't the drive of any mass transit, be to have shorter travel times than cars?
I'm not sure Halifax can really put too many more peak time buses on the road with the way the routes are structured right now. Almost every route in the city goes down Barrington or Spring Garden and the bus stops are already congested. I think the routes should be restructured to get rid of all the duplicates and run articulated buses on express routes connecting downtown to the suburbs.

I agree that there is lots of potential for shuttles around downtown, universities, hospitals, and the business parks. If it's easier to get around throughout the day to run errands and other trips people could be more likely to leave the car behind for the commute.
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  #36  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2007, 4:57 AM
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I think Halifax's bus system would be much better if it were structured more around a few high frequency express routes plus transfers instead of the current system where there are a bunch of minor "complete" routes that serve random parts of the city. Eventually these high frequency routes would be the ones that I suggested earlier as being good candidates for replacement by rail or whatever else.

The current system is extremely frustrating for anybody coming in from the suburbs. A lot of the suburban routes also serve random parts of the city (e.g. your downtown bus might also add 10 mins to your trip by going to SMU) and they tend to stop every two blocks. As a result of this setup my morning commute took about 40 mins instead of 15 by car or 50 minutes walking, which is pretty pathetic. And that's not counting the many times the bus arrived late or not at all.

The other fundamental problem with transit service in Halifax is that suburbs are not designed for good service. They do things like plan for space for buses to stop but they do not plan for bus lanes or even decent road access (as opposed to cul-de-sac setups, which aren't even permitted in some cities anymore). Partly the city's terrain makes this kind of planning difficult but even so there's a lot of room for improvement.
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  #37  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2007, 5:05 PM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
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I know there are plans in the works for a full-time downtown "shuttle" (not free like FRED) that'll run from the ferry terminal, up Spring Garden to the hospitals and universities. Not sure when that's going to become a reality though.

I can't see Metro Transit providing a dedicated shuttle service within Dartmouth Crossing. However, they do need an additional route (I've suggested before a route connecting the Bridge Terminal, a major transfer point, with DC via Highfield Park and Commodore Drive), and this route should be setup to provide service in the opposite direction within Dartmouth Crossing that the existing route 56 does. If you notice, the route 56 enters DC via the Wright Avenue/Hwy 118 interchange, so it hits the theatres and restaurants up that end, then goes south to where Wal-Mart/Home Depot are. From there it gets back onto highway 118 via a second ramp at that end. That's great if you're watching a movie at the theatre then want to pop in Wal-Mart, but not the other way around if you're in Wal-Mart and have to catch a movie. No buses head north in there. A second bus route coming from the Bridge needs to enter via Commodore, turn right in front of Canadian Tire, do the little loop in front of Wal-Mart/Home Depot/Best Buy, then head north towards the theatre and restaurants. Now you've got northbound and southbound service, provided by two routes. It's like a dedicated shuttle service running every 30 minutes.
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  #38  
Old Posted Dec 30, 2007, 2:45 PM
Halifax Hillbilly Halifax Hillbilly is offline
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Originally Posted by hfx_chris View Post
I know there are plans in the works for a full-time downtown "shuttle" (not free like FRED) that'll run from the ferry terminal, up Spring Garden to the hospitals and universities. Not sure when that's going to become a reality though.
I believe Metro Transit is looking to make use hybrid buses for this route. It would definitely be a great help as right now the connections from the ferry terminal to the rest of the system are terrible.

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing a dedicated FREE downtown shuttle running very frequently. Make it very convenient to use the bus for quick errands downtown and you might get a lot of people trying the bus who otherwise wouldn't. Other than the Link bus there isn't a lot of Metro Transit services that appeal to choice riders and the majority of people dismiss public transit without ever trying the service.
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  #39  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2007, 2:39 AM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
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I believe Metro Transit is looking to make use hybrid buses for this route.
Correct. I think they're ordering two..but they could take a while to arrive.
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  #40  
Old Posted Jan 3, 2008, 9:29 PM
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I was just looking around, and I can't seem to find a "set in stone" transit plan for Halifax, little more than a "written in smoke" plan. So I ask, what is the 25 year vision for MetroTransit? Where are we putting our money towards? I might just not be able to find it, HFX_chris, what do you know? You seem to have a good ear for transit plans here.
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