[francely57]

How does your city move? (other than freeways and highways)

- feet?
- horse?
- segway?
- wheelchair?
- bicycle?
- motorcycle?
- tractor?
- taxi?
- carpool?
- bus?
- tramway?
- metro?
- light rail?
- train?
- boat?
- helicopter?




Here you see one of Montreal's annoying old subway cars, still used way past their useful life and causing frequent breakdowns
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_3883.jpg

The newer ones look much more appropriate for 2007, when we expanded the metro to Laval
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_0106.jpg

One of these new 2007 stations
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_0082.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_0081.jpg


This train station opened in 2006, during rather tragic times... Thanks Toronto for lending us some GOTrains!
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_4140.jpg

This rail line ends at the Bell Centre, where the future 2008 Stanley Cup Champions are playing at this moment
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_4172.jpg

[Nicko999]

Great Canadian topics are on fire those days:)

[Ayreonaut]

I'm pretty sure the taxis here in Yorkton, SK double as pizza delivery vans.

I'm done work now so tomorrow I'm going to Winnipeg!! :banana:

[francely57]

The Old Port is a good place to use fun alternative transportation:

May 20, 2005

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_1725.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_1741.jpg


Metro rides obviously aren't that fun, especially during those daily 10-minute breakdowns :yuck: :

McGill station, February 20, 2008
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_4286.jpg

Berri-UQAM station, March 13, 2008
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_0748.jpg

[1ajs]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2143/2408116733_1088d4be35_o.jpg

[SteelTown]

Hamilton:

HSR
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/HSR-DE60LFR-0613.jpg/800px-HSR-DE60LFR-0613.jpg

GO Train
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k28/segaert/corktwn/00018a.jpg
From flar's Corktown photo tour

GO Bus
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/Aallen396/gocent11.jpg

And hopefully by 2012 with MoveOntario 2020
http://www.trainweb.org/aorta/002hoyt.jpg

[vid]

We have buses. They're all low floor buses and have GPS thingers, you can watch them all move on a digital map!!

Our priorities are as straight as Liberace. :(

[SteelTown]

We have buses. They're all low floor buses and have GPS thingers, you can watch them all move on a digital map!!

Does Thunder Bay buses come with next stop voice announcement with the GPS system? Within 6 months all HSR buses in Hamilton will have GPS that includes next stop voice announcement, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS)/ Automated Vehicle Location (AVL).

Oh and I forgot about our brand spanking new replica waterfront trolley buses!

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/6649/img4244tw5.jpg

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8117/img4218oh0.jpg
From LikeHamilton

[vid]

I think they will have the voice announcement capabilities (the buses have microphones that drivers occasionally use to announce route changes) but I don't think they'll use it. We got the total package, though. NextBus GPS locaters and maps, little devices that count how many people are on the bus, and yhe GPS thing will also be able to change the destination sign automatically to point out the next major stop, without them having to change it manually. And I think they're installing those things where you have to tap the back door to make it open. I know the newer Novas have that but it's disabled right now. They've got a few other high tech things that we probably won't make much use of. So far, only routes 3 Northwood, 2, 8 and 9 have their GPS map things activated. I think the full system starts in a couple weeks. We're also getting bike racks.... in June. (Which means September.)

If you want a stop announced, let the driver know and he'll call it out to you. He'll even stop between stops, if you're young, elderly or disabled. In Thunder Bay, we're still allowed to talk to the bus drivers. :)

And there was a delightfully air-headed discussion about your replica trolley at CPTDB. Many people there think that because it is low floor, it has failed the replica aspect and is just a silly looking bus. I tried to talk logic into them but the people there are stubborn bus fetishists.

[SteelTown]

Hamilton has to have low floor public transit because of Human Rights complaints. It's the same story for the next stop voice announcement.

From the report...

"The Ontario Human Rights Commission contact with the City of Hamilton follows orders in the City of Toronto and the City of Ottawa to implement bus stop announcements of all bus stops in response to complaints in each of the two communities. It is expected by the OHRC that Hamilton will have system-wide bus stop announcement, manual or automated prior to year end."

