[Kinguni]

Tim Friesen wrote:
:previous:

Tim Friesen wrote that, not I.

I know.

[thegreattait]

The way I see it the city is trying to keep transit development secret. Why all of this secrecy? Does the city not want input from its citizens as to what form of transportation system we should be implementing.

Personally I feel this is something that the city should be putting together with the help of citizen work groups, made up of everyday individuals that represent different facets of the community that use and or will use transit.

I think this would be a much better approach then developing something in secret then trying to fast track it at the last minute. Only to have it rejected by various different groups because the plan failed to meet the needs of the people.

I think the city could get a ton of valuable input and many creative ideas from teams of everyday citizens that are willing to work on this issue. Heck its cheaper and better then a consultant.

[Beltliner]

The way I see it the city is trying to keep transit development secret. Why all of this secrecy? Does the city not want input from its citizens as to what form of transportation system we should be implementing.

Personally I feel this is something that the city should be putting together with the help of citizen work groups, made up of everyday individuals that represent different facets of the community that use and or will use transit.

I think this would be a much better approach then developing something in secret then trying to fast track it at the last minute. Only to have it rejected by various different groups because the plan failed to meet the needs of the people.

I think the city could get a ton of valuable input and many creative ideas from teams of everyday citizens that are willing to work on this issue. Heck its cheaper and better then a consultant.

Dai mnye sili, where's my copy of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress when I really need it? :P

[Only The Lonely..]

The way I see it the city is trying to keep transit development secret. Why all of this secrecy? Does the city not want input from its citizens as to what form of transportation system we should be implementing.

Personally I feel this is something that the city should be putting together with the help of citizen work groups, made up of everyday individuals that represent different facets of the community that use and or will use transit.

I think this would be a much better approach then developing something in secret then trying to fast track it at the last minute. Only to have it rejected by various different groups because the plan failed to meet the needs of the people.

I think the city could get a ton of valuable input and many creative ideas from teams of everyday citizens that are willing to work on this issue. Heck its cheaper and better then a consultant.

In a more progressive city I would normally agree...

But, not in Winnipeg.

Look at what happened when Jim August merely suggested that perhaps there was a better use for two surface parking lots at the Forks.

Every nut bar and scared suburban hockey mom in the city rallied to the defence of these historic parking lots decrying the loss of 'green space'.

Now think about the kind of rapid transit system we all really want (LRT).

You can just imagine the response from the Lindenwoods Crowd if they were consulted:


"I drive to work and pay $8 to park my car all day. Why should I have to pay higher taxes for this??"

"How do we know this fancy rail system will even be any faster than the bus???"

"Yaa, but Calgary has all that oil money and Toronto is a big city. We don't need to be wasting our money on something like that!"

"Who goes downtown anyways??"

"Scary people ride transit, i'll never use it!?! Too many drunken Indians!!"

"Will the new system stop at Ikea??

"AN IKEA!!! WHO SAID IKEA!??"

"What an unbelievable waste of taxpayers money. WE SHOULD USE THE MONEY TO WIDEN KENASTON INSTEAD!>!"


My point being, it's probably better that the city work on this one behind the scenes.

[1ajs]

just look at mts center

[Only The Lonely..]

just look at mts center

Precisely! We knocked down the Eatons building only to rebuild the arena to look like the Eatons building.

I'm glad Smith Carter had enough self-respect as a practice to pull out of the arena job. Personally, I think the original space age rendering for the MTS Centre was a better fit.

But hey, that's what happens when you consult the public in this town.

[1ajs]

we still got an ok design though but still woulda been neat to of had that glass that did the northern lights thing

[jimj_wpg]

no that works but the juff i am getting is aluminum track :S

What's a 'juff' look like? :shrug:

[1ajs]

What's a 'juff' look like? :shrug:
typo i hit "u" instead of "i"

[Spocket]

^Lol...okay but what's a jiff ? :)

[1ajs]

"i get the jiff already"

that help?

[vid]

Do you mean gist?

[1ajs]

Do you mean gist?
no ones ever used jiff?

and yes vid means same thing

[vid]

I've used jiffy. That has a different meaning and makes no sense the way you used it.

[h0twired]

no ones ever used jiff?

and yes vid means same thing

It only means the same thing if other people actually used the word "jiff" in the same manner. However the word "jiff" is a word to describe a period of time. For example "I will be out in a jiff".

