YRT/Viva Construction Thread (Rapidways, Terminals)

[canarob]

As in their using it : - ) ... not starting work.

Question, the right of way ends at Town Center right (at least along Hi-way 7), so past Warden there is no viva on 7 correct ? I guess the #1 services that area though ? And viva is just to the south on enterprise ?

The 2017 YRT plan suggests that purple would have two routes, one through Downtown Markham and one along Highway 7.

BTW related to above, are they going to extend the streetscape finishing past Warden on 7 ? I don't think so ? I don't like how the UPTOWN condos meet Hi-way 7, its not great at all.

I assume that this section will get improved transit shelters to accommodate the above but no rapidway. I do hope that whatever they do with the sidewalks includes similar landscaping though. The region needs to get this part of Highway 7 right since it's going to be a growth node for the next few decades.

 

[taal]

Just before Warden they are building a church fronting the noth side of 7, not sure I like that, seems retail / office would be better.

 

[canarob]

Just before Warden they are building a church fronting the noth side of 7, not sure I like that, seems retail / office would be better.

It's a massive church with related facilities, so it pretty much has to go on Highway 7. A mosque that was not nearly as big ran into huge opposition at Markham and 16th (there were doubtless other reasons for this NIMBYism, but their official line was that it was parking and traffic concerns).

 

[cplchanb]

Just wondering, is signal priority still being used on Yonge? there were many instances on my recent trips to Finch where the light turns yellow just as the bus is about to go and the driver slams the brakes as a result.
Is it still something that the drivers have to initiate themselves or does the gps on the bus tells the light to hold green?

 

[canarob]

The 2017 YRT plan suggests that purple would have two routes, one through Downtown Markham and one along Highway 7.



I assume that this section will get improved transit shelters to accommodate the above but no rapidway. I do hope that whatever they do with the sidewalks includes similar landscaping though. The region needs to get this part of Highway 7 right since it's going to be a growth node for the next few decades.

Answering my own question: http://www2.markham.ca/markham/ccbs...ces/pl140916/Highway 7 Streetscape Report.pdf

 

[xtremesniper]

Answering my own question: http://www2.markham.ca/markham/ccbs...ces/pl140916/Highway 7 Streetscape Report.pdf

Good find.

 

[Electrify]

Just wondering, is signal priority still being used on Yonge? there were many instances on my recent trips to Finch where the light turns yellow just as the bus is about to go and the driver slams the brakes as a result.
Is it still something that the drivers have to initiate themselves or does the gps on the bus tells the light to hold green?

Don't know what the process is regarding signal priority, but it is definitely not 100%. That said, I know I tweeted YRT about a light to a parking lot south of Bernard that would almost always go red as the bus approached, and after addressing my concern, the situation seems to have improved immensely.

 

[xtremesniper]

Don't know what the process is regarding signal priority, but it is definitely not 100%. That said, I know I tweeted YRT about a light to a parking lot south of Bernard that would almost always go red as the bus approached, and after addressing my concern, the situation seems to have improved immensely.

While I like how reporting these things on twitter seems to actually do something, I don't understand why it takes a rider to get it reported in the first place. Are the drivers that complacent that they can't even call operations and tell them about it?

 

[reaperexpress]

While I like how reporting these things on twitter seems to actually do something, I don't understand why it takes a rider to get it reported in the first place. Are the drivers that complacent that they can't even call operations and tell them about it?

A driver's job is merely to operate the vehicle. They are supposed to try their best to maintain schedule adherence, but I don't know if there is actually monitoring of individual drivers which incentivizes on-time performance. Given that they are already operating for long periods of time, they probably don't want to do additional optional work.

Personally, at the end of the work day I look forward to a change in topic. I tend not to do unpaid activities related to my work, even though I am passionate about the topic.

Passengers, on the other hand, have a stake in getting to their destination as quickly and reliably as possible. I submitted a similar comment to the TTC a couple days ago, but contrary to my good experiences with YRT's customer service, I have little hope of any changes or response from the TTC.

 

[xtremesniper]

A driver's job is merely to operate the vehicle. They are supposed to try their best to maintain schedule adherence, but I don't know if there is actually monitoring of individual drivers which incentivizes on-time performance. Given that they are already operating for long periods of time, they probably don't want to do additional optional work.