[RTA]

Edmonton's LRT, only recently remembered by city planners and politicians, is now undergoing some real expansion with plans for north, west, and southeast extensions.

All photos by me.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/39/82807169_a8257cb1be.jpg
The most recent station, Health Sciences (named for its proximity to the UofA's hospital and health sciences buildings).

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/26/35500905_91f2c556a0.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/35500965_c4e8aa0d41.jpg
Reading and delivering flowers on public transit. I got nothin'.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/35500874_344cc74dea_b.jpg
Corona Station. Corona.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/35501076_3e513b8db4.jpg
The old paintjob.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/35501088_993b1dcfc5.jpg
The new paintjob.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/26891414_2f790af7d3.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/26891389_12e5cfaa13.jpg
The new south LRT portal between University and Health Sciences station, when it was under construction (2005).

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/26891455_21b4e7de9b.jpg
Looking out from University Station towards the new tunnel leading up to Health Sciences station. It's hard to get a good sense of the steep grade, but it's the steepest on the system at 6%...the city actual had to refurbish the trains to handle it.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/18/23080699_cc0e0a2e4c.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/19/23080741_8b462af089.jpg
Stadium Station after a Canada Day concert, 2005.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/16/23080754_9f1c2b18ba.jpg
Train packed after said event.

[RTA]

Bonus post!

This is the ÜSTRA - Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe (UHV) 601, owned and operated by the non-profit Edmonton Radial Railway Society (http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/). They run it over the High Level Bridge May through October as a historical streetcar. Though it is not a historical Edmonton car, it is actually the precursor to the Siemens-Duwag U2 LRT cars currently in operation here (as well as in Calgary).

While really only exciting for nerds like me, here is the story (http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/hsb_601.htm) behind this car, and how the ERRS got it.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/38050839_0679b5d545.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/38050911_b17d5187f4.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/38051004_e779671ff9.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/38051021_c25b5e40a9.jpg
Designed to board at street level, the base of the doors retract into steps when the doors open.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/26/38051037_fc883f6499.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/38051069_a7cfdd6a6e.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/45167662_07e61a4f27.jpg

[vid]

Hamilton has to have low floor public transit because of Human Rights complaints. It's the same story for the next stop voice announcement.

From the report...

"The Ontario Human Rights Commission contact with the City of Hamilton follows orders in the City of Toronto and the City of Ottawa to implement bus stop announcements of all bus stops in response to complaints in each of the two communities. It is expected by the OHRC that Hamilton will have system-wide bus stop announcement, manual or automated prior to year end."

We never got any complaints like that, they just wanted to be low floor so that they could say they were the first full system to be low floor. (Thunder Bay Transit, the oldest municipally operated public transit system, was the first one in Canada to be 100% low floor. :)) And they've never had problems with the stops either. Blind passengers tell the driver where they want to get off, and the driver lets them know when they get there. They've always done it that way.

Bus stop announcements here would be weird, I think.

[mersar]

Theres some people who have quietely called for bus stop announcements in Calgary, but its something I don't forsee happening in any wide scale any time soon. Possibly on the BRT routes, as theres a lot fewer stops, but if you take a route the size of the 72 (164+ stops), or the 20 (169+ stops), there are just too many to do anything but automatic announcements, even of just the more notable stops (there are a lot of infrequently used ones, there are 2 on the 72 that I've never seen anyone get on or off at along University Drive for instance). People seem to have no problem asking the driver, or other passengers, if they aren't sure where they need to get off at (or for reassurance that the bus is really going the right direction thanks to some of the zig-zagging a few routes do)

[SteelTown]

If you want next stop voice announcement just make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission lol.

It'll be weird to hear a lady voice calling out stops probably every 45 seconds in 6 months.

[vid]

Yeah, we have some places where stops are less than 100 feet apart. By the time it finished saying the name of one stop it would have to get on to the next. :rolleyes:

[raggedy13]

Sorry, DP.

