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From: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/212807
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Bus-only lane pitched for DVP

City looks at opening median lane to buses alone
May 11, 2007 04:30 AM
Paul Moloney
City hall bureau
Bus rides up and down the Don Valley Parkway may get a lot easier – and faster.

It could take a few years, but Toronto is looking at making transit-friendly changes to one of Canada's busiest roads, including a bus-only lane to unplug the congested expressway.

There's no room to expand, but officials want to squeeze buses onto the centre median lane to let transit users zip ahead of car drivers in the regular lanes.

The concept, already used in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Ottawa, would help GO Transit buses draw more passengers out of their cars, said managing director Gary McNeil.

GO runs 133 buses daily from Union Station to GO stations on the Bradford, Richmond Hill and Stouffville lines, but they're often stuck in snarled traffic on the DVP, McNeil said.

Bus-only lanes running in the median from Highway 401 to Bloor St. would help, he said.

"For a passenger, it's very attractive," he said. "There's nothing better than sitting on a bus and going by stopped traffic. You're doing something good for the environment and it's smart for you because you're going to get to work quicker."

Councillor Shelley Carroll (Ward 33, Don Valley East) said buses currently get stuck on streets funnelling into downtown, while car drivers use the parkway as a more direct route.

"It's too compelling an argument to get into your car," she said. "We have to modify the road to make public transit more attractive, and I think this plan makes sense."

Other ideas city transportation planners are exploring:



Ramp meters, essentially stoplights at on-ramps, similar to those on the QEW in Mississauga. Cars would be held for five or six seconds each to smooth the process of merging.




A bare-bones GO train station at Eglinton. Studies show many residents in the burgeoning Wynford Dr. area work downtown, and a train stop would provide an alternative to cars.




Upgrade overhead signs to provide more information on traffic conditions.


The idea for bus-only lanes came up as early as 2000, in planning for the unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Olympics.

"We're into the seventh year now, to the point where finally they're analyzing soil conditions to confirm whether we can run a bus," said Rod McPhail, the city's director of transportation planning.

There's room in the median for a bus lane in each direction. McNeil said he's confident the threat of fines and demerit points will keep motorists out of the lane.

GO Transit will pay the full cost, estimated at $12 million and considered dirt cheap as infrastructure projects go. The only thing holding things up is the need for a full environmental assessment, McNeil said.

"The mayor of the city of Toronto, I can categorically say, is very supportive of this. No one has said they don't like it."
Click to expand...
 
not enough room

GO says it will cost $12 Million to upgrade the shoulders from 401 to Bloor. Good luck!
There are pinch points at the railways crossings south of lawrence with no further room to expand medians. Those bridges will need to be expanded. The EA will cost $12 M.
 
As someone who frequently rides the GO bus up the DVP, I think this is desperately, desperately needed. The DVP, when it moves, it still the best way -- when the GO trains aren't running, which is at all times outside of rush hour -- to get to the major centres in Markham, Richmond Hill, and points north.

People always complain, justifiably, about the difficulty of getting from the city to office parks in Markham. Bus lanes on the DVP would be a boon to reverse commuters.

The same could be said about a station at Wynford Dr. It would improve access to the office parks in that area, and take some pressure off of the TTC on Eglinton.
 
why the centre lane? They should just devote the left lane to bus traffic only. Less room for cars = less drivers = more transit passengers.
 
This is the second or third time it's been pitched. It won't happen. A major road or lane hasn't been added in Toronto in 25 years.
 
Paul Sutherland pitched the idea of widening the DVP by one lane for HOVs - basically a back door to adding more car capacity to the highway, the weasely way that McGuinty/MTO have been widening several 400-series highways with minimal opposition.

This time however, they are not widening the highway, the plan is to allow buses to use the left shoulder. Some improvements will have to be made, but it would not result in actually physically widening the cross section.

I would think the TTC should consider using it as well at least as a stop-gap until Transit City - Don Mills is implemented.
 
Do many people use the HOV lanes on the 400-highways? Are they frequently violated (like the lanes in downtown)?

And as for 25 years, wasn't Spadina and Queen's Quay added about 10 years ago? (not to mention St. Clair)
 
City looks at GO bus bypass lanes on DVP
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By Natalie Alcoba May 12, 2010 – 11:39 am

Toronto transportation staff want to convert a stretch of shoulder lanes on the Don Valley Parkway into exclusive “bus bypass lanes” for GO Transit.

The proposed new lanes, one in each direction to the left of traffic, would extend from Lawrence Avenue and 458 metres north of York Mills. The idea is to give GO buses a quicker router during heavy traffic “without any reduction in the traffic carrying capacity of the DVP.”

In a report coming forward to the public works committee, staff wrote that City Council had earlier endorsed the idea of a bypass lane on the shoulder of the DVP, but the law doesn’t allow the city to designate shoulder lanes both for general traffic and exclusive use of certain vehicles. So, it has to convert the shoulder into a lane, the report said. “If successful, this kind of initiative can be considered for implementation on other sections of expressways for transit travelers,” the report said.

The report said Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency, would pay for all costs related to feasibility studies, environmental assessments and construction of the lanes. The city would be responsible for maintaining the lanes. Staff are asking for the authority to draft an agreement with Metrolinx.

http://news.nationalpost.com/category/posted-toronto/#ixzz0njZQ6Hqp
 
Degnaw said:
Do many people use the HOV lanes on the 400-highways? Are they frequently violated (like the lanes in downtown)?

And as for 25 years, wasn't Spadina and Queen's Quay added about 10 years ago? (not to mention St. Clair)
Click to expand...

The 404 lanes are well utilized, especially the Southbound lanes. I have seen the lanes well-enforced.
 
why not run it allthe way down to front and up to steeles? Whats the point of 5 minutes of traffic relief when you can have gridlock on other parts of the DVP as well...again showing a lack of foresight...
 
These are the requirements for buses using the lanes:
As previously noted, buses will only use the BBL when traffic in the GPL is moving at speeds equal to or
less than 60 km/h. While using the BBL, buses shall not exceed 60 km/h. When the GPL traffic on Don
Valley Parkway is in a stop-and-go condition, buses are to travel no more than 20 km/h greater than the
GPL flow of traffic.
Click to expand...
Maybe they're thinking of safety but I would be pretty annoyed if I was on a bus and it could only go 40 km/h because car traffic was going 20.
 
They should just convert the 2 centre lanes of Bayview extension to BRT ROW, extend Redway Rd deeper into the valley to intercept it via a bus-only underpass and call it a day. The DVP is for motorists. Don Mills already has HOV lanes during certain hours, so we just need to make them into an all-hours busway, preferrably with road-median stops that later on can be retrofited to LRT.
 
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