Durham Region Transit / Pulse

[innsertnamehere]

I just don't see Durham council supporting that one. I suspect it'll become a mixed traffic stretch like Viva through Richmond Hill.

Locals will be pissed about losing continuity of Kingston Rd for driving.

I always hated that channelized right turn right in the middle of downtown Whitby. That needs to be killed with fire.

 

[Richard White]

People, in theory, can walk from Sheppard/Pt. Union, but that's a bit of a jaunt, 925M to be precise; downhill one way.............but uphill the other!

Now, its only 550M from Altona Rd. But there's still the matter of a steep hill.

I've done that rather than wait for the DRT Pulse from Port Union to Altona visiting my Grandmother after a haircut. It's a looooong walk.

It doesn't seem long on paper but it takes about 25 minutes to walk from Port Union to Altona and 15 ish to walk from Port Union to Glen Rouge.

Here's the problem though, there's nowhere to put a pedestrian crossing. The Bridge over the river starts right at the entrance to glen rouge conservation area.

It's at the bottom of a hill and the start of a bridge which ices over in the winter. Not exactly feasible for a crossing.

The next closest crossing is at Altona or The McDonalds a block away.

 

[Northern Light]

I've done that rather than wait for the DRT Pulse from Port Union to Altona visiting my Grandmother after a haircut. It's a looooong walk.

It doesn't seem long on paper but it takes about 25 minutes to walk from Port Union to Altona and 15 ish to walk from Port Union to Glen Rouge.

Here's the problem though, there's nowhere to put a pedestrian crossing. The Bridge over the river starts right at the entrance to glen rouge conservation area.

It's at the bottom of a hill and the start of a bridge which ices over in the winter. Not exactly feasible for a crossing.

The next closest crossing is at Altona or The McDonalds a block away.

I'm not sure why a crossing couldn't be done here.

I know of many lights and crossings that are immediately proximate to bridges. (see Woodbine/O'Connor)

There are lights on one's way down and at the base of the Hog's Hollow descent on Yonge.

 

[Richard White]

I'm not sure why a crossing couldn't be done here.

I know of many lights and crossings that are immediately proximate to bridges. (see Woodbine/O'Connor)

There are lights on one's way down and at the base of the Hog's Hollow descent on Yonge.

My guess is that it is a safety thing. That hill acts like a blind spot and people come wailing down that stretch of Kingston because of how far apart the lights are.

There is a good chance that by the time someone saw the red light coming down that hill or from that bridge it would be too late. I know this from experience as my Grandmother has lived at Altona and Hwy 2 since 1997. I've been going down that stretch since the early 90s.

Also keep in mind you are sitting on the Pickering-Toronto border.. literally. It's sort of like the US-Canada border over the rainbow bridge and sits in the middle.

There is probably alot of behind the scenes politics that would go into putting a crossing there.

 

[Northern Light]

My guess is that it is a safety thing. That hill acts like a blind spot and people come wailing down that stretch of Kingston because of how far apart the lights are.

There is a good chance that by the time someone saw the red light coming down that hill or from that bridge it would be too late. I know this from experience as my Grandmother has lived at Altona and Hwy 2 since 1997. I've been going down that stretch since the early 90s.

View attachment 283292View attachment 283293

Also keep in mind you are sitting on the Pickering-Toronto border.. literally. It's sort of like the US-Canada border over the rainbow bridge and sits in the middle.

There is probably alot of behind the scenes politics that would go into putting a crossing there.

Your pictures don't show any obvious blindspots.

Here's the approach from the west:

Here's the approach from the east:

The sightlines to any traffic light look fine to me.

***

As to the issue of a border:

A) There are traffic lights at municipal borders all the time.

B) This is not the border, its entirely within Toronto's jurisdiction. (The border here is the river, the crossing would be on the west side of the bridge)

 

[Richard White]

Your pictures don't show any obvious blindspots.

Here's the approach from the west:

View attachment 283301

Here's the approach from the east:

View attachment 283302

The sightlines to any traffic light look fine to me.

***

As to the issue of a border:

A) There are traffic lights at municipal borders all the time; and indeed there is one at the Toronto/Pickering border here, which is Rosebank.