[raggedy13]

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_1741.jpg

I remember the first time I rode one of these was about 15 years ago in Canon Beach, Oregon. They call them "fun cycles" there and they're quite a standard touristy thing to rent there. They're pretty good for riding over wet sand. Are they common around Montreal? I don't know if I've ever seen one around Vancouver but they're quite nice to ride so I don't know why they're not more common in general.

[Ayreonaut]

Here's to wishing Winnipeg had an LRT. I got off work finally, so this morning I drove from Yorkton to the Peg. I've never been there before so I has no fucking clue where I was going, I was trying to find some place to park downtown, and eventually did. Then I walked around the city for 4 hours, and now I'm spending the night in Portage la Prairie before heading back home tomorrow.

My feet are all blistered up, but it was worth it, I'll have to go back there sometime for an extended visit. I still feel weird walking around taking pictures of random buildings, but what ev.

[trueviking]

if you take a long exposure photo of a winnipeg bus, it kind of looks like we have rapid transit....

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/7760/downtown79fr2.jpg

[Kevin_foster]

^ hahaah

Is the Peg planning anything?

[vid]

Is the Peg planning anything? Is George Bush preparing to end the war? :rolleyes:

They're buying more buses and putting in heated shelters. That's their $140M transit plan.

[kitchener-lrt]

Kitchener's transportation consists of:
Sidewalks
http://futureofmath.misterteacher.com/sidewalk.jpg

Bike lanes
http://www.bricoleurbanism.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/img_0780.jpg

Buses
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/a/a3/300px-Grt_nova_bus.png

Via Rail
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/5/58/275px-Kitchener,_Ontario_railway_station.jpg

Inter-city Buses
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/archer/2005/aug02/greyhound-at-403_24.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Coach_Canada_83585.jpg/800px-Coach_Canada_83585.jpg

Future:
http://www.geocities.com/es_lrt/LRT.JPG
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/5/54/250px-IMG_2477ex.jpg

[AndrewJ3D]

New trains are starting to phase out the old now.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2391379294_66156bc95a_b.jpg

Our new streetcars to be phased in soon.

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/streetcar-Minneapolis1.jpg

And our new subways being phased in this year I think.

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/nst_artist_concept.jpg

[vid]

The new GO locomotives are beautiful.

[mmmatt]

Great Canadian topics are on fire those days:)

Thank you, thank you *bows* :cool:

[jimj_wpg]

if you take a long exposure photo of a winnipeg bus, it kind of looks like we have rapid transit....

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5830/downtown79mt3.jpg

:haha: :cheers:

[mersar]

Is the Peg planning anything? Is George Bush preparing to end the war? :rolleyes:

They're buying more buses and putting in heated shelters. That's their $140M transit plan.

Yep, they've got 20 DE60LFR's on order, with a few having arrived for testing. Supposedly they are to be used on the route 60 there.

[SteelTown]

Each DE60LFR is around $900,000 so $18 million in total the rest of $122 million for heated shelters?

The DE60LFR works great here in Hamilton, they make nice turns around sharp corners. Though we don't get harsh winter compared to Winnipeg. The City just ordered another 18 DE60LFRs.

[MonkeyRonin]

And our new subways being phased in this year I think.

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/nst_artist_concept.jpg

Sometime in 2009.

I really with they'd curve the sides on those things though, especially if it were downward like the E231 series on the Yamanote Line. Those are nice.

[mersar]

Each DE60LFR is around $900,000 so $18 million in total the rest of $122 million for heated shelters?

The DE60LFR works great here in Hamilton, they make nice turns around sharp corners. Though we don't get harsh winter compared to Winnipeg. The City just ordered another 18 DE60LFRs.

They've also got 33 40 footers (not sure if D40LFR or DE40LFR though) on order, which is another $15M or so.