Personally, at the end of the work day I look forward to a change in topic. I tend not to do unpaid activities related to my work, even though I am passionate about the topic.

Passengers, on the other hand, have a stake in getting to their destination as quickly and reliably as possible. I submitted a similar comment to the TTC a couple days ago, but contrary to my good experiences with YRT's customer service, I have little hope of any changes or response from the TTC.

I guess I can 'understand' that point of view, but I've always found it a bit of a lazy excuse to say things like "it's not in my job description" or similar.

It's not my job to report when traffic signals are out of sync and cause a backup, but if I see it I try to report it. It's not part of my job to be a citizen of this city and do things to improve the community or the lives of strangers, but I like to try and do what I can.

I highly doubt notifying operations about a rouge signal that adds a minute thirty to a run is going to take that much effort. But alas, I guess it's just not their job so why should they bother, right?

 

[Electrify]

I was just talking with a bus driver about why it tends to go slowly in the busway, and apparently for "safety" they are restricted to going 20km/h around Viva stations! Where stops are close together, she said that they don't have enough space to get up to speed.

This may be the dumbest thing I have ever heard! Subway trains are much longer, are far more difficult to stop, and even they go through stations faster than that, even downtown where the stops are about as close as they are on the busway!

I have a contact at the local paper, and I will be letting her know about this. If you are only going to let the bus move as fast as a bike, then why are we spending millions putting them in at all?!

 

[gweed123]

I was just talking with a bus driver about why it tends to go slowly in the busway, and apparently for "safety" they are restricted to going 20km/h around Viva stations! Where stops are close together, she said that they don't have enough space to get up to speed.

This may be the dumbest thing I have ever heard! Subway trains are much longer, are far more difficult to stop, and even they go through stations faster than that, even downtown where the stops are about as close as they are on the busway!

I have a contact at the local paper, and I will be letting her know about this. If you are only going to let the bus move as fast as a bike, then why are we spending millions putting them in at all?!

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Buses in Ottawa sure as hell don't have that restriction. They fly through downtown in between stops, and those are closer together than most VIVA stops.

 

[1overcosc]

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Buses in Ottawa sure as hell don't have that restriction. They fly through downtown in between stops, and those are closer together than most VIVA stops.

In Ottawa the BRT platforms are on shoulders at the side of the Transitway; basically, the Transitway widens to 4 lanes at stations. Even then the speed limit is technically lowered to 50km/h through the station area although in practice bus drivers ignore the limit. As they do elsewhere incidentally... anyone familiar with the Transitway will know that OC drivers do insane speeds on it. I've detected with my phone speeds of almost 90-95km/h through the Scott Street Trench....

 

[gweed123]

In Ottawa the BRT platforms are on shoulders at the side of the Transitway; basically, the Transitway widens to 4 lanes at stations. Even then the speed limit is technically lowered to 50km/h through the station area although in practice bus drivers ignore the limit. As they do elsewhere incidentally... anyone familiar with the Transitway will know that OC drivers do insane speeds on it. I've detected with my phone speeds of almost 90-95km/h through the Scott Street Trench....

Yes, that's true. I'm talking specifically through downtown though, where it's just a dedicated lane. Most of the time if they're not in the crawl they're going at least 60 km/h, and that's through a very urban setting.

 

[xtremesniper]

I was just talking with a bus driver about why it tends to go slowly in the busway, and apparently for "safety" they are restricted to going 20km/h around Viva stations! Where stops are close together, she said that they don't have enough space to get up to speed.

This may be the dumbest thing I have ever heard! Subway trains are much longer, are far more difficult to stop, and even they go through stations faster than that, even downtown where the stops are about as close as they are on the busway!

I have a contact at the local paper, and I will be letting her know about this. If you are only going to let the bus move as fast as a bike, then why are we spending millions putting them in at all?!

If they're just talking about "around Viva stations", doesn't that just mean when they're physically near a station? What's wrong with that? Especially if they have to stop there anyway. There might be pedestrians crossing (unsafely) in and around stations.

If they are restricted to 20km/h along the entire rapidway, then that's just dumb. But I don't think that's true.