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jiff

The word "gist" is the word you were looking for.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gist

[Spocket]

Yeah, not picking on you Adrian , just trying to figure out what you meant. I'm pretty sure you meant gist and in that case, okay, now I get it.

[1ajs]

i've used jiff in tis context for many years.. so leaves me bit urprized and i know u guys arnt picking on me

[bomberguy]

lol

[thegreattait]

The thing is I'm not talking about a public consult, what I'm trying to describe is a work group made up of individuals that aren't just taking pop shots at writting editorial comments for the sake of hearing their own voice but a group of individuals that represent different communities in Winnipeg that work together to build a consensus on what is best for the city. This isn't the final say in the matter, but the group would have a definate place in the disucession and decision making.

I fully expect to see some conflict and hopefully some compromise along with the generation of new ideas which can hopefully puts some common sense into planning.

[1ajs]

isnt that what city councle is supost to be?

[Reed Solomon]

I'm glad Smith Carter had enough self-respect as a practice to pull out of the arena job. Personally, I think the original space age rendering for the MTS Centre was a better fit.

But hey, that's what happens when you consult the public in this town.

Personally I think the brick looks nice and classy, like Arenas from the olden days with a bit of a modern twist in the front. At the same time using the same colour brick made it a good compromise for the sites history, and it fits with the powerhouse building quite well and if they ever do the Met. I'm sick of the fascination people have with having buildings made of 100% glass. OMG you can see through it, whatever. While I don't think the space age design was horrible, I agree it was nice, I prefer the final result for the location. If they were building the Arena say by the convention centre, maybe I'd have preferred the glass style.

granted this all has nothing to do with transit, so I'll make it on topic, Transit never adds extra busses for MTS centre events, do they? Cause it never seems like it.

[1ajs]

the met is wide open these days i here

[Only The Lonely..]

the met is wide open these days i here

What do you mean?

[thegreattait]

isnt that what city councle is supost to be?

City Coucil deals with all issues related to city matters. This would be a one topic work group, also these individuals would not have to worry about re-election, or have to deal with the political aspects to the same extent as members of the council.

These individuals would work on this project because they have a passion for the topic, not because it is a job. I think I know a number of people who would like to participate in something like this. Think of all the members on this forum who have put together a little map of a possible route, or thought about ways to stimulate TOD or how to design a more effective and efficient system. Now put all these people together, and give them access to the information and the resources they need to put together a solid plan.

I think you would end up with a product that would be very well thought out and it would cover a lot of different perspectives.

[1ajs]

What do you mean?


i've herd that people are getting in it... its just a mater of time befor vandles get in and trash it :(

[h0twired]

i've herd that people are getting in it... its just a mater of time befor vandles get in and trash it :(

You heard it here first. Inside one year Ledo will be claiming that the Met is destroyed and will want to demolish it and build a parkade instead.

[Kinguni]

Transit never adds extra busses for MTS centre events, do they? Cause it never seems like it.
One or two maybe, extra buses going west down Portage Ave., if they have the manpower to do it. Always bothered me doing evening Portage service and being packed to the doors leaving Portage Place or Colony and having to leave regular passengers behind - those that were depending on my bus to get them to work or home. Can't do anything about poor planning by Transit management though.

[1ajs]

You heard it here first. Inside one year Ledo will be claiming that the Met is destroyed and will want to demolish it and build a parkade instead.
the only way to keep people out is to weld the doors shut... not kiding...

[wags_in_the_peg]

the only way to keep people out is to weld the doors shut... not kiding...

or pay a rent-a-cop $10/hr to watch

[1ajs]

or pay a rent-a-cop $10/hr to watch
yea that too but no one wants to pay them

look at the old union stock ards office i spent the summer fighting to keep vandles out with the local urbex peeps cause we wanted to keep it to our selfswith our hiden stem tunel into it now its all gone

[h0twired]

the only way to keep people out is to weld the doors shut... not kiding...


... or actually renovate the building and put it to good use.

Just another all-talk-no-action project in Winnipeg.

[viperred88]

You heard it here first. Inside one year Ledo will be claiming that the Met is destroyed and will want to demolish it and build a parkade instead.

yeah sadly you could be right. I wonder if the city would help out like the did with the ryan block to preserve it.

