YRT/Viva Construction Thread (Rapidways, Terminals)

[Leo_Chan]

An update to the RHC upgrade from this morning :
-The roof structure appears to be complete
-ductwork installation has begun
-No wall structures yet but i suspect there won't be until the duct and pipework is finished

I gotchu:

 

[cplchanb]

I gotchu:

Im hoping in the future they seriously consider covering up the rest of the terminal. right now it seems so piecemeal. ....

 

[Leo_Chan]

This has more to do with York Region Roads, but it does impact Viva Purple for the non Enterprise route coming next year.

I took some pictures of the new bike lanes they are using on this portion of Highway 7, they're raised rather than all on the road.

A question I have is the impact of the bike lane when a bus is stopped. The YRT routes on all other streets with bike lanes already block the lane when at a stop, but here both YRT and Viva Route(s) stop next to the bike lane rather than in it (I assume), which is an improvement but may be a bit dangerous for riders and bicyclist that don't stop.

Road(left), bike path(middle), sidewalk(right):

Bikes cross the intersection on the road rather than directly next to sidewalk.

Pictures of the bike turning boxes:

 

[Leo_Chan]

Here is a video I took for the construction progress from Main Street Unionville to Town Centre Boulevard:

You can see that the streetlights, traffic lights, and most of the landscaping is already completed. The final (I assume) asphalt is paved and some line markings are already in place. Only waiting for landscaping, line markings, maybe red paint/asphalt for the bus lane transition east of Town Centre Blvd, and other relatively small things.

Since construction is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2017 (11 more days), but the implementation of Viva Purple is "Mid 2018 (dependent on construction timelines)", I don't quite see the connection of Fall 2017 and Mid 2018. Is there some other construction thing that is going to prevent Viva Purple from running on Highway 7 this year?

 

[amnesiajune]

A question I have is the impact of the bike lane when a bus is stopped. The YRT routes on all other streets with bike lanes already block the lane when at a stop, but here both YRT and Viva Route(s) stop next to the bike lane rather than in it (I assume), which is an improvement but may be a bit dangerous for riders and bicyclist that don't stop.

I don't think it's practical to design the bike lane differently. Out of the few who bike on Highway 7, even fewer are dumb enough to not stop when people are getting onto/off of a bus. And there's a real drawback when you move the bus stop ~10 meters farther from the corner. Bus service becomes slower, the stop becomes less convenient, and you'll still force everyone to cross the bike lane at some point, a lot of whom won't bother to check if someone's coming.

The TTC has a similar conflict on their College streetcar and the Sherbourne bus. There are a lot more bikes and a lot more transit users, and yet there's no epidemic of people being hit by bikes as they get onto or off of the bus. I don't see any reason why Highway 7 would be worse.

 

[Leo_Chan]

I don't think it's practical to design the bike lane differently. Out of the few who bike on Highway 7, even fewer are dumb enough to not stop when people are getting onto/off of a bus. And there's a real drawback when you move the bus stop ~10 meters farther from the corner. Bus service becomes slower, the stop becomes less convenient, and you'll still force everyone to cross the bike lane at some point, a lot of whom won't bother to check if someone's coming.

The TTC has a similar conflict on their College streetcar and the Sherbourne bus. There are a lot more bikes and a lot more transit users, and yet there's no epidemic of people being hit by bikes as they get onto or off of the bus. I don't see any reason why Highway 7 would be worse.

So is this design better or worse than the bikes lanes on the existing part of Hghway 7? I'd say better as it's relatively safer.

 

[innsertnamehere]

It's way better, especially in the suburban context. The existing Highway 7 bike lanes are near useless since vehicle speeds are so high.

 

[amnesiajune]

The existing Highway 7 bike lanes are near useless since vehicle speeds are so high.

I'd say the opposite. The car lanes are wide and there's a good buffer between them and the bike lane. High speeds mean you're never stuck in a car's blind spot and it's nearly impossible to get into accidents with a right-turning car. Highway 7 is so much better than the narrow bike lanes on streets downtown where cars often drive at the same speed as bikes.

 

[raptor]

An update on the Viva VMC station:
- Steel platforms enclosure structure is complete
- They started cladding the enclosure on the south side. About 30% complete. Nothing yet on the north side.
- They started glass installation on the north side (under the enclosure). No glass yet on the south side.
- I'm assuming they'll flip the above 2 jobs with the other side once done.
- Road concrete surface is complete, only missing asphalt paving.
- Other structures and landscaping are complete.
Honestly, if they put a few more people on this project, they could complete it by December 17. It's too bad York Region isn't pushing them and allow them to complete by spring 2018.

 

[ssiguy2]

I totally applaud York's efforts on improving transit and giving it ROW but it has so many stops and service is so infrequent that the "rapidways" don't seem to live up to their name.

 

[cplchanb]

I totally applaud York's efforts on improving transit and giving it ROW but it has so many stops and service is so infrequent that the "rapidways" don't seem to live up to their name.

Well, at the very least theyve future proofed themselves for the next 2 generations at least. The conversion to LRT once capacity warrants it is already half done

 

[innsertnamehere]

they are struggling to run buses every 15 minutes. LRT is a long, long way away. Existing ridership could probably grow by over 1000% and still be easily accommodated on the new infrastructure.

 

[cplchanb]

they are struggling to run buses every 15 minutes. LRT is a long, long way away. Existing ridership could probably grow by over 1000% and still be easily accommodated on the new infrastructure.

hence 2 generations....maybe 2+ would be more appropriate....

 

[Leo_Chan]

IMO, one of the main missing features of Viva Rapidways is the absence of bypass lanes at stations. So if there comes a need for an "Express" express bus, then they can pass stopped vehicles if needed. This isn't a necessary feature to have, but it would be a nice to have.

One thing I don't understand is why some stations have both platforms on the same side of the intersection, while others have them on separate sides. I understand a reason is the space constraints of the ROW, but there shouldn't be a reason for the region/city to not purchase more private land in order to have a more uniform experience for riders. Probably the same reason why right-turn lanes are so rare on the Rapidway sections.

 

[cplchanb]

IMO, one of the main missing features of Viva Rapidways is the absence of bypass lanes at stations. So if there comes a need for an "Express" express bus, then they can pass stopped vehicles if needed. This isn't a necessary feature to have, but it would be a nice to have.

One thing I don't understand is why some stations have both platforms on the same side of the intersection, while others have them on separate sides. I understand a reason is the space constraints of the ROW, but there shouldn't be a reason for the region/city to not purchase more private land in order to have a more uniform experience for riders. Probably the same reason why right-turn lanes are so rare on the Rapidway sections.

bypass lanes would make the road prohibitively wide. Its already 9 lanes wide...11 lanes is just too much.

I guess you probably answered your own question on the second part. Though deleting the right turn lane was a mistake imo....yrt buses are a pain during morning rush when they have to stop to take on/let off people