B) This is not the border, its entirely within Toronto's jurisdiction.

Trust me when I say a crossing here is probably the worst thing you could do. I know from experience having gone there on a weekly basis how problematic it can be.

This isn't Woodbine and O'connor or Hoggs Hollow.. when you actually go there you will see what I mean.

The pictures don't do it justice.

 

[Northern Light]

Trust me when I say a crossing here is probably the worst thing you could do. I know from experience having gone there on a weekly basis how problematic it can be.

This isn't Woodbine and O'connor or Hoggs Hollow.. when you actually go there you will see what I mean.

The pictures don't do it justice.

I've been there, a lot, I hike Rouge Park several times each year.

I stop the car going down the hill, in order to turn left into the campground. I can't see why stopping to make a left, or stopping to let someone cross would be materially different.

Would you mind not being so argumentative please?

If you have evidence in support of any view, that's fine; just present it.

If not, you have a preference; and that's ok too.

But preferences aren't facts, unto themselves.

 

[north-of-anything]

A Rouge Hill station would be low-traffic enough that nobody would expect to have to stop. It's a lot easier to see a stopped car from far away than a walking pedestrian.

Kingston Road in this area looks a lot like the arterial roads in rural York Region where people routinely blow past stop lights. It's not economically viable to construct shelters for a stop that people will be too afraid to use.

 

[Richard White]

Kingston Road in this area looks a lot like the arterial roads in rural York Region where people routinely blow past stop lights. It's not economically viable to construct shelters for a stop that people will be too afraid to use.

That's the point I was attempting to make. People use this section of Kingston Road as a racetrack. I've seen it with my own eyes. They treat it like Highway 2A to the south.

You can put a stop there but it wouldn't be well used.

 

[Allandale25]

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[APTA-2048]

One other observation from looking at the station/stop choices...........no stop for Rouge Park; Canada's only urban National Park.

That seems kinda goofy.

People, in theory, can walk from Sheppard/Pt. Union, but that's a bit of a jaunt, 925M to be precise; downhill one way.............but uphill the other!

Now, its only 550M from Altona Rd. But there's still the matter of a steep hill.

From both a tourism and a social equity lens, I think it would make sense to put a stop in at the Glen Rouge entrance to the park.

The walk from Altona isn’t that bad. It quite level and way less steep than walking towards Port Union. I can do it in about 10mins.

Though I admit, a stop at Glen Rouge Campground would be pretty neat.

 

[Richard White]

The walk from Altona isn’t that bad. It quite level and way less steep than walking towards Port Union. I can do it in about 10mins.

Though I admit, a stop at Glen Rouge Campground would be pretty neat.

No doubt it would be neat but how often would it be used is the question? It would be a nice idea but realistically it is a one way stop.

With DRT much like YRT, Miway, etc. you can only drop off inside Toronto coming from Durham and only pickup inside Toronto when heading out of Toronto towards Oshawa. Nobody will take a bus if they can't get back on when they are done hiking.

 

[APTA-2048]

No doubt it would be neat but how often would it be used is the question? It would be a nice idea but realistically it is a one way stop.

With DRT much like YRT, Miway, etc. you can only drop off inside Toronto coming from Durham and only pickup inside Toronto when heading out of Toronto towards Oshawa. Nobody will take a bus if they can't get back on when they are done hiking.

I don’t think it’s a very strict rule though. You can get off as well as get on the Pulse stop at Port Union. I’m assuming this is because there is no TTC route going the same way until after the 401.

 

[Northern Light]

With DRT much like YRT, Miway, etc. you can only drop off inside Toronto coming from Durham and only pickup inside Toronto when heading out of Toronto towards Oshawa. Nobody will take a bus if they can't get back on when they are done hiking.

Change is coming............

 

[Richard White]

I don’t think it’s a very strict rule though. You can get off as well as get on the Pulse stop at Port Union. I’m assuming this is because there is no TTC route going the same way until after the 401.

It depends. If you are going to Pickering you can get on at Port Union

If you are heading to the university you can only get off.

I've seen people ask to get off at Port Union heading to Pickering but the driver refuses and takes them to Altona.