Why must there always be so many stops in everyone of these plans? Cant planners and councilors be more considerate of transit user and their time? From a commuters standpoint its turns this kind of service into something akin to a bus service. Its seems very reasonable to have no more than a total number of stops equal to or less than the total kilometres on a line. Space the stations or stops approximately one kilometer apart.
Love the eglinton crosstown, and how the plan eveolved from its original inception. But the fact that there is 25 stops for a 19 km line is the one thing that still bugs me.
LRT stops are selected based on a balance between good local access and high route speed. The greater the distance between stops, the higher the speed of travel. There were two general scenarios considered for stop separation for the Etobicoke-Finch West Transit City Corridor:
1. LRT stops every 800 - 1,000 metres like a ‘surface subway’, with stops at major intersections with parallel bus service (such as every 20 minutes) serving bus stops in between. At LRT stops, customers can transfer to the centre LRT platform from the side of road bus stop.
2. LRT stops more closely spaced, every 400-600 metres, with no parallel local bus service.
TTC developed a micro-simulation to examine the impacts of stop spacing on the example of the Sheppard East LRT. A stop spacing of 800 metres resulted in a route speed of 26-27 km/h, while a stop spacing of 400 metres had a route speed of 22-23 km/h. The wider spacing did not result in as much of a speed advantage as expected; while the LRT stopped less often, the time for customers to board took twice as long per stop (same number of passengers collected at half the stops) and the LRT still had delays due to red lights at signalized intersections in between stops (although the model accounted for possible signal priority to reduce such delays).
The wider spacing scenario was not selected because the full impact of the increased speed of the LRT applies only to those walking directly to LRT stops. Those boarding local buses running parallel to the LRT at bus stops in between LRT stops have a shorter walk, but a longer waiting time for service and a transfer to the LRT after a very short ride on a parallel bus route.
In recognition of these results, the recommendation for stop spacing for the Etobicoke-Finch West line is in the order of 400 to 600 metres, depending upon the pattern of development and the location of cross-streets, with an expected average speed of 22 to 23 km/h; this is considered to be the best balance between the overall route speed and good local access. The stop spacing may be greater at some locations for the Etobicoke-Finch West LRT due to terrain and undeveloped zones along the corridor, as well as the interchange and related roadways at Highway 400. For purposes of comparison, during peak operating conditions, the average speed of the Bloor-Danforth subway line is 30 km/h, the 36 Finch West bus service is 17 km/h, and the 510 Spadina streetcar service is 14 km/h.
http://thecrosstown.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/reports/Finch-EA/chapter_2.pdf