[francely57]

I remember the first time I rode one of these was about 15 years ago in Canon Beach, Oregon. They call them "fun cycles" there and they're quite a standard touristy thing to rent there. They're pretty good for riding over wet sand. Are they common around Montreal? I don't know if I've ever seen one around Vancouver but they're quite nice to ride so I don't know why they're not more common in general.

In the Old Port they're very common, but much less in ordinary bike paths.



By the way, Toronto is really getting new subways soon? ours will come in like 4 years...

[someone123]

Halifax has the standard bus system plus two BRT routes (MetroLink) and two ferry routes (DT Dartmouth and Woodside). Funding has been secured for a third ferry route to Bedford.

Here are what the old ferries look like, from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Transit_(Halifax)):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Dartmouth_III_Ferry.JPG/800px-Dartmouth_III_Ferry.JPG

MetroLink bus from the Transport Canada website - a full gallery of the shelters, lanes, intersection setups, etc. is shown at http://www.tc.gc.ca/Programs/Environment/UTSP/ImagesHalifax.htm:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/Programs/Environment/UTSP/images/ShowcaseImages/Halifax/lowrez/5.JPG

[trueviking]

^ hahaah

Is the Peg planning anything?

all were doing is planning...have been for 50 years....i think were on plan 12b now.

[Jimby]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1367/1179358036_d75bc6a08a_b.jpg


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1048/1179371082_416d7d0282_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1173/1426421302_bf1ad4af61_b.jpg


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1269/1251583146_bb5aa3e05c_b.jpg


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1374/734279825_5a77f5c5ba_b.jpg


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1176/821630321_8faf963193_b.jpg


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/243/447977672_066511e6de_b.jpg


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2162/2318925228_4197594082_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1160/1399999746_0bd44f4ee2_b.jpg


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2407991149_9dc6bf9b35_b.jpg

[PhilippeMtl]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2087/2403468355_88d3953fc2_b.jpg by kevincrumbs

typical station
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2192/2183343914_698be60690_b.jpg by mystery-110

going back to the burbs
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/164586041_910dac4e25_o.jpg by eruadan

[AndrewJ3D]

Sometime in 2009.

I really with they'd curve the sides on those things though, especially if it were downward like the E231 series on the Yamanote Line. Those are nice.


Looks about the same to me.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/342051406_06d1d77a5d_o.jpg

[AndrewJ3D]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2141/2279063411_75b35bdea3_b.jpg

[vid]

If you could, you know, follow their terms of service and post a link to the photographer of that image, that would be just super. :tup:

[vanman]

New trains are starting to phase out the old now.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2391379294_66156bc95a_b.jpg

Our new streetcars to be phased in soon.

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/streetcar-Minneapolis1.jpg

And our new subways being phased in this year I think.

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/nst_artist_concept.jpg

Those subways look very sleek. Those new streetcars look nice too although somehow I like the old cars better.

[MonkeyRonin]

Looks about the same to me.

Notice how the sides are curved inwards at the bottom of the train, versus the straight sides of ours?



Our new streetcars to be phased in soon.
http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/streetcar-Minneapolis1.jpg

Has this model actually been selected as the final one?

[caltrane74]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2391379294_66156bc95a_b.jpg

Shinjuku Station to Union Station!!!

Love the new trains!!! ( both subway and diesel electric) -

I wonder if Union Station is at max capacity? They will need to accomodate with all this growth and all those skyscrapers going up around the station is going to make it a wee bit cramped.

[SteelTown]

Union Station is supposed to get a new glass shed for parts of the shed.

So what city has bike racks on all buses? That seems to be the newest crave lately.

Hamilton's entire transit fleet has bike racks.

[canucklehead2]

I'm curious to know if Hamilton has ever had an LRT or RT proposal in the past besides the ill-fated ALRT GO project from the early '80s. It seems to me a city of that size, especially 30 years ago, would have at least fantasized of joining the big leagues of transit, like Winnipeg has since the '50s...

[SteelTown]

I know we had a monorail idea in the past like Winnipeg did. But never had anything serious other than ALRT GO.

