If an infusion of new revenue becomes available for transit...

[Ottawan]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Soaking off the bandaid will only give time, in the context of a four-year municipal election cycle, for everyone and his dog and his dog's fleas to put political pressure on City Clowncil.

City Clowncil. Sometimes you give us some real gems.

[lrt's friend]

40 would lose all its value if the O-Train is extended south towards Leitrim and across to Gatineau. At that time, the 40 should be eliminated or converted to a peak feeder.

You don't know what you are talking about. An O-Train extension is not a substitute. First of all, the 40 does not go to Leitrim and the O-Train provides no service to the neighbourhood involved. Also, while it is true that the 40 provides direct service to Gatineau, many of those passengers are picked up along the Transitway. The O-Train simply bypasses most of those passengers. Also, the 40 provides direct service not only to downtown but also Billings Bridge and Hurdman. The O-Train does not accomplish any of that. What are we trying to accomplish? Maximum inconvenience for the most people? It has been said that one transfer is acceptable. The problem is that more and more people have a destination other than downtown. This means 2 or 3 transfers in many cases. This is not a winning proposition for new transit riders. In fact, it will turn off many existing riders. The fact of the matter is that while Calgary's C-Train has been enormously successful, part of its success revolves around a plan to concentrate employment in downtown Calgary. That is not the case in Ottawa and is not possible in Ottawa given the geography and other limitations. Calgary's transit system is not effective for moving people between two non-downtown destinations.

[lrt's friend]

Give people something to do if they have to kill 10 or 20 minutes at a transfer hub.

Good grief, if we are expecting people to wait 10 or 20 minutes during peak periods, then my previous statement is unequivocal, you are going to lose ridership. This is also totally unrealistic given the location of Baseline, Lincoln Fields and Hurdman stations, incidentally the busiest transfer stations. This is another symptom of a problem where we are trying to convert a commuter rapid transit system into an urban transit system. This is simply not going to work well.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Ottawan

City Clowncil. Sometimes you give us some real gems.

I totally stole that, as all great artists do.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Good grief, if we are expecting people to wait 10 or 20 minutes during peak periods, then my previous statement is unequivocal, you are going to lose ridership.

10 minutes outbound at peak isn't unreasonable.

If the transfers are short, no one cares.

If the transfers are longer, don't let the pax get bored.

Basic shit. OC Transpo doesn't get it, though. Never have. Never will until the outfit is burned to the ground (metaphorically) and rebuilt.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

That is not the case in Ottawa and is not possible in Ottawa given the geography and other limitations. Calgary's transit system is not effective for moving people between two non-downtown destinations.

What geography?

What limitations?

If not downtown, far larger amounts of Ottawa's employment (and its unemployment, for that matter) could be built within humping distance of the existing Bus Crappid Transitway, next century's LRT, and the existing O-Train.

We keep making different decisions, though, and wonder why the outcome doesn't change.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

What geography?

What limitations?

If not downtown, far larger amounts of Ottawa's employment (and its unemployment, for that matter) could be built within humping distance of the existing Bus Crappid Transitway, next century's LRT, and the existing O-Train.

We keep making different decisions, though, and wonder why the outcome doesn't change.

The city has height restrictions downtown and I support those restrictions. Plus, we have placed our rapid transit system in possibly the most inconvenient location possible, running through green space and next to the Queensway. This really limits development possibilities. So we end up building employment centres far from rapid transit. For example, the former Nortel site, the former JDS site, even the Kanata North business park is no where near rapid transit. And of course, future plans for rapid transit involve park n ride lots, not employment next to many of the stations.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

The city has height restrictions downtown and I support those restrictions. Plus, we have placed our rapid transit system in possibly the most inconvenient location possible, running through green space and next to the Queensway.

Calgary's C-Train is even more highway-oriented than the Transitway is. That's one of the big hits against it.

This really limits development possibilities. So we end up building employment centres far from rapid transit. For example, the former Nortel site, the former JDS site, even the Kanata North business park is no where near rapid transit. And of course, future plans for rapid transit involve park n ride lots, not employment next to many of the stations.

None of those things say anything about our downtown. And Calgary has plenty of equivalents of the suburban business park.

One major thing Calgary does have going for it: no stupid "Green" belt.