[drunkmunky]

I ride viva on weekends on the Yonge/blue line and it's really really packed.
It's one of those 'if you build it, they will come' scenarios. Sooner or later some people are going to realize that taking the bus on hwy 7 is no longer slower than driving.

Yea thoughts of an LRT conversion are so premature, on a route where ridership is likely sub 10,000 per week day ... Purple is only around 6K or so I think.

Anyway, I really hope this will make transit more popular but I'm on the fence regarding whether that will happen. Again I know so many people in the area, the culture is just so different.

My gut feeling is peek weekday ridership has a chance of improving; But off-peak will still be very bad. Maybe 20-30 years from now when Downtown Markham and airport get redeveloped along with Yonge - Hi-way 7 things will change.

 

[taal]

I ride viva on weekends on the Yonge/blue line and it's really really packed.
It's one of those 'if you build it, they will come' scenarios. Sooner or later some people are going to realize that taking the bus on hwy 7 is no longer slower than driving.

I ride it all the time as well ; ) Yes blue has been much much busier from the get go, not sure what the recent ridership stats are ? 17-20K ? I find there are much much more students on blue and that is a huge factor.


The whole build it and they'll come I'm on the fence about; Honestly go back 5 years ago and the bus was pretty competitive to driving on Hi-way 7, not better but similar.
Anyway we'll see.

 

[cplchanb]

well now with the rapidways they dont have to worry about rush hour traffic causing big jams along leslie and east beaver creek
one thing that was always a problem was maintaining consistency on the route in heavy traffic. with this issue now beginning to be mitigated, planners should have a better time adapting the schedules

 

[gweed123]

So the Highway 7 Rapidway from Bayview to Commerce Valley is now open, with the section to Town Centre under construction. What other segments are currently under or scheduled to start construction soon? And what will the system look like in 2016 when the Spadina extension opens? I know there's a phasing plan on the VIVA website, but it looks like it hasn't been updated in quite a while, so it's hard to tell where things actually sit. Thanks!

 

[sixrings]

well now with the rapidways they dont have to worry about rush hour traffic causing big jams along leslie and east beaver creek
one thing that was always a problem was maintaining consistency on the route in heavy traffic. with this issue now beginning to be mitigated, planners should have a better time adapting the schedules

This is exactly why I think Transit City could and will work especially if it had more lines. Last week I was on Lawrence Avenue in rush hour. We literally were not moving. If a bus or lrt zoomed past me in a dedicated lane I would look over and think maybe next time I should take transit instead. However the current set up has me in my private car listening to my satellite radio directly beside a bus which is standing room only in traffic. If im going to have to inch my way around the city Id rather do that in my own vehicle then standing with a bunch of strangers possibly without air conditioning. I use to take the 84 sheppard bus and often times wed be stuck in rush hour traffic, again standing room only. Not a good experience. If transit had its own dedicated lanes it would move faster even in rush hour and that would make people think twice about their modes of travel. The dedicated lane may not me so useful 70% of the time but in rush hour it would be a drastic change for the better.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

So the Highway 7 Rapidway from Bayview to Commerce Valley is now open, with the section to Town Centre under construction. What other segments are currently under or scheduled to start construction soon? And what will the system look like in 2016 when the Spadina extension opens? I know there's a phasing plan on the VIVA website, but it looks like it hasn't been updated in quite a while, so it's hard to tell where things actually sit. Thanks!

There will be a short rapidway to connect with the new subway, along Hwy. 7. I believe it goes from Bowes Road to nearly the 400. Possibly the segment right around Jane will be all that's ready when the subway opens but I think the year of delay there means the whole thing should be about ready. The final phase of the rapidways will be going east and west from that segment, along Highway 7.

Davis Drive is already under construction and I believe will be done for 2015. In the longterm, it will dogleg down Yonge Street to the terminal but I think that's a closer-to-2020 project.

The next big phase is Yonge Street, north from Hwy. 7 to Major Mack. I think that's around 2017ish but, as we've seen, they can open little segments when they're ready, which is great. I would expect the expropriations and other big works on Yonge to come down within the year. If you think the construction on Hwy. 7 has been an adventure, I'm sure that will bring many interesting drives as well.

When the province slowed down the $ and trimmed Transit City, it affected York Region too but they seem determined to have things down by 2017-18 instead of 2020, as the province outlined.

This is exactly why I think Transit City could and will work especially if it had more lines. Last week I was on Lawrence Avenue in rush hour. We literally were not moving. If a bus or lrt zoomed past me in a dedicated lane I would look over and think maybe next time I should take transit instead.