[viperred88]

Personally I think the brick looks nice and classy, like Arenas from the olden days with a bit of a modern twist in the front. At the same time using the same colour brick made it a good compromise for the sites history, and it fits with the powerhouse building quite well and if they ever do the Met. I'm sick of the fascination people have with having buildings made of 100% glass. OMG you can see through it, whatever. While I don't think the space age design was horrible, I agree it was nice, I prefer the final result for the location. If they were building the Arena say by the convention centre, maybe I'd have preferred the glass style.

granted this all has nothing to do with transit, so I'll make it on topic, Transit never adds extra busses for MTS centre events, do they? Cause it never seems like it.

I agree with you the brick matches very well with the powerhouse bldg. The mix with glass and brick works.

I am surprised transit doesn't offer free transit to people who have a ticket to an event at the MTS centre just like they do for the blue bombers, it would surely erase the need for parking afterall city transit is a public service.

[Kinguni]

I am surprised transit doesn't offer free transit to people who have a ticket to an event at the MTS centre just like they do for the blue bombers, it would surely erase the need for parking afterall city transit is a public service.
Transit doesn't offer it unless someone else pays for it.

[Reed Solomon]

Transit doesn't offer it unless someone else pays for it.

well I'm always paying for drunk urine soaked homeless people to get a free ride, and stink up the bus. So that makes sense.

[Spocket]

^ Yeah, why does Crazy-Pissed-His-Pants-Man always have to sit next to me ? Worse yet, why is he sitting next to me for free ?

[Kinguni]

I didn't let him on. But I get bitched out because whiny old blind guy wants a request stop during rush hour on an express bus to save a few steps and puts on a great act of not knowing where the nearest bus stop is to where he's going. And he's been doing this for years.

Free rides: We are only instructed to watch for fare evaders - those who skip paying regularly. I can refuse fare for being drunk, smelly or swearing, but I'm not going to put my safety in jeopardy.

One of these days we'll start seeing electronic fare boxes here and we'll actually be able to tell how much that pile of pennies or nickels that was dropped in is. Sure can't tell now. Maybe we'll have a Transit security force by that time that can do the fare enforcement.

[vid]

Fare boxes here have digital read outs that can count how much money is in the box just as it is being put in. I think it even sorts it by denomination inside the box. They also have clocks on them. I've seen drivers bitch out passengers over 10 cents many times.

They usually don't let people who smell like piss on the bus here. They'll even kick you off if you spill your beer.

[Kinguni]

The fareboxes have been budgeted for years already. I figure they'll start to do it next year, after the full GPS system is in place as well as the cameras. Maybe we'll see some new fare enforcement policies at the same time.

[Spocket]

The fareboxes have been budgeted for years already. I figure they'll start to do it next year, after the full GPS system is in place as well as the cameras. Maybe we'll see some new fare enforcement policies at the same time.

I remember those from Kingston actually. Neat things. They also have a system there like a transit debit card. I was talking to the driver about that (my one and only time in the idiot seat...I swear ! :haha: ) and he told me that at that time (about '95 or so) they just weren't economically practical for larger transit systems. I hope that that's changed because it sure is convenient.

[RAFS]

They'll even kick you off if you spill your beer.
Who ever spills beer deserves to walk! What a waste ;)

[jimj_wpg]

Fare boxes here have digital read outs that can count how much money is in the box just as it is being put in. I think it even sorts it by denomination inside the box. They also have clocks on them. I've seen drivers bitch out passengers over 10 cents many times.

They usually don't let people who smell like piss on the bus here. They'll even kick you off if you spill your beer.

Beer? Piss? Looks the same to me.

[vid]

Yes, but it smells. Old men (always white men, never natives. They're very careful with their booze.) always get on the bus with LCBO bags leaking alcohol and the driver usually kicks them off because passengers complain.

I've never been on a bus that smelled like urine because of urine, but our newest buses have a strong ammonia smell reminiscent of cat pee.

[jimj_wpg]

:previous:

Are the seats brown and yellow? :haha:

[vid]

On the Newflyers, yes. :) They're from 1994 and being phased out though. All buses bought or rebuilt after 1999 have blue seats. In both cases a terrible stripe pattern.

[1ajs]

i miss the old colour i hate this new blueish colour :yuck:

[Greco Roman]

i miss the old colour i hate this new blueish colour :yuck:

Really? Winnipeg is getting rid of the old colours on the buses????