[SteelTown]

Oh speaking of LRT today's a historical day for Hamilton. Councilors are currently discussing the benefits of LRT. The committee in charge of the Rapid Transit Office is requesting councilors to approve open house meetings to discuss LRT for Hamilton. Basically to start the LRT debate in this city.

[SFUVancouver]

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/7673/translink2007transitdetwu3.jpg
Source (http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/growth/keyfacts/transit.htm)


In the 10 years between 1997 and 2007 there was a:

-30% increase in bus ridership; an increase of 29,221,718 annual passengers.
-74% increase in SkyTrain ridership; an increase of 17,891,171 annual passengers.
-0% change in SeaBus ridership; a decrease of 1,273 annual passengers.
-42% increase in West Coast Express ridership; an increase of 676,439 annual passengers over its 1998 inaugural year.
-40% increase in total annual system ridership; an increase of 49,390,948 annual passengers.

[mmmatt]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2162/2318925228_4197594082_b.jpg



They will need to change that sign on August 2nd when the Eagles' harmony will actually be in Moncton ;)

[SFUVancouver]

I'm crazy about Vancouver's new articulated trolleys and I'm beside myself that they have started running on my local route, the #20 Victoria which runs from Downtown Vancouver to Commercial Drive and then Victoria Drive. This is one of the city's busiest bus routes and these higher capacity buses are desperately needed since the 77-passenger models just cannot keep up with demand at all hours of the day and night despite 4- to 7-minute frequency during most hours of operation.

I photoshopped two pictures together to get rid of the cars that were blocking parts of the bus.
http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/236/articulatedtrolleyoncomcw1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 21st, 2008.

Even in the middle of the day on a Monday with the buses running every four or five minutes the articulated trolley bus is still comfortably full.
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1483/articulatedtrolleyinterrf8.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 21st, 2008.

The doors are a little different on the articulated trolleys in that you just push this strip rather than a bar. It confounded some people who just started hitting the door everywhere like the monkeys at the Monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9374/articulatedtrolleydooraiv8.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 21st, 2008.

[jeremy_haak]

I never understood why bus manufacturers thought it necessary to change the simple 'push on the bar' system for opening the doors. First they come out with 'push on this yellow strip', now they have the 'wave your hands vigorously in the general vicinity of this sign', next we'll be doing the fu&*ing chicken dance to get off the bus.

[mersar]

I never understood why bus manufacturers thought it necessary to change the simple 'push on the bar' system for opening the doors. First they come out with 'push on this yellow strip', now they have the 'wave your hands vigorously in the general vicinity of this sign', next we'll be doing the fu&*ing chicken dance to get off the bus.

A lot of it comes down to what doesn't break as easy. It's a lot harder to break a motion sensor then either of the other types.

[SteelTown]

Here in Hamilton the new articulated buses also have the "push yellow strip" to open the door. It confuses the hell out of people as they think the driver is suppose to open the very back door.

[204]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1317/1243862882_b0c589e61c_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2193/2266524457_8c352e9f74_o_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2002/2167355832_61b017827d_b_d.jpg

Skytrain
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/372140646_81f3afa0bb_o_d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/2433458203_52f75a42f1_o_d.jpg

WestCoast Express (commuter rail)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/163/346438555_947009bf78_b_d.jpg

Seabus
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/2200408161_6ed6a2645d_b_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2205/2273308969_46cdf7c7db_o_d.jpg

Granville Island Ferries
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/60/183274180_fc9a0028d9_o_d.jpg

Amtrak (Vancouver-Seattle-Portland-Eugene, OR)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/4/8013851_d7a8b7ac4f_d.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1323/921413045_480db11afe_d.jpg

Courtesy of Flickr

[SFUVancouver]

^ Nice shots of the various ways to get around Vancouver.

I took this photo of a four-car SkyTrain this morning as it came into the Broadway-Commercial Drive station. Once we receive the additional trains that are on order these four-car trains will be standard for rush hour with the usual 90- to 120-second frequency. I suspect the four-car trains will actually be used most hours of the day since rush hour in Vancouver lasts from dawn to dusk without pause.

