1311 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Hold on now, in this town that traffic circle would be at a complete standstill 23 hours of the day. Victoria drivers can barely handle a four way stop with four vehicles let alone a busy traffic circle.

[sebberry]

I was talking to someone in Tillicum who takes the bus downtown.  He's down there in like 18 minutes or something.  He thinks these lanes are a silly idea.

But what would be nice is if his daughter could get the bus from Tillicum to the Jubilee to be at work for 7AM on a Sunday.  The first bus is something like 45 minutes too late. 

 

 

Busses already have priority when pulling into traffic and car drivers seem to do a reasonable job at letting busses in when they have their signal

 

Does council really think that shaving 30 seconds off the commute time will increase transit ridership? 

 

You can bet drivers will use these lanes.  They use that one on the south side of Uptown all the time. 

[VicHockeyFan]

I think the thinking is that you have to start somewhere.  I don't think it's all that necessary, but I don't have big issues with it.

[buildinglover]

I take the 30/31 from Carey Rd (near Uptown) downtown every morning for work and back every evening.  I don't know why they bothered with the south bound lanes.  It takes about 16 minutes and the new traffic changes have made no difference at all.  I can't even say it's saved 30 seconds because there wasn't an issue to begin with.  Even extending it further along than where it is now won't make a difference in the morning.  On the return north in the afternoon, the congestion doesn't start until after Hillside, so again - has made no difference. The trip north is about 25 minutes (sometimes 30) and gets backed up sometimes as far as Mayfair but generally is between Saanich and Cloverdale.  I'm hoping once it extends that I might see times shorten but in my opinion, the changes are short sighted and the 'quick win' work of doing the section they've done has made no difference and likely has not drummed up any support. 

[sdwright.vic]

This is all just the first step in obtaining a full time transit right of way.

[Baro]

Here's an interesting video about the transit system in Brno, about the same size as Victoria (385,913).  Not only do they have frequent intercity trains but they have a full tram and bus system.  Pay special attention at 11:00 in the video, every vehicle's location is reported real time so you know exactly if your tram or bus is late.  This is what a properly funded and managed first-world transit system in the year 2015 looks like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W31zpTTKwIA

 

Their tram system is so busy they are planning on turning it into a "pre-metro", basically a tram line but running mostly underground or otherwise with totally separated right of way with no crossings, giving it much more speed and capacity.  Meanwhile in backwards Victoria we can't even get GPS working on our buses, the E&N rots, and existing bus service levels aren't keeping pace with ridership.

Edited by Baro, 18 August 2015 - 03:58 PM.

[jonny]

The metro area of Brno has closer to a million people than 400,000...

[DavidSchell]

 Meanwhile in backwards Victoria we can't even get GPS working on our buses, the E&N rots, and existing bus service levels aren't keeping pace with ridership.

 

I seriously don't understand why their is not more effort being put in to starting a light-rail system with all the new districts being built up. People want to move out of the suburbs and into the city to free up time from home/yard maintenance, being close to shops, services, entertainment AND easy access to transit that can take them to other areas of the city with out having to hop in the car.

 

I lived along the first Sky Train line and it was amazing to watch how quickly communities built up along the stops and how much the line was used from the get go. 

 

Clearly their will/is a need to have  a line running from Esquimalt, to VicWest, to downtown to the Hudson district, to Oak bay with stops at Hillside, the Hospital and Uvic.

 

This would be a great starting line, help support higher density living in the city and prevent the continued urban sprawl we are seeing now because of lack of housing for young people to raise their families. 

[Mike K.]

The urban sprawl has a lot to do with people wanting to get away from the nonsense we deal with in the city. Not all of it is economically forced.

[nagel]

I seriously don't understand why their is not more effort being put in to starting a light-rail system with all the new districts being built up. People want to move out of the suburbs and into the city to free up time from home/yard maintenance, being close to shops, services, entertainment AND easy access to transit that can take them to other areas of the city with out having to hop in the car.

 

I lived along the first Sky Train line and it was amazing to watch how quickly communities built up along the stops and how much the line was used from the get go. 

 

Clearly their will/is a need to have  a line running from Esquimalt, to VicWest, to downtown to the Hudson district, to Oak bay with stops at Hillside, the Hospital and Uvic.

 

This would be a great starting line, help support higher density living in the city and prevent the continued urban sprawl we are seeing now because of lack of housing for young people to raise their families. 

It's gauche to like your own post.

[DavidSchell]

The urban sprawl has a lot to do with people wanting to get away from the nonsense we deal with in the city. Not all of it is economically forced.

 

I would disagree ... I bought a house in Sannich, raised a family and would like to downsize into the city and embrace Condo living, if I do that, it will free up my house allowing a new family to repeat the process.

 

If I stay that means the schools I am close to, are underutilized and urban sprawl will demand a new school be built as that is where the people raising the next generation are forced to move. There commute becomes longer for them, but I still need to use the highway, so the highway become more congested.

 

If I move into the city freeing up my house, the existing school is not underutilized and I am not on the highway, so no new added congestion.