:5:

Thank God. I don't care how "original" people say that orange and yellow are. Everytime I see those buses, I feel a little bial sneaking up my throat :yuck:

[Only The Lonely..]

i miss the old colour i hate this new blueish colour :yuck:

Blueish color?? What are you talking about??

Our buses have been snow white since '99. Glen Murray wanted them to be camouflage.

[Only The Lonely..]

Really? Winnipeg is getting rid of the old colours on the buses????

:5:

Thank God. I don't care how "original" people say that orange and yellow are. Everytime I see those buses, I feel a little bial sneaking up my throat :yuck:

I dunno..

I liked the Orange. You could see your bus coming from 15 blocks away; meaning that your 10 minute wait outside in -40 wasn't in vain.

[vid]

The orange and yellow was way better than the ugly design. Thunder Bay Transit's design took a step back with it's new "let's play around with gradients in Illustrator for 2 minutes and use that!" design. It's terrible.

[Greco Roman]

I dunno..

I liked the Orange. You could see your bus coming from 15 blocks away; meaning that your 10 minute wait outside in -40 wasn't in vain.

Orange and yellow are ugly colours. Would you drive around in an orange and yellow rust bucket car?

Man, I hope those colours are gone for good!

[Andy6]

Orange and yellow are ugly colours. Would you drive around in an orange and yellow rust bucket car?

Man, I hope those colours are gone for good!

Orange and cream are the colours of buses in Winnipeg. It is sacrilege for it to be otherwise. It's amazing how many people remember the orange buses. How they could throw away their classic trademark image for something totally bland and generic is beyond me. It would be like tearing down the Starland and Skid Row and replacing them with a suburban office-park building and a concrete parking garage ... oh wait....

[Greco Roman]

Orange and cream are the colours of buses in Winnipeg. It is sacrilege for it to be otherwise. It's amazing how many people remember the orange buses. How they could throw away their classic trademark image for something totally bland and generic is beyond me. It would be like tearing down the Starland and Skid Row and replacing them with a suburban office-park building and a concrete parking garage ... oh wait....

No, it would be an improvement. Riding on buses that look like puke on the sidewalk has no sex appeal to me.

Change the damn colours.

[vid]

Now they are white with an ugly pink or blue or purple or whatever stripe along the bottom. Is that better?

[Keng]

I like the idea of the orange bus, but they appear a little dated. I would've preferred an updated orange, more vibrant/metallic keep the tradition, but modernize it.

[Andy6]

I like the idea of the orange bus, but they appear a little dated. I would've preferred an updated orange, more vibrant/metallic keep the tradition, but modernize it.

No modernizing. What's modern today is dated tomorrow. It's pointless to chase after fashions. Be yourself proudly or you're nothing. Winnipeg buses are orange and cream -- if it doesn't look modern then ^&*^&% modern.

[Keng]

No modernizing. What's modern today is dated tomorrow. It's pointless to chase after fashions. Be yourself proudly or you're nothing. Winnipeg buses are orange and cream -- if it doesn't look modern then ^&*^&% modern.

Wow you certainly have a rigid aversion to modernization. By the same token what's dated today is dated period. I'm sure their is a shade of orange that would satisfy the orange bus purist and those of us who would prefer a more appealing color.

[Greco Roman]

No modernizing. What's modern today is dated tomorrow. It's pointless to chase after fashions. Be yourself proudly or you're nothing. Winnipeg buses are orange and cream -- if it doesn't look modern then ^&*^&% modern.

How about this Andy; if you hate modernism so much, then you should give up your car, house, computer, and everything modern, and you go live in the bush, hunting deer and living in a cave. Since you hate modernism so much, I would think you'd jump all over this bargain.

[Kinguni]

Orange and cream are the colours of buses in Winnipeg. It is sacrilege for it to be otherwise. It's amazing how many people remember the orange buses. How they could throw away their classic trademark image for something totally bland and generic is beyond me. It would be like tearing down the Starland and Skid Row and replacing them with a suburban office-park building and a concrete parking garage ... oh wait....

It's all about the money. A white bus cost less. I can't remember the dollar figure saves though. $1000 or something like that per bus.