Once the planned station renovations go through and the platforms are extended on the Expo Line these four-car trains will be extended to six-car trains during rush hour. I can't wait.

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/5293/skytrainfourcartrainaprbv7.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 22nd, 2008.

I used a fair amount of zoom for the shot which makes the train look shorter than it is. This four-car SkyTrain is actually about 75 metres / 250 feet in length.

[francely57]

Don't you guys find low floor buses annoying? they fit like 20 fewer people than the previous generation of buses.

Maybe 70-80% of Montreal's fleet have been converted.

Cartier station (Laval), April 6, 2008
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_2984.jpg

[francely57]

April 18, 2008

Habs mania was so great that even public transit was involved...

Many buses like this one (24 Sherbrooke) were displaying GO!, CANADIENS, GO!
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_3522.jpg

Metrovision screens in the subway were also praising the Habs, like this one in McGill
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_3535.jpg



You can also notice Koodo invading McGill metro
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_3533.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_3534.jpg



The value of our transit system?
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_3540.jpg

[DC83]

I'm curious to know if Hamilton has ever had an LRT or RT proposal in the past besides the ill-fated ALRT GO project from the early '80s. It seems to me a city of that size, especially 30 years ago, would have at least fantasized of joining the big leagues of transit, like Winnipeg has since the '50s...

Hamilton has a Rapid Transit feasibility study on the go, and by the looks of it, Hamilton will get LRT for the East-West corridor dubbed the B-Line, after the original Bee-Line route.

A-Line (up the mountain to the airport) hasn't really been fig'd out yet (re: type of technology to use: brt or lrt)

http://www.myhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/0D238F12-B9BD-4A7A-B582-3D3995674849/0/CorridorMap.jpg

City's Rapid Transit website:
http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/cityandgovernment/projectsinitiatives/rapidtransitfeasibilitystudy

[francely57]

The central station for south shore buses coming in Montreal (like the one you see leaving at the bottom) is located inside our tallest building:

May 12, 2008
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/Transportation/IMG_4298.jpg

[MolsonExport]

^yes, a pretty neat terminal. Sure beats the outside terminal that preceded it.

[mr.x]

A few shots on the construction of Vancouver's new Canada Line:
http://canadalinephotos.blogspot.com



YVR Airport Station
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-09/images/KICX5565.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-05/images/KICX5370.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-02/images/KICX5075.jpg


Broadway-City Hall Station
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-02/images/KICX5263.jpg




Bridgeport Station
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2378.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2385.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2359.jpg




Aberdeen Station
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2325.jpg






Operations & Maintenance Centre
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2389.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2399.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2400.jpg





North Arm Bridge
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-05-05/images/KICX2419.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-04-24/images/KICX1601.jpg
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-04-02/images/KICX9521.jpg

[Aylmer]

When is it opening?

:)

[mr.x]

When is it opening?

:)

It is scheduled to open November 29, 2009, but with construction and train testing way ahead of schedule, it's possible they might open much earlier.

[LeftCoaster]

Is that actually possible, or are you just speculating??

[mr.x]

Is that actually possible, or are you just speculating??

Speculating.....InTransitBC gets financial bonuses if it can open it ahead of schedule, and right now construction and testing is ahead of schedule. They originally said train testing would begin in the summer....instead, it started 3 months early.

[francely57]

June 11, 2008
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/IMG_4935.jpg

Hum, thanks, but St-Jean is in 13 days...

[vid]

Nothing wrong with getting a head start, no?

[MolsonExport]

June 11, 2008
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/francely57/IMG_4935.jpg

Hum, thanks, but St-Jean is in 13 days...

A great holiday, to be sure. Hasn't it officially been renamed La fete Nationale?

[Nicko999]

The Gazette
Linda Gyulai

He's got the dream, now Mayor Gérald Tremblay needs the cash to build a tramway network, extend the métro, set up an airport shuttle and achieve other promises in his 20-year, $8.1-billion scheme to improve the flow of people and goods on Montreal Island.

