taal
Senior Member
Anyway, construction is in full swing on this ... they've relocated some of the utility poles back and I think they'll actually be doing some road work soon.
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- Thread starter waterloowarrior
- Start date
Anyway, construction is in full swing on this ... they've relocated some of the utility poles back and I think they'll actually be doing some road work soon.
yrt+viva=1system
Senior Member
They already started construction at Hwy 7 and 404, they're removing the median first. You can find the updates on VivaNext.
reaperexpress
Senior Member
I rode the Enterprise Rapidway yesterday (making a stop-over at Warden, of course) and I have mixed reviews.
The new Warden Vivastation is excellent, and waiting for the bus there is far more pleasant than at other viva stops. It was a windy day, so the fully sheltered area was great (the old-style viva stops don't give much protection against wind and cold). The doors to the heated shelter are motion activated, which is very cool. However, they opened a couple times when I was just walking around, which would be annoying for the people inside in winter. Maybe it would make more sense to have some kind of button to open the door, so that it only opens for people who actually want to go inside. Having a stop with such a high level of infrastructure adds a feeling of legitimacy about buses being a viable form of transport, unlike a regular viva stop, where you feel exposed, just sitting there watching the cars drive by.
The rapidway is a disappointment. It is paved with brick, which looks very nice, but is extremely bumpy. Driving on the busway, the bus was jittering and rattling very loudly. Unsurprisingly, buses go much slower on the busway than they do on Enterprise Drive. As well, "transit priority" signaling at the intersection with Lorad Durham Rd is very poorly done. It detects buses when they arrive at the intersection, and only then does it start the pedestrian countdown. I asked the driver about it and he said he always has to wait about 30 seconds before he gets a green. There are two problems with this. First of all, buses need to be detected before they get to intersections so there is time for the necessary countdowns and buses don't have to stop. Secondly, there is no need for a pedestrian countdown anyway, since the pedestrians are crossing parallel to the busway and are not affected by it.
The pictures I took are here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bus_rapid_transit_in_York_Region
The new Warden Vivastation is excellent, and waiting for the bus there is far more pleasant than at other viva stops. It was a windy day, so the fully sheltered area was great (the old-style viva stops don't give much protection against wind and cold). The doors to the heated shelter are motion activated, which is very cool. However, they opened a couple times when I was just walking around, which would be annoying for the people inside in winter. Maybe it would make more sense to have some kind of button to open the door, so that it only opens for people who actually want to go inside. Having a stop with such a high level of infrastructure adds a feeling of legitimacy about buses being a viable form of transport, unlike a regular viva stop, where you feel exposed, just sitting there watching the cars drive by.
The rapidway is a disappointment. It is paved with brick, which looks very nice, but is extremely bumpy. Driving on the busway, the bus was jittering and rattling very loudly. Unsurprisingly, buses go much slower on the busway than they do on Enterprise Drive. As well, "transit priority" signaling at the intersection with Lorad Durham Rd is very poorly done. It detects buses when they arrive at the intersection, and only then does it start the pedestrian countdown. I asked the driver about it and he said he always has to wait about 30 seconds before he gets a green. There are two problems with this. First of all, buses need to be detected before they get to intersections so there is time for the necessary countdowns and buses don't have to stop. Secondly, there is no need for a pedestrian countdown anyway, since the pedestrians are crossing parallel to the busway and are not affected by it.
The pictures I took are here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bus_rapid_transit_in_York_Region
taal
Senior Member
hmm, isn't the brick just around the station though ? i.e. I know it doesn't extent west of Warden, does it go far east though ? Maybe it's just for downtown Markham ?
cplchanb
Senior Member
nice review
remember that this stretch is more or less a prototype of the things to come and for sure they will use it to find improvements once full scale construction of the other stations is underway
perhaps you can fire off an email to YRT about your observations as well
remember that this stretch is more or less a prototype of the things to come and for sure they will use it to find improvements once full scale construction of the other stations is underway
perhaps you can fire off an email to YRT about your observations as well
reaperexpress
Senior Member
The entire busway is done in brick, except for west of the Warden station (where it is red pavement). I'm pretty sure it's for Markham Centre. Looking at the VivaNext renderings, it looks like they wanted to make the busway a woonerf-like street. I like the idea of woonerf, but I don't think it belongs on the busway, because it inevitably slows buses down, which defeats the entire purpose of BRT.
Good point, I'll do that.
taal
Senior Member
Also it really doesn't come off as a woonerf farther east, I had no idea that was the desired goal. But yea, if it's just Markham center that's not terrible really.
reaperexpress
Senior Member
I don't know for sure if a woonderf is their desired goal. It just seems that way to me based on the rendering entitled "Urban Park in Markham Centre", here:
http://www.vivanext.com/gallery_rapid_construction
taal
Senior Member
Is that based on anything real ? The building on the left look like the first phase but there's no retail beside them planned as far as I'm aware.
ShonTron
Moderator
I was looking through the Remington Group's "Downtown Markham" concept plan and it indeed showed the Simcoe Promenade as a transit/pedestrian mall, similar to that of Main Street in Downtown Buffalo, except with the Viva buses instead of LRT. Of course, streetcars/LRVs run on smooth tracks, where buses deal with those paving stones that make a rendering of a street look vibrant and downtownish, but not that practical for a "Rapidway".
reaperexpress
Senior Member
I went back to the Enterprise Rapidway today to film buses at the intersection with Lorad Durham. I was then able to do an exact breakdown for the light cycle by analyzing the film frame-by-frame.
My suspicions are correct: buses are detected only at the intersection, not before. Here is the breakdown of the wait:
Pedestrian countdown on Enterprise Drive: 22 seconds.
Yellow light on Enterprise Drive: 4 seconds.
All-way red: 2 seconds.
It's 28 seconds between when the bus is detected and when it gets a green light, so it's no surprise buses get always red lights. At 45km/h, a bus would have to be detected 350m away, which is impossible.
However, pedestrians on Enterprise Drive are not affected by the movement of buses on the busway, so there's no point in having the walk signal end. With no pedestrian countdown, it would only take 6 seconds to get a green light once a bus is detected.
If the sensor were located 75m away from the intersection, it would guarantee a green light for buses when there is a green light for Enterprise (which is the vast majority of the time). (Assuming 45km/h)
The "transit priority" at Warden is poor as well, but there are no unnecessary countdowns. I have a feeling that buses aren't detected in advance, but I forgot to check.
My suspicions are correct: buses are detected only at the intersection, not before. Here is the breakdown of the wait:
Pedestrian countdown on Enterprise Drive: 22 seconds.
Yellow light on Enterprise Drive: 4 seconds.
All-way red: 2 seconds.
It's 28 seconds between when the bus is detected and when it gets a green light, so it's no surprise buses get always red lights. At 45km/h, a bus would have to be detected 350m away, which is impossible.
However, pedestrians on Enterprise Drive are not affected by the movement of buses on the busway, so there's no point in having the walk signal end. With no pedestrian countdown, it would only take 6 seconds to get a green light once a bus is detected.
If the sensor were located 75m away from the intersection, it would guarantee a green light for buses when there is a green light for Enterprise (which is the vast majority of the time). (Assuming 45km/h)
The "transit priority" at Warden is poor as well, but there are no unnecessary countdowns. I have a feeling that buses aren't detected in advance, but I forgot to check.
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taal
Senior Member
Yea I saw the pic ... I love it, what does the bus do beep to get peoples attention so they get out the way ?
I don't think it's a great concept at all.
Now, from the rapid's way point of view it's not great but it's such a small section from the larget Hi-way point of view it's not a big deal.
reaperexpress
Senior Member
Here's the footage:
[video=youtube;Fesnh-QQoDA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fesnh-QQoDA&feature=channel_video_title[/video]
[video=youtube;Fesnh-QQoDA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fesnh-QQoDA&feature=channel_video_title[/video]
taal
Senior Member
Hey did you happen to taken anymore shots of downtown markham while you were there ?
The project I mean.
Either way thanks for that !
The project I mean.
Either way thanks for that !
reaperexpress
Senior Member
Hey did you happen to taken anymore shots of downtown markham while you were there ?
The project I mean.
Either way thanks for that !
There are a couple more shots, but they are from the same viewpoints as the two I put up.
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