[Andy6]

How about this Andy; if you hate modernism so much, then you should give up your car, house, computer, and everything modern, and you go live in the bush, hunting deer and living in a cave. Since you hate modernism so much, I would think you'd jump all over this bargain.

OK...agreed! I'll start tomorrow.

[1ajs]

Blueish color?? What are you talking about??

Our buses have been snow white since '99. Glen Murray wanted them to be camouflage.
the seats oye!

[Andy6]

It's all about the money. A white bus cost less. I can't remember the dollar figure saves though. $1000 or something like that per bus.

And of course less paint is less weight so they go faster. I've heard that's why we're seeing all these white airplanes these days.

[1ajs]

OK...agreed! I'll start tomorrow.
ok andy make sure to end u birch bark mail

[vid]

And of course less paint is less weight so they go faster. I've heard that's why we're seeing all these white airplanes these days.

The white is paint...

The reason is the white paint is easier to maintain than a specific shade of orange. White is cheap and readily available, "taupe" or "dusty pumpkin" isn't. Thunder Bay Transit doesn't even use paint, their livery is giant stickers that can be easily replaced if necessary. The base of course is white.

[jimj_wpg]

Orange and yellow are ugly colours. Would you drive around in an orange and yellow rust bucket car?

Man, I hope those colours are gone for good!

It's a particular type of orange that was used during the streetcar era -- traction orange.

As Rob G. noted in a blog post somewhere, if Winnipeg had not gotten rid of our streetcar system, we would have had orange coloured PCC cars.

http://www.lsery.org/images/C-CSR%202227%20.jpg
SOURCE: Lake Shore Electric Railway (http://www.lsery.org/)

http://www.lsery.org/images/C-Car3334.jpgSOURCE: Lake Shore Electric Railway (http://www.lsery.org/)

[jimj_wpg]

The white is paint...

The reason is the white paint is easier to maintain than a specific shade of orange. White is cheap and readily available, "taupe" or "dusty pumpkin" isn't. Thunder Bay Transit doesn't even use paint, their livery is giant stickers that can be easily replaced if necessary. The base of course is white.

I don't believe everything the government tells me.

[Reed Solomon]

Orange and cream are the colours of buses in Winnipeg. It is sacrilege for it to be otherwise. It's amazing how many people remember the orange buses. How they could throw away their classic trademark image for something totally bland and generic is beyond me. It would be like tearing down the Starland and Skid Row and replacing them with a suburban office-park building and a concrete parking garage ... oh wait....

they should all be painted blue and gold. blue like the colour of the sky and gold like the colour of wheat fields of manitoba. then they should all be driven through said wheatfields. all camouflaged and everything. just for fun. or if not gold, the yellow/orange paint that comes closest.

[Kinguni]

I'd like to see them something other than white. Give our transit system an identity. But not the old yellow/orange, or the colour scheme originally used on the lf buses. Love the vinyl wrapped buses, but most of the passengers don't.

[dennis]

I was becoming partial to the orange black and white colour scheme for the low floor buses.
http://www.hiddenimages.ca/transit/images/medium/D40LFWT496-042305-01tn.gif
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/08/19/winnipeg-transit.jpg
file picture:cbc.ca

[dennis]

With the orange, one would know it was their bus from a kilometer away. On a cold winter's day, it was soothing to see.

[Kinguni]

I look for the orange signs now. I wish all the buses had those new led signs.

[vid]

They all have them here, except for 10. Nice and bright orange bars bobbing up and down above traffic. You can see a bus from miles away, especially at night. On the late runs you can stand in the middle of Memorial in Intercity and watch a bus turning onto May Street downtown, 2.5 miles away.

[Greco Roman]

So, according to an unofficial source, there is a chance that Regina will begin construction of an LRT system within 10-15 years???? This may be nothing more than talk, but if this happens and Winnipeg still refuses to implement nothing short of LRT, I'll promise to throw in the towel on my home town.

In 10 years, the first line construction should be started. I would recommend a northwest to southeast line. The reason is that Regina's road system is costly to maintain at this time. While an increase in population will only increase these costs due to higher traffic flows. However, a LRT will remove cars from the roads reducing maintanence costs, or at least stabilize them. The city should start planning for the right of ways now and come up with a phased plan for construction with the first line to be started in 10 years and completed in 15,or less.

[Biff]

Expect tenders to start coming for Winnipegs BRT in Mar.

[Greco Roman]

Expect tenders to start coming for Winnipegs BRT in Mar.

Talk on this website states there is a good chance that LRT may be coming into place over BRT. For the sake of Winnipeg's future, I sure has hell hope so.

I would be pretty embarrassing to say that we get poor man's BRT, while Regina, a city 3.5 times smaller than Winnipeg, will be implementing LRT. Something is very wrong with this picture. How do I speak highly of Winnipeg's transit system in a situation like this?????

[drew]

^ Winnipeg had rail based transit back when it was the size of Regina...

[Beltliner]

^^^Yeesh--I knew Toontown was a good candidate for a starter LRT system, but when Bonetown's talking light rail, that's a shot across the Peg's bow, innit? ;)

[Spocket]

Just because Regina gets LRT doesn't mean it makes any sense whatsoever for that city. If Regina needs LRT then it's time to set up that monorail in Portage La Prairie.

[newflyer]

So, according to an unofficial source, there is a chance that Regina will begin construction of an LRT system within 10-15 years???? This may be nothing more than talk, but if this happens and Winnipeg still refuses to implement nothing short of LRT, I'll promise to throw in the towel on my home town.

I am fairly convinced that the Regina dream is nothing more than that .. a dream. Maybe even a pipe-dream. I haven't seen or heard any government agent in Sasky even suggest its even being studied in any meaningful way.

Plus..I don't see Regina getting anything Saskatoon doesn't .... and a small line will run at least 800M to 1Billion per city... Maybe once Regina reaches 3 quarters of a million people.... of course Winnipeg will be well over 3 million people by then.

As far as Winnipeg goes .. this city has been dreaming in techno-color for decades, so don't you worry your little head, Winnipeg will not fall behind much smaller cities in Saskatchewan.

If you want to start a good rumour ....

pst .. do you hear they are thinking about building a subway linking Winnipeg and Minnieapolis.
ewww.... ahhhhh .... now the Albertans are all concerned.
j/k

[newflyer]

Just because Regina gets LRT doesn't mean it makes any sense whatsoever for that city. If Regina needs LRT then it's time to set up that monorail in Portage La Prairie.

And Gimli needs a subway system.. :yes:

[MalcolmTucker]

I am fairly convinced that the Regina dream is nothing more than that .. a dream. Maybe even a pipe-dream. I haven't seen or heard any government agent in Sasky even suggest its even being studied in any meaningful way.

Plus..I don't see Regina getting anything Saskatoon doesn't .... and a small line will run at least 800M to 1Billion per city... Maybe once Regina reaches 3 quarters of a million people.... of course Winnipeg will be well over 3 million people by then.

As far as Winnipeg goes .. this city has been dreaming in techno-color for decades, so don't you worry your little head, Winnipeg will not fall behind much smaller cities in Saskatchewan.

If you want to start a good rumour ....

pst .. do you hear they are thinking about building a subway linking Winnipeg and Minnieapolis.
ewww.... ahhhhh .... now the Albertans are all concerned.
j/k
If you design the system right, use existing rail corridors, and have protected corridors you need for years you can build a really cheap system if you limit scope creep. That means walk up stations only, no grade separation except for crossing rivers, pretty low frequency compared to Mass Rapid Transit systems.

I think Regina and Saskatoon are looking at Alberta, and seeing that you need to start planning these things really early. (both Calgary and Edmonton's systems started to be planned in the late 50s, after the province required every city to file with the province a 25 year plan) With Sask's wealth they will eventually have the free cash to spend on these things. In the end it will save them money from sprawl and road expansion.

[drew]

With Sask's wealth they will eventually have the free cash to spend on these things.

I think the recession may have something to say about that...

Seeing as the budget of resource-rich Alberta was just projected to do 10 billion year over year about face, I would imagine Sask's similar resource heavy economy will be affected.

[Pegger5]

I think the recession may have something to say about that...

Seeing as the budget of resource-rich Alberta was just projected to do 10 billion year over year about face, I would imagine Sask's similar resource heavy economy will be affected.

YES agreed, Alberta announced a billion dollar deficit today (first time in 15 years) Sask won't be far behind if Oil prices stay low and potash prices stay low. Manitoba with a very diverse economy will be slightly affected but not to same extent. Never Boom never Bust!!

