Downtown businesses asked to weigh in on rapid transit impact
BC Transit is seeking feedback from downtown business and land owners over plans to utilize Douglas Street or a combination of Douglas and Blanshard or Douglas and Government streets for rapid transit operations from the west shore to downtown Victoria.
The survey, available only to businesses and landowners with operations or property near the aforementioned corridors, aims to quantify what impacts the business community expects from the removal of on-street parking, on-street loading zones and dedicating traffic lanes for transit use would have on operations and access to businesses and buildings.
Douglas Street, already a busy transit corridor, is planned to become a rapid transit gateway according to BC Transit's rapid transit plans. Photo © by VibrantVictoria.ca.
BC Transit’s plans include 24-hour, 365-day frequent service between the west shore, the new Uptown development and downtown Victoria. New transit stops could include aesthetic improvements to streetscapes and widened sidewalks.
In 2008 BC Transit released plans for a dedicated bus rapid transit busway corridor between downtown Victoria and Uptown along Douglas Street. The affected business community heavily objected, citing concerns over access to businesses due to traffic flow changes and elimination of access points to business properties. BC Transit ultimately scrapped the busway plans and moved ahead with a more cohesive rapid transit plan that is nearing completion.
To stay up to date on the latest news and announcements affecting the Victoria Regional Transit System and BC Transit, refer to VibrantVictoria.ca discussion forum’s dedicated transit discussion thread here. To stay up to date on the latest news affecting the rapid transit study in the Victoria region, click here.
Copyright © 2010 by VibrantVictoria.ca. All rights reserved.
Responses to this Headline or Article
The five most recent replies to VibrantVictoria.ca's discussion forum's Victoria Rapid Transit Project - CRD/BC Transit - Light Rail (LRT) has been recommended thread, the most relevant thread to the above headline or article:
Baro
Mar 23, 2012 at 9:08 amQuote: Some funny moments in this brief clip from the 80s:
That's an important thing to keep in mind as we mull a billion dollar mass transit system of our own. Not only the highly visible rolling stock but the millions of dollars of unseen computer equipment and electronics will need to be replaced on a constant basis.
Skytrain runs on 3.5" disks actually (not joking)
Coreyburger
Mar 23, 2012 at 9:36 amQuote: Skytrain runs on 3.5" disks actually (not joking)
Not only that, the microprocessors/SoC of these cars can never been rewritten, only written into empty space, so any new programming needs to fit into that empty space. Given each car will receive multiple updates in its lifetime...
However, old technology works. Why spend a lot of money replacing what already works? This is the great advantage of a rail-based system, whose cars will last easily 30 years, as opposed to the 12-year bus replacement cycle BC Transit has now changed to (avoiding a mid-life rebuild)
G-Man
Mar 23, 2012 at 9:54 am^ Awesome. Love the guy smoking on the job at the 32 second mark.
geekthegreek
Mar 23, 2012 at 2:01 pmMan, BC was pretty white back then! Or maybe that's what they wanted to show in a marketing video. I also like the close-ups of the jazz/fusion band, when the soundtrack is obviously a synth. Good fun.
J Douglas
Mar 25, 2012 at 10:44 amIf the writer here is dismayed at Toronto's inability to come to a rational agreement on transit, he should read V.V.
