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News Roundup for June 28, 2024
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VIVA + York Region Transit

From Budget 2024,

Fare revenues are forecast to rise to $75m in 2024 from $53m in 2023 (+42%). Projected to reach $84m in 2026 (+12%).

Transit Services is expected to have a cost recovery of 30% in 2024 compared to 25% in 2023.

(Unrelated) Interesting mention of signal pre-emption for snowplows. Lengthens advance left turn and green lights to clear rapidway corridors to allow more efficient snowplow fleets (called an echelon). I think it's been implemented for awhile.

Ridership in August 2023 was +31% YoY.

York Region will implement fare capping in 2024. Fares will increase by 3% annually.

Gross transit budget is $306m (+5.7%, +$16.5m) for 2024, +5.6% for 2025, +4.5% for 2026.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1730952160559464909

I saw this video of the ION LRT getting aggressive signal priority, hitting greens at every intersection. The fact that VIVA does not have this kind of signal priority infuriates me - if the government was willing to inconvenience drivers a little, it would be trivially easy to speed up service on VIVA and save money, which we know YRT loves.

At the intersection of Yonge/Davis, even when there are two buses queued up and waiting to turn, the transit priority signal only stays long enough for a single bus to enter the intersection. The second bus ends up having to wait for an entire light cycle to clear the intersection. Again, it would be trivially easy to lengthen the priority signal for a few more seconds and save a few minutes for everyone on the second bus.

Truly a shame we cannot pick some of the lowest hanging fruits off of the tree.
 
Some news from October, new BRT prioritization framework, advancing Phase 1 to advance environmental assessment and preliminary engineering work.
A prioritization process was applied to the unconstructed bus rapid transit corridors identified in the 2022 Transportation Master Plan to prioritize bus rapid transit projects for delivery in three phases.

Regional Council approve the recommendation to advance environmental assessment and preliminary engineering work for bus rapid transit projects identified in Phase 1 on:
  • Jane Street North from Highway 7 to Major Mackenzie Drive
  • Enterprise Boulevard from Birchmount Road to Kennedy Road (via YMCABoulevard)
  • Kennedy Road / Highway 7, Kennedy Road from YMCA Boulevard toHighway 7 and over to McCowan Road.
The Highway 7 bus rapid transit project from McCowan Road to York Durham Line/CP Havelock be prioritized to Phase 1 subject to analysis of associated costs and funding from senior levels of government.

There is increasing competition for transit and infrastructure funding across the GTHA and Canada. Advancing the planning and preliminary design of the next 130 kilometres of bus rapid transit ensures that the Region remains in a state of readiness with shovel-ready project shaving greater likelihood of being funded by senior levels of government.
Click to expand...
BRT Phasing Recommendation.jpg
 
chrisw said:
Some news from October, new BRT prioritization framework, advancing Phase 1 to advance environmental assessment and preliminary engineering work.

View attachment 525066
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The province should issue a public statement to York Region, no new infrastructure money for BRT until a service runs every 10M or better in the off-peak and every 5M or better in the peak.

The idea that hundreds of millions of dollars should be spent to support buses every 15-25M is patently absurd.
 
The Highway 7 bus rapid transit project from McCowan Road to York Durham Line/CP Havelock be prioritized to Phase 1 subject to analysis of associated costs and funding from senior levels of government.
Click to expand...

I really hope this gets funding. With the new York U campus opening this fall and more frequent GO train service to Unionville GO (next year? 2025?) there'll be much more to connect to -- so hopefully we get frequent service as well!
 

A BRT Project Update presentation to the YRRTC Board.

Phase 1 Priority Projects Status: Preliminary Design Engineering Required. Environmental Assessment for Jane Street. Eastern sections had an Environmental Assessment done in 2005, and I see compliance reports up to 2018. A Environmental Assessment gap analysis is required for the eastern sections.

Interesting to see the Key Connections and Destinations for the Phase 1 Priority Projects.

BRT1Phase1Priority.jpg
BRT2JaneStreet.jpg
BRT3Enterprise.jpg
BRT4Highway7East1.jpg
BRT5Highway7East2.jpg
 
chrisw said:

A BRT Project Update presentation to the YRRTC Board.

Phase 1 Priority Projects Status: Preliminary Design Engineering Required. Environmental Assessment for Jane Street. Eastern sections had an Environmental Assessment done in 2005, and I see compliance reports up to 2018. A Environmental Assessment gap analysis is required for the eastern sections.

Interesting to see the Key Connections and Destinations for the Phase 1 Priority Projects.

View attachment 526687View attachment 526688View attachment 526689View attachment 526690View attachment 526691
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which genius decided it would be a good idea for the highway 7 BRT to extend past Cornell towards Green Belt Rouge Park surrounded by nothing but farmland
 
Undead said:
That was all about to change ;)
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How does it look now? Hmmm

1702441415261.png


There is a swath of space there that is not Greenbelt, not Transport Canada, Not Rouge Park and Not Agricultural Preserve. Though it certainly seems comparatively isolated to justify higher-order transit; and if that justification were to arrive

It would look to me like the more logical route would be N-S to Seaton and Pickering.
 
My only thought is that with a number of large manufacturing and warehousing operations opening to the east along Highway 7 in Pickering, Highway 7 to Cornell Terminal might become a major route for DRT. I believe there are provincial plans to "twin" (or reroute?) the remaining two lane sections of Highway 7 in Markham and Pickering, so maybe bus lanes will be part of that new construction?
 
Interesting. So, Durham looks quite empty on the map currently but there is some employment land along Highway 7 in Seaton.

Seaton is a proposed new urban development on approximately 3,100 acres of land in the City of Pickering. The province owns over 3,800 acres of environmentally protected lands and 1,200 acres of development lands, which are managed by Infrastructure Ontario (IO).
The Lands are being sold in a phased approach as 10 individual bundles through an open market process, which is being led by the Broker of Record, CBRE Limited (the Canadian entity). The first bundles were listed on the open market beginning in October 2016.
Upon the lands being developed, Seaton will be a mixed use, sustainable community which will be a workplace for 30,500 and home to 61,000 people by 2031.
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www.infrastructureontario.ca

Seaton Lands

Seaton is a proposed new urban development on approximately 3,100 acres of land in the City of Pickering. The province owns over 3,800 acres of environmentally protected lands and 1,200 acres of development lands, which are managed by Infrastructure Ontario.
www.infrastructureontario.ca www.infrastructureontario.ca

Seaton.jpg
 
Durham Region TMP (2017) - 2031 Higher-Order Transit Network
DRTHigherOrderTransit.jpg


DRT plans to develop a Local Area Transit Plan (LATP) for the area. LATPs will be developed for Bowmanville (Clarington), Newcastle (Clarington), Courtice (Clarington), Kedron and Windfields areas (Oshawa), Port Perry (Scugog), Seaton (Pickering), Brooklin (Whitby).

DRTNetworkMap2025LATP.jpg
 
mossynukes said:
which genius decided it would be a good idea for the highway 7 BRT to extend past Cornell towards Green Belt Rouge Park surrounded by nothing but farmland
Click to expand...
remember when we were all laughing at that chinese city where they built a subway stop in the middle of nowhere... well fast forward 5 years and now theres a city built around it and its a bustling stop.
not saying the farmland will change into a city but this is planning for the long term future.. .something that we rarely do.
 
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