3104 replies to this topic

[Cassidy]

So we're basically saying the CRD transit issue is unsolvable?

That we've got ourselves in a predicament due to unbridled growth in the Westshore, and abysmally poor planning as to how those people are going to be moved in and out of Victoria and Sannich on a daily basis?

 

Sounds about right for the CRD. Watch a disaster happen over a period of decades, ignore it completely while your'e watching it develop, and then simply state that it's "un-fixable".

In a nutshell ... it's too big of a transportation problem, in too small of a region, and will cost exponentially more money that is even remotely available to even consider trying to fix it.

 

And the McKenzie Interchange takes at most 10 minutes (by the MOT's own statement) of a 30 to 60 minute traffic jam, and simply moves the standstill to a different intersection ... leaving folks plenty of time to sit in their cars thinking "hey, wait a minute ... that didn't fix anything!"

[Victoria Watcher]

dedicated bus/hov lanes from colwood corners to downtown.  transit issue fixed.  that bus will outpace any e&n rail option.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2019 - 11:12 AM.

[jonny]

So we're basically saying the CRD transit issue is unsolvable?

 

Ummmmmmmmm no. 

 

Many on this forum for years have pointed and laughed at those that point to the E&N as the silver bullet just waiting to be loaded into the chamber and fired. It's as if the E&N is the one thing holding those poor Westshore residents hostage to the dreaded Colwood Crawl. 

[Jackerbie]

So we're basically saying the CRD transit issue is unsolvable? ...

 

Ummmmmmmmm no. 

 

Many on this forum for years have pointed and laughed at those that point to the E&N as the silver bullet just waiting to be loaded into the chamber and fired. It's as if the E&N is the one thing holding those poor Westshore residents hostage to the dreaded Colwood Crawl. 

 

Naw, we're just agreeing with you Cassidy. The E&N shouldn't be the focus of transit investment if we want a good ROI. There are other options, like your mentioned highway corridor rail, that could be a better bang for the proverbial buck. And any improvement to transit needs to be coupled with land-use and parking policies throughout the CRD. As others have said, commuter systems work when the parking at the destination is a deterrent to driving.

[Victoria Watcher]

highway corridor rail brings all kinds of crossing problems. buses have none of those issues.

[Cassidy]

I agree that buses are definitely part of the equation, but they aren't the appropriate solution to getting people quickly from the Westshore into and then out of Saanich/Victoria.

 

Anything will obviously help (or more accurately, probably can't hurt), but everything enacted or proposed to date related to rapid mass transit from the Westshore to downtown is little more than a band-aid applied to a sawed off limb.

[Victoria Watcher]

I agree that buses are definitely part of the equation, but they aren't the appropriate solution to getting people quickly from the Westshore into and then out of Saanich/Victoria.

 

any rail mode has all kinds of issues at level crossings.  so "quickly" is not really in the equation.

[On the Level]

any rail mode has all kinds of issues at level crossings.  so "quickly" is not really in the equation.

 

The Westcoast Express doesn't have issues. With proper signals / gates why would this rail be any different?

[Victoria Watcher]

The Westcoast Express doesn't have issues. With proper signals / gates why would this rail be any different?

 

because it's on a rail corridor tens of of decades in the making so streets were built not to cross it.  try to build a brand new corridor alongside the tch or up to uvic.  not possible.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2019 - 12:23 PM.

[Mike K.]

And the McKenzie Interchange takes at most 10 minutes (by the MOT's own statement) of a 30 to 60 minute traffic jam, and simply moves the standstill to a different intersection ... leaving folks plenty of time to sit in their cars thinking "hey, wait a minute ... that didn't fix anything!"

The MoT says the interchange will cut commuting times for drivers by 20 minutes. The new northbound bus lane is 10, and it’ll also increase once the interchange is open.

[lanforod]

The most ideal solution, if money were no object, is subway or SkyTrain. We need to double our population first.

[G-Man]

We need a train bus!

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[On the Level]

So we're basically saying the CRD transit issue is unsolvable?

That we've got ourselves in a predicament due to unbridled growth in the Westshore, and abysmally poor planning as to how those people are going to be moved in and out of Victoria and Sannich on a daily basis?

 

I'm not sure 30 years of planning equates to "unbridled growth".  As the amalgamation study points out, the Westshore was the strategic area for growth for the CRD.  Spend tens of millions pushing the sewer out 30 years ago, along with a major highway upgrade to support growth, and now some seem surprised?

 

I do agree with you that there is abysmally poor planning for transportation but as per some of the posts on this thread point out, it's deliberately engineered planning for special interests to punish people into using a "rapid bus" that stops every few blocks. 

 

"Rapid Bus" is an oxymoron. 

[Victoria Watcher]

the train bus is not low floor acccessible so it’s not an option.

[Cassidy]

the train bus is not low floor acccessible so it’s not an option.

 

Design the accessibility requirements directly into the "bus stop" or "transit terminal" itself through a raised platform, or any one of a dozen other appropriate accessibility design solutions.

[Victoria Watcher]

that leaves a disabled person stuck above stairs in a between stops or emergency evacuation. that’s not allowed.

[Cassidy]

The proposed legislation may eventually require that the disabled person be able to be evacuated from the vehicle at any point on its route, but that evacuation doesn't have to duplicate the method used to get them on the vehicle in the first place.

 

Movable platforms, gantries, and otherwise safe and secure methods of exiting a rapid transit vehicle are 100% legal, and not at all uncommon.

Edited by Cassidy, 14 February 2019 - 07:19 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

not today in this country. if a bus needs to be evacuated due to fire etc. it can’t wait for a platform/extraction vehicle to arrive. the bus would be required to have 2 or more crew at all times that could lift the person out.

[tedward]

Anyone who actually wants to create a viable, long-term solution, might enjoy The Trolley. 

 

 

[G-Man]

that leaves a disabled person stuck above stairs in a between stops or emergency evacuation. that’s not allowed.

This can't be true of SkyTrain. What would be the difference?