This is actually a big factor that Rob Ford et. al miss in their LRT slamming. Subways are great but there's a downside to running underground. Seeing a bus or LRT zoom past you, on the street, in traffic, is a perfect advertisement for rapid transit, in general. Obviously that's what York Region is counting on and, yeah, hopefully it will happen in Toronto too with the TC lines.

 

[gweed123]

There will be a short rapidway to connect with the new subway, along Hwy. 7. I believe it goes from Bowes Road to nearly the 400. Possibly the segment right around Jane will be all that's ready when the subway opens but I think the year of delay there means the whole thing should be about ready. The final phase of the rapidways will be going east and west from that segment, along Highway 7.

Davis Drive is already under construction and I believe will be done for 2015. In the longterm, it will dogleg down Yonge Street to the terminal but I think that's a closer-to-2020 project.

The next big phase is Yonge Street, north from Hwy. 7 to Major Mack. I think that's around 2017ish but, as we've seen, they can open little segments when they're ready, which is great. I would expect the expropriations and other big works on Yonge to come down within the year. If you think the construction on Hwy. 7 has been an adventure, I'm sure that will bring many interesting drives as well.

When the province slowed down the $ and trimmed Transit City, it affected York Region too but they seem determined to have things down by 2017-18 instead of 2020, as the province outlined.

Thanks! Yeah, I was hoping there would be a decent E-W corridor up in time for the Spadina extension opening, that way riders had a reliable way of connecting to the subway. Glad to hear that corridor will be largely built by then.

 

[Electrify]

Just gave it a spin this morning. Videos coming soon.

The signal priority was very sharp. No, it didn't get to jump ahead of left turners as I suggested earlier in this thread, though I did mention the idea to some Viva staff there. But most of the time the light turned green as we approached it, and we were rarely waiting more than a few seconds at a light. Also if there was no one making a left turn, it would turn green for through traffic and skip the left turn phase altogether.

Overall I'd say we kept up with the road traffic fairly well, especially considering it was midday. On the way back I tagged a truck to see how well we kept up with it, and we did pretty well. It took about 5 minutes to get from East Beaver Creek to South Park and vice-versa, so we averaged about 20 km/h. Factoring in the signal priority and the stop spacing, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE RIDING TORONTO'S LRT LINES!

That said, while it was a very smooth and quick ride, I still wonder what it would be like if they cut down the stops so it only stopped at Leslie and Valleymede. While there is certainly more merit to having stops at W/E Beaver Creek and South Park than there is having a stop at Bay Mills and Sheppard, such a setup could really see this line fly...

 

[innsertnamehere]

from my understanding Toronto's LRTs will be a bit faster as their signal priority will be a bit more strict, I think they will get precedent of left turns.

 

[Neil]

from my understanding Toronto's LRTs will be a bit faster as their signal priority will be a bit more strict, I think they will get precedent of left turns.

If the TTC can't get decent signal priority from Toronto Transportation Services, why do you think Metrolinx will have better luck?

 

[JayBeeGooner]

Overall I'd say we kept up with the road traffic fairly well, especially considering it was midday. On the way back I tagged a truck to see how well we kept up with it, and we did pretty well. It took about 5 minutes to get from East Beaver Creek to South Park and vice-versa, so we averaged about 20 km/h. Factoring in the signal priority and the stop spacing, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE RIDING TORONTO'S LRT LINES!

Toronto's LRT line will not have 15 minute off peak service, and 7.5 combined peak service. No comparison. Speed ( as mentioned many time) is not the main attraction for riders.

 

[Electrify]

Toronto's LRT line will not have 15 minute off peak service, and 7.5 combined peak service. No comparison. Speed ( as mentioned many time) is not the main attraction for riders.

Frequency aside, the experience of riding the Viva through this stretch is what differentiates an LRT from a streetcar.

 

[gweed123]

Frequency aside, the experience of riding the Viva through this stretch is what differentiates an LRT from a streetcar.

Too bad the TTC can't do something like this (even with shoulder lanes) on Don Mills, to give people a preview of the speed they can expect with some of the LRT lines. The lanes are already there, all they need to do is put up some nicer stations and plan the services based on BRT standards.

 

[Dan416]

Toronto's LRT line will not have 15 minute off peak service, and 7.5 combined peak service. No comparison. Speed ( as mentioned many time) is not the main attraction for riders.

I disagree. I frequently take GO because it's FASTER than MT/TTC.

This whole idea that riders don't care about speed has got to die, because it's completely untrue.

Of course if frequency is really poor, speed might not matter as much, but all things being equal, everyone will choose the faster option.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Speed is certainly a factor for me, so I assume it is a factor for everyone. If it takes 40 minutes to get to my destination by GO but an hour and a half by TTC I will take GO.