 

... it is a win/win situation, but the key is easy transit like light rail to entice people to move into the city  ... I have spoken to so many people in my generation about this and many are in agreement.

[G-Man]

If the BRT had been built in the early 2000's as was proposed. I would expect we would be well on the way to having LRT at least to Uptown in the near future. Instead a bunch of businesses that are almost all long gone opposed it and it was quashed.

[Mike K.]

I would disagree ... I bought a house in Sannich, raised a family and would like to downsize into the city and embrace Condo living, if I do that, it will free up my house allowing a new family to repeat the process.

If I stay that means the schools I am close to, are underutilized and urban sprawl will demand a new school be built as that is where the people raising the next generation are forced to move. There commute becomes longer for them, but I still need to use the highway, so the highway become more congested.

If I move into the city freeing up my house, the existing school is not underutilized and I am not on the highway, so no new added congestion.

... it is a win/win situation, but the key is easy transit like light rail to entice people to move into the city ... I have spoken to so many people in my generation about this and many are in agreement.

Your house is old. Not everyone wants an old house, that's the reality. I know it sounds harsh, but that's just the reality.

Plenty of homes have sold in your neighborhood, I'm sure, and very few went to families for a swath of reasons (if the school near you is seeing a decline in enrolment, which I take is an issue, maybe?).

When step back and kook at the big picture, you'll realize LRT won't solve anything (if anything it will only increase the speed with which the suburbs grow). In Vancouver where you've got tens of thousands arriving every year neighbourhoods are created in a few years. In Victoria it would take half a century to build anything remotely similar to what we see near skytrain stations.

[DavidSchell]

Your house is old. Not everyone wants an old house, that's the reality. I know it sounds harsh, but that's just the reality.

Plenty of homes have sold in your neighborhood, I'm sure, and very few went to families for a swath of reasons (if the school near you is seeing a decline in enrolment, which I take is an issue, maybe?).

When step back and kook at the big picture, you'll realize LRT won't solve anything (if anything it will only increase the speed with which the suburbs grow). In Vancouver where you've got tens of thousands arriving every year neighbourhoods are created in a few years. In Victoria it would take half a century to build anything remotely similar to what we see near skytrain stations.

 

Yea I guess my home built in 2008 is starting to show some signs of wear and tear

 

Victoria's population is growing faster than what many think and the 2016 census will open more than a few eyes. 

 

I am looking at the big picture and all the new development taking place everywhere and is why I strongly believe we should be seriously looking at LRT NOW starting with a line I mentioned above.

 

LRT will solve issues now and will solve many more in the future ... the longer we wait to get started the more problems their will be to solve and of course the more expensive it will be to build.

[Mike K.]

You bought a house in 2008, raised a family in it and are now ready to downsize? Man, you move quick

 

But seriously though, the suburbs are going to continue to grow, there's no doubt about it. And as the urban core continues to see social problems more people are going to make the decision to move out there. I have a buddy who just bought a house in Langford. His brother in law just bought a house in North Saanich. Both of them have young families, neither of them want to stick around the urban core for a variety of reasons.

 

But I just don't know if we can afford LRT. It's a massive expense. Who will want to pay $4.50 for a single ride on the thing? Who will pay to maintain the rolling stock, plus the facilities to house them and all the specialty services they'll require?

[Baro]

Allow way more development in the core so that downtown businesses and work places don't feel they "need" to so obsessively cater to the farthest flung car-dependant suburbs.  Slowly make driving less and less attractive in the city centre by devoting more street space and infrastructure money to modes that aren't cars.  Pay for a top notch transit system within the core out of the booming property taxes and the savings from not wasting so much money and space pampering motor vehicles.  Easy. 

[Mike K.]

Won't those savings go to cover the gas tax revenues municipalities are addicted to?

[Baro]

Won't those savings go to cover the gas tax revenues municipalities are addicted to?

 Nah that's what the crippling London style congestion charges are for

[sdwright.vic]

Kill the car kill downtown.

[DavidSchell]

You bought a house in 2008, raised a family in it and are now ready to downsize? Man, you move quick

 

Yup, time was wasting and had to get the job done! ... joking aside, like many families our first home was a starter home and we up-sized as the kids grew.

 

Agree, the suburbs are going to continue to grow mainly because that is where young families can buy a house with a yard and of course their will always be people who want the more open space.

 

My point being though for every baby boomer who decides to move into the city it is one less house that needs to be built and one less person driving a car on the highway commuting each day.

 

Statistics show the two main groups that want to live in the city are young people who have not started a family and baby boomer's.  

 

Because of the lack of decent rentals down town (something that appears to be getting fixed), many young people live further out in basement suites and use the Bus system to get into the city or worse :"drive".

 

Baby boomer's on the other hand are looking for a less stressful life style and to be closer to the facilities they are now interested in.

 

 $4.50 (if it would be that) is still cheaper than maintaining a car and paying for parking. LRT will happen, the only question is do we pay now are do we pay more for it in the future.

 

There are so many benefits from getting people out of their cars and into a transit system like LRT ... statistics show people who live in a city where their is a convenient rail system have healthier lives due from more walking and less stress from commuting in traffic each day.