All posts by Michael Druker

Untangling the Route 7 Mainline: Understandable Transit

News, Transit 8 Comments

Current monster of a Route 7 schedule, and it's only for weekdays before 7pm. (There's a back.)

Our transit network’s most frequent service should be something we can take pride in. Unfortunately, the “mainline” Route 7 is an absolute mess. It has three branches in the north end, three branches in the south end, a long layover right in the middle, problems with bus bunching, and a schedule that can confound even the seasoned transit user — to say nothing of those who need convincing to take transit. On essentially the same corridor, we also have a rapid service, but which is not as frequent. A rethinking is in order.

We propose that iXpress frequencies be increased, that Route 7 be consolidated into a single trunk route on King Street, and that the north end branches be split off into a local circulator — a University Loop route. This would preserve current utility, while vastly simplifying the GRT network and making it far more appealing to existing and new riders. It’s one of those cases where transferring (at University or Columbia) is good for you and good for your city. According to our back-of-the-envelope calculations on the basis of available schedule information, the redesign could be accomplished through re-allocating existing resources available after this year’s GRT improvements.

More specifically, our proposal would mean: 8 minute headways (time between buses) on the iXpress, 10 minute headways on a consolidated Route 7 on King Street, and 8-10 minute headways on both directions of a University Loop route. Each one of those would be a simple, understandable, frequent-service route. Importantly, the iXpress would take its rightful place as the most frequent service, and thereby start building up the ridership patterns for Rapid Transit service that will replace it.

If you would like to see this happen, make sure to send your comments in to Grand River Transit planners along with your other thoughts on this year’s service changes. Staff have told us that they’ve received few complaints about the complexity of Route 7 — which is the elephant in the room. Let them know what you think.

The rest of this post describes the redesign and why it will work.

(more…)

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Comments on Rapid Transit Options

Light Rail, News 1 Comment

All the consultation centres for Rapid Transit implementation options have taken place, but you still have until tomorrow (Friday the 25th) to make your opinions count! The official Rapid Transit site has the information which was presented at the centres and you can find the comment form here.

We fully support a Light Rail Transit based approach. That said, there are two main issues of concern to us at this stage, and we encourage you to add your thoughts on them to your comments or to otherwise contact Rapid Transit staff to convey your own concerns. The issues are detailed below.

The first one is the routing of proposed Light Rail Transit through Uptown Waterloo. The plan has the two directions split, the southbound track going along Caroline and Allen and the northbound along King and Erb. We believe locating the stops on separate streets is problematic and a missed opportunity for a better, more consolidated design. Staff tell us that there are difficulties with right-of-way size, underground utilities, parking, and the BIA that have resulted in the current planned alignment. We believe a better option would run both directions up King Street and then turn near the current freight tracks, and that this could initially be done using a single track on a small piece of the corridor. This would allow a consolidated station right at the public square. Another option is to run both directions on Caroline Street, again using a single track to deal with narrow right-of-way (namely, at William Street).

Our other main issue is with the mid-block location of several stations in Waterloo: one is to be at Seagram Drive, one at UW Davis Center, and one at the R&T Park. We’ve been told that Wilfrid Laurier University insists on a Seagram stop, and that Grand River Transit and GO Transit are intending for a major terminal off Phillip Street, next to a UW Davis Centre stop. We believe these choices contradict the aims of creating a grid-based network which is understandable by users. A mid-block terminal between Columbia and University would either force buses on those streets to go out of their way or would force a poor connection between cross-corridor routes and the LRT line. We also do not believe Seagram Drive has anywhere near the potential of developing as a corridor that University Avenue does. In the not-too-distant future University Avenue is likely to be a candidate for Rapid Transit itself, so it’s important that we are planning for future connections.

Our preferred alternative would be to eliminate the Seagram Drive station, and to instead have stations at University Avenue, at Columbia Street, and at Bearinger Road. If a Seagram Drive station must be included, it would best be added to the above three, instead of forcing the other stations to mid-block locations. Finally, if stations cannot be changed, we propose that instead of the terminal being off Phillip Street, that a busway be constructed between University Avenue and Columbia Street to facilitate access to the terminal.

Finally, we would like to see consolidation of stations at Charles & Borden, an extra station at Mill & Ottawa, and curbside painted bus lanes on Hespeler Road for the iXpress / aBRT – to be implemented as soon as possible.

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Major Transit Increases Begin

News, Transit 1 Comment

This year will be the first year of a new program of major transit improvements in Waterloo Region.

Last night Regional Council passed its 2011 budget, with a 0.75% increase for Police Services and a 0.72% increase for everything else. Thanks to some uploading to the province, the service improvements this year still leave the overall increase (1.43%) well below the 2.2% or so current level of inflation.

The most notable aspect of this year’s budget is its inclusion of an increase to fund the first year of the 20-year Regional Transportation Master Plan (RTMP), which calls for a major shift in focus to transit. The plan calls for an increase of 1.15-1.2% to fund transit over the first five years, and then ramping up to 1.3-1.5% in the subsequent fifteen years. This year staff had asked for 1.25% in order to avoid that ramp-up later, which would have seeded the newly-created RTMP Reserve Fund with $4.05 million. (more…)

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Safety on the Iron Horse Trail

Cycling, Walking 1 Comment

How many streets do you know that close at night?

The recent murder on the Iron Horse Trail has sparked public discussion of trail safety and how to improve it. While suspects have been apprehended, the safety of the trail remains an important issue, particularly as the attack appears not to have been targeted. Whether or not the trail is actually as dangerous as often portrayed, there is a strong feeling in the community that one shouldn’t use the trail when it’s dark, and that’s unacceptable for such a major transportation link.

Many people have suggested that the trail should be lit at night, which is an obvious thing to do and which should have been done long ago. Most know that the Iron Horse Trail used to be a former railway, but it also used to an electric railway. So if you look carefully along the entire length of the IHT, you’ll actually find hydro poles going all the way along. Adding lighting should not be a difficult proposition.

Why is lighting important? The obvious answer is it lets people actually see the path at night. It also makes people feel safer using the trail, as it is thought and felt that would-be criminals avoid well-lit areas. The latter may well be true, but if people feel safer and thus use the path more, that is already important. Moreover, many people likely avoid using the trail during the day because they are afraid of returning when it’s dark. Well-travelled areas are safer, due to the possibility of someone walking by or biking by. And this possibility of witnesses both discourages crime and increases the chance of assistance.

Another suggestion has been to put more eyes on the street, which is a concept from the work of Jane Jacobs on cities. It’s about having housing and shops facing the street in such a way that people there are able to respond to incidents on the street. I’m not sure how possible this is on the Iron Horse Trail, but it’s worth looking into having more housing facing the trail. And there are a number of connections that should be made and improved between the Iron Horse Trail and the neighbourhoods it passes through.

But I would argue that the biggest danger and deterrent to trail users is motor vehicles. As I showed previously, the Iron Horse Trail essentially doesn’t have any road crossings. The trail just stops and resumes on the other side; in between you’re on your own to navigate the often fast-moving traffic. It’s worse at the two places where the trail crosses near an intersection, as trail users (including cyclists) are supposed to go out of their way on the sidewalk to cross both streets at the signal. Making the Iron Horse Trail as continuous as possible, with really good road crossings, would cut down on the hassle and time for using it and substantially improve the experience.

If we’re serious about safety on the Iron Horse Trail, we should add lighting to the trail, but we should also improve the path so more people are using it at all times of day.

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January Volunteer Meeting

News, TriTAG 4 Comments

This entry has been updated for a 7:00pm start. We will also be joined by UW planning professor Jeff Casello.

If you’re interested in helping out with what TriTAG is doing, come out to our first regular volunteer meeting. We’ll bring you up to speed on the issues and what needs to be done. Main issue will be light rail, but there are others as well.

The meeting will be at Whole Lot-A Gelata in Waterloo on Tuesday, January 18, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. (Facebook event is here.) You are welcome to come earlier to have time to get some coffee or gelato.

We plan to hold volunteer meetings monthly.

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Uptown Waterloo streetscape input

Cycling, News, Walking

As covered in local media, the City of Waterloo and the Region of Waterloo are currently working on redesigning King Street between Erb and Central Streets in uptown Waterloo. This is a street that is arguably working poorly for all users — on foot, on bicycle, and in motor vehicles.

Last week there was a public information centre to solicit feedback on the several alternative street cross-sections that are being considered. All the information and panels presented there are now available. Please check them out and fill out the city’s survey by January 5, 2011.

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Candidates Unsure About LRT But Support Transportation Change

Cycling, News, Transit, TriTAG, Walking 2 Comments

Our website features the responses to our transportation survey of nearly 90 candidates for City Councils and Regional Council in the Region of Waterloo (including Mayors). The election will be next Monday, October 25. We asked candidates for their stances on dealing with growth-related traffic, light rail transit, sidewalks, segregated bicycle infrastructure, parking, and mixed-use zoning. In a “why we’re asking” section, we explained TriTAG’s stance and provided links for further information.

A number of themes were shared in many responses, including views on parking and cycling. There is near consensus that it is inappropriate for municipal staff to be provided with transportation subsidies exclusively in the form of parking. There was support for a bike-sharing system like Montreal’s BIXI, and there was widespread enthusiasm for segregated cycling infrastructure. To make cycling feel safer and be a more viable transportation choice, we believe on-street bicycle infrastructure must be physically separated from motor vehicle traffic and prioritized at intersections.

Candidates expressed support for mixed-use zoning along arterial roads, and many candidates agreed that minimum parking requirements in municipal zoning should be reduced or eliminated.

Regional Council candidates expressed a wide range of views on the light rail transit (LRT) project, with some suggesting it should be scrapped, others suggesting that they prefer bus rapid transit (BRT), and many indicating that they would support it if modifications take into account the funding situation. Overwhelmingly, candidates believe that transit should be improved to be a choice for everyone and not only a social service, and that transit should be a primary means of dealing with continued growth.

The responses are posted at our 2010 election page. Candidates who have not responded may still contact us to do so.

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