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WHAT'S HAPPENING ON CITIFIED VICTORIA
Questions:
- Rapid bus to Westshore in the next 1-2 years
- Immediate removal of some 50 stops along Goldstream and Jacklin to make it an express route until rapid bus is brought in. Stops will still be served by local routes
- Chose if you would prefer 50 and Rapid Route to terminate at Westhills or Bellmont Market
- short term goals
- 43 proposed to serve Fort Rod Hill (no mention of service boost)
- upgrades to 52 (more direct service, increase in service
- introduces 44, peak service only, to replace some cut 52 service and serve other parts of Bear Mountain that currently have none
- 54/55 more direct
- combining 56/57 into 1 route, option on where it loops back
- 59/60 will terminate at a new exchange in Royal Bay making them unique routes rather than the same route in different directions
- 60 replaces 52's cut Royal Bay service
- Question if 39 should keep current routing or be more direct (turn directly to Lanford Parkway from VMP instead of going to Goldstream and Jacklin
- 3 proposed lines for 61 (would no longer be interlined with 50 and directly service downtown all day)
- via Jacklin and Kelly, via VMP similarly to how 65 currently goes, via Jacklin and Goldstream)
- Medium term goals
- 52 becomes frequent service and even more direct, 45 new route to replace cut service
- 46 extended service to Goldstream Meadows (seems to turn around at roundabout on Langford Parkway)
- Retire 55 (basically same route as 54) to cut down duplication when 64 extension is brought in
- Options for Bear Mountain terminus, City Gate by Costco or Millstream by Western Speedway
- Some infrastructure stuff such as bus lanes between McKenzie and Six Mile and Sooke road between Royal Roads and Colwood Corners. Transit priority queue jumps at lights, the usual more shelters, more park and rides, etc
I put on a suggestion that Route 56 should go straight to Costco from Langford Exchange. Head down Dunford, Carlow, Goldstream, Leigh, McCallum like it does now; however the Route 56 should stop on the same side of the road as Costco. Route 57 can return through Florence Lake (complete the Thetis Heights loop, then head straight along Treanor towards Setchfield).
Passengers along Florence Lake would have a much shorter travel time if they didn't have to wait for the bus to loop through Thetis Heights, then head along Millstream. Same for customers wanting to go to Costco, they don't want to have to wait for the bus to go through Thetis Heights, then go to Costco. 80% of customers seem to get confused and get off on Millstream and walk up the hill anyways.
Now many of you may not agree; however I put in a suggestion that Route 61 should head straight along Sooke Road towards town. There is a stretch of Sooke Road with NO SERVICE during the day (Sooke at Jacklin up to Sooke and Goldstream, aside from a few places where the 52, 59, and 60 cut in). It would make a shorter commute for the Sooke residents, and service a portion of Langford/Colwood with no service at all during the day. For the few people on the Sooke bus that want to head into Langford, they can get off on Sooke Road somewhere and catch a 59, 60, 52, 39 to get to Langford. Furthermore; Route 61 should just terminate at Colwood Exchange, loop back around, and head back to Sooke. They could increase the service to 35-40 minutes.
As for 54/55, a good majority of those passengers live on the start of the route, between Glen Lake and Sooke Road. Perhaps transit can make a seperate route that just goes along Glen Lake, Sooke Road, and back to the exchange? Call it the Route 49 for example. And surely they can do something to make the 54/55 less lengthy, more frequent.
Another thought; Route 51 should run throughout the day, on an hourly basis (6am to 6pm, once an hour). There seems to be a demand for people to get off on McKenzie on the Route 50. Meanwhile you have Route 46, which runs empty during the day... why have that route going for 2-3 people, when there'd be more demend for the 51.
I would hope in the next 5 years, BCT could get an Uptown Exchange built and have all the ferry runs and West Shore runs start and finish there. 50, 70, 72, 75 for example. Commuter trips like 32, 47, 48, 61, 53, etc can run from the Legislature but the runs that run all day can just go from Uptown to Swartz Bay/Langford.
