[W. K. Lis]

Don't laugh! The title of the report for the TTC's May 11, 2011 is: OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED BUS SERVICE ON FINCH AVENUE

You can download the PDF at this link.

Please, we should first read the gospel of OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED BUS SERVICE ON FINCH AVENUE before we comment on it.

 

[RC8]

"allocation of two centre lanes within Finch Avenue West for exclusive bus use"

Would the Fordites care to enlighten me - how the **** is this different/better from having an LRT with ROW for drivers?

I mean, wouldn't it have EXACTLY the same effect as 'sharing streets with streetcars'?

It'd just be cheaper to implement and significantly more expensive to maintain, right?

 

[EnviroTO]

That is the TTC proposal, not the Ford or approved proposal. The possibility for lanes will be quickly killed.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The Alternative Design Concepts included in the report are:

• A dedicated two-lane busway parallel to the Finch corridor within the hydro corridor north of Finch Avenue,
• Exclusive bus lanes in the centre of Finch Avenue for bus rapid transit (BRT), basically in the alignment of the Finch LRT proposed in Transit City, with appropriate modifications to design specifications (slightly wider lanes),
• Exclusive curb bus lanes and, possibly, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes as used elsewhere within the City, (for example, Eglinton Avenue and Dufferin Street),
• Road widening at strategic locations to accommodate bus-only lanes as a means of bypassing queues at busy intersections (known as queue by-passes), and
• relocation of bus stops to the far side of intersections in order to allow more-effective application of the TTC's established and successful transit signal priority technology.

Personally, the second recommendation for bus lanes using the designs for the Finch LRT is my choice, since some future more transit-oriented mayor and city council may allow the upgrade the BRT to LRT.

 

[Electrify]

I think a busway along the hydro corridor would be a good idea. You could still have local service along Finch itself, but for those who are travelling a longer distance can take the express bus along the hydro corridor. Hell, go one step further and build a busway along the corridor east of Yonge to McCowan, then put the Finch East Rocket along that.

 

[doady]

A busway along the Finch hydro corridor to extend the Mississauga Transitway and connect it with the 407 Transitway would be a great idea, especially now there will no longer be an LRT connection at Renforth station. Also a grade-separated busway will far more likely to be accepted by Ford and his lackeys, and doesn't necessarily prevent a future LRT for local trips to be constructed on Finch Ave itself in the future. Not only would such a transitway be amazing for GO buses, it would also be useful for TTC express service, like between the airport and Finch station, etc.

 

[W. K. Lis]

A busway along the Finch hydro corridor to extend the Mississauga Transitway and connect it with the 407 Transitway would be a great idea, especially now there will no longer be an LRT connection at Renforth station. Also a grade-separated busway will far more likely to be accepted by Ford and his lackeys, and doesn't necessarily prevent a future LRT for local trips to be constructed on Finch Ave itself in the future. Not only would such a transitway be amazing for GO buses, it would also be useful for TTC express service, like between the airport and Finch station, etc.

Less people would use it if it were along the hydro corridor. It would be an extra 400 m to 500 m walk to get to Finch Avenue from the hydro corridor, not great for the elderly without a scooter.

 

[GenerationW]

Less people would use it if it were along the hydro corridor. It would be an extra 400 m to 500 m walk to get to Finch Avenue from the hydro corridor, not great for the elderly without a scooter.

What, no updates about the price of oil?

 

[Thoughtless Miscreant]

quoth the report:

From the standpoint of the majority of current users of Finch Avenue bus services, however, the hydro route does not penetrate major transit markets on Finch Avenue itself, and would generally entail considerably longer walking distances. Thus, while such a route might be beneficial from the standpoint of inter-regional transit connectivity, it would likely provide poorer service for most City residents who now use bus service on Finch Avenue.

I am inclined to agree. I would hope for the centre lane option but given the current mayor that doesn't seem very likely. Let's hope we at least get the queue jump option.

 

[Justin10000]

Less people would use it if it were along the hydro corridor. It would be an extra 400 m to 500 m walk to get to Finch Avenue from the hydro corridor, not great for the elderly without a scooter.

pfft!! Who cares about the local riders? Riders from Mississuaga have to get to Scarborough, dammit!

 

[M II A II R II K]

Maybe a Finch Gondola would be better.

 

[JWBF]

Considering the present traffic congestion that exists the only real solution would be some sort of ROW, correct me if I am wrong but did Ford not say that Finch West measures would be replaced by a subway in ~10 years?

Anyway, barring a proper ROW, semi-segregated or HOV would seem to be the best choice; however, the car pooling law should be 2 passengers plus the driver, not 2 passengers including the driver.

 

[Rainforest]

From the list of options on the table, central BRT lanes are probably the best. Indeed, they can be converted to LRT in future. This is easier than upgrading from curbside BRT to central-lane LRT.

Hydro corridor is too far from many trip generators along Finch West, particularly highrises and the hospital on the south side of Finch between Dufferin and Bathurst. Plus, to extend the BRT along that hydro corridor, one has to deal with a number of obstacles such as Ross Reservoir (east of Dufferin), soccer fields near Bathurst, and the TTC parking lot near Yonge.

At the same time, the travel time reduction due to the use of hydro corridor vs Finch would likely be minor. The corridor does not run all the way into Etobicoke along Finch, it veers south just west of Hwy 400. Moreover, there are obstacles west of Jane, and Finch / Jane is a major trip generator, therefore the BRT would likely use the hydro corridor between Jane and Yonge (8 km) and then switch to Finch proper anyway. The travel time difference for those 8 km: Finch - 21 min at 23 kph, hydro corridor - 16 min at 30 kph, plus 1 or 2 min to make turns to/from Jane. Real time saving: 3-4 min at best.

Other proposals that make sense are artic buses, and POP / all-door loading.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I'm guessing that they could have doors on both sides of an articulated bus. But most likely, the doors will be on only one side. However, as with any bus, they will still require a loop, either off-road or on-street looping, at the terminal.

 

[ShonTron]

Actually, a Viva or Zum type service (where local buses remain as well as an all-day express fleet) isn't a bad idea. There are a few places where bus-only lanes are needed, and a median between Keele (Finch West subway) and Weston Road would bypass the most congested part of Finch, around the 400, and then queue-jump lanes would do a lot of the rest of the work, without spending that much money on roadworks except the Keele-Weston segment.

But don't stop at Finch West. McCowan Road could use this badly. Parts of Lawrence West. As could Wilson between Wilson Station and Jane to support all the new jobs and residents at Downsview and avoid the spill-over congestion from the 401.

Brampton for the most part has done quite well with its BRT-lite implementation with queue-jump lanes and limited stops. The local 1 (and 2) services have lower service levels during peak periods, but the local 1 works well with the 501 and the 2 will work well with the 502.