[MalcolmTucker]

YES agreed, Alberta announced a billion dollar deficit today (first time in 15 years) Sask won't be far behind if Oil prices stay low and potash prices stay low. Manitoba with a very diverse economy will be slightly affected but not to same extent. Never Boom never Bust!!

You only need one or two good years to announce projects and push them through. Since they are investments, it is a good idea to do when you have money.

In a cyclical economy, it is much easier to spend on big projects since you can pay for it all at once. Of course, you feel broke when the pendulum swings the other way, but your better for it. In Manitoba, the lack of free cash sitting around doesn't let politicians think "What can I spend money on to get more votes that is just a one time expense?"

[MalcolmTucker]

If Winnipeg set up the first mass transit corridor as a P3, a build operate with lets say a 30 year concession, there might be a chance the concessionaire would put in a LRT versus a busway due to operational cost savings if given the option. Since it would increase their profits, there would be an incentive. Winnipeg gets what it wants, without breaking the bank. What do you think?

[g35]

They installed two LED displays at the University of Manitoba terminal sometime in the past week. The first line seems to stay put while the bottom two lines keep shuffling through the list of upcoming buses.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1999/img0143.jpghttp://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7603/img0144.jpg

[newflyer]

They installed two LED displays at the University of Manitoba terminal sometime in the past week. The first line seems to stay put while the bottom two lines keep shuffling through the list of upcoming buses.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1999/img0143.jpghttp://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7603/img0144.jpg

Sweet :banana: :banana: :banana:

This GPS/digital display is a great investment IMO... and to all those questioning where transit investment was going .. here is a good example. New buses and modern digital stops :tup: Computers tracking each bus and how far it is from the stop .. a huge step in technology.

I heard the digital boards going up in the downtown will contain more lines of info.

[vid]

It has its flaws.

[1ajs]

It has its flaws.
unfortnatly nothings designed to work in our climate

[vid]

It has nothing to do with the climate. The technology is just very prone to fucking up. Most of the time it can't even find our buses, even if its sunny. For the past few days only a couple routes have been working, when every route is in the system (including the routes they don't have on the public maps) and all buses (and many other city vehicles) have GPS in them.

Winnipeg probably has a better route network than us so the problems might not be as bad but our system is entirely screwed up. And lots of people don't know how to read it.

[1ajs]

yea well thats also from bad programers that don't give a rats ass

[vid]

Possibly. We did go with the lowest bidder. At least the website is easy to use. Duluth's GPS online maps use SVGs and a bunch of plugins that only work in IE, and it takes forever to load. No wonder their ridership is half that of Thunder Bay. (With twice the population.)

It could also be transit's fault, their route system is really bizarre. They had something going when they changed it 10 years ago but since then they have made so many little changes that is just isn't working right anymore.

[1ajs]

^ sounds normal some people just don't care and just want the pay check and do the min

[wags_in_the_peg]

I'm not a bus rider, but that is awesome technology. now if those posts can only server Tim Hortons :)

[1ajs]

can on server tim hortans wha?

[vid]

Sever Tim Hortons. As in, destroy the evil empire once and for all.

He meant serve. And I'm sure they're working on it. Buses are still crowded though, so be careful. The had to put the service improvement budget toward toys this year.

[RAFS]

They installed two LED displays at the University of Manitoba terminal sometime in the past week. The first line seems to stay put while the bottom two lines keep shuffling through the list of upcoming buses.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1999/img0143.jpghttp://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7603/img0144.jpg
Nice to see the brand new displays apparently have some LEDs not functioning. :rolleyes:

Although, I guess it could just be as a result of resizing the image.

[g35]

Nice to see the brand new displays apparently have some LEDs not functioning. :rolleyes:

Although, I guess it could just be as a result of resizing the image.

I took the picture with my 2mp phone camera and then resized it. That's probably the reason.

[vid]

Our signs had entire lines blacked out due to malfunctions... Some of them have dead pixels all over the place but it doesn't affect the readability as much as the pulsing of the LEDs.

[rrskylar]

So, according to an unofficial source, there is a chance that Regina will begin construction of an LRT system within 10-15 years???? This may be nothing more than talk, but if this happens and Winnipeg still refuses to implement nothing short of LRT, I'll promise to throw in the towel on my home town.

On the plus side of a Regina LRT they wouldn`t have to lay a lot of track, or even need many passenger rail cars for that matter.