On a day filled with competing news conferences and sparring press releases by Tremblay and city hall opposition leader Benoit Labonté, one of his main rivals in next year's municipal election, the mayor rolled out the final draft of his transportation plan yesterday.

While the new version appears unchanged from the initial draft he unveiled one year and two public consultations ago, Tremblay raised the stakes yesterday by pledging to complete the first of three tramway lines by 2013.

It's a commitment from my administration and we have an obligation to proceed," Tremblay said.

"Everyone," he added, "now recognizes the importance of public transit."

The city will launch the first of $1 million worth of feasibility and impact studies on the initial tramway route in the coming weeks, Tremblay said.

As The Gazette reported last week, the first line would be a six-kilometre circuit linking Old Montreal and downtown along Berri St., de la Commune St., Peel St. and René Lévesque Blvd.

The line would pass through the Griffintown neighbourhood south of downtown, where Montreal city council recently approved a controversial $1.3-billion commercial and residential project by a developer that urged the city to build the tramway.

The developer, Devimco Inc., has pledged $15 million toward construction, provided the tramway is built by 2014.

Other projects include:

- Building a rail shuttle between downtown and Trudeau airport within five years ($550 million), and then extending the route through the West Island.

- Extending the métro Blue Line one kilometre east from St. Michel Blvd. to Pie IX Blvd. within five years ($170 million) and, in 10 years, to Anjou borough ($775 million).

- Adding 500 public transit buses over 10 years ($300 million).

The pricetag for the initial Old Montreal-downtown tramway route is estimated at $260 million and should be ready for test runs around 2011, the plan says.

In the meantime, the Montreal Transit Corp. will operate buses on the route, starting on June 23.

The agency projects the bus route will become popular, with eventually 12,000 trips per weekday, and double that number during weekends, MTC spokesperson Isabelle Tremblay said last week.

The next two tramway routes, to be built in 10 years, would run on Park Ave. and on Côte des Neiges Rd., between Jean Talon and downtown.

The estimated cost of the three lines, covering 20 kilometres, is $985 million, the plan says.

But a key question for critics yesterday was whether Tremblay can bankroll his ambitions.

During a rival news conference to announce a plan for a new maritime entranceway to Montreal, Labonté said he's not against a tramway, but said his rival has yet to justify the choice.

"Santa Claus tells us in June that we are going to get an electric tramway," Labonté said.
"But we don't know which Christmas it's going to be."

Labonté and his Vision Montreal party also accused Tremblay of low-balling the cost to build the tramway.

The plan pegged the price at $45 million per kilometre.

However, studies by the provincial Metropolitan Transit Agency set the price per kilometre of a tramway line on Park Ave. at between $71 million and $88 million in 2005, Labonté said.

Tremblay said the cost cited in his plan is a fair estimate.

As for financing, the city is "very serious" about installing road tolls to garner about $200 million a year, he said.

The city is also negotiating with the Quebec government for new sources of revenue, he said.

The federal government, meanwhile, said yesterday it's open to funding for Montreal.

The government plans to invest $5 billion in infrastructure in Quebec in the coming years, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said in an email response to The Gazette.

The government is already collaborating with the city and the province on studies for the proposed rail link between downtown, Trudeau airport and the West Island, he said.

Meanwhile, Richard Bergeron, leader of Projet Montréal Party, doubted Tremblay's commitment to the tramway and accused the mayor of pilfering his party's 2005 election platform.

"Today is a big recycling day," Bergeron, a long-standing proponent of tramways, said following Tremblay's news conference.

"The bitter part of this announcement is that it's completely recycled and designed to captivate, but ... the willingness to implement isn't there."

The city of Montreal's $985-million tramway dream consists of:

- 20 kilometres of tramway service on three lines, beginning with a closed circuit through Old Montreal, Griffintown and downtown to be built by 2013. The other routes would be on Côte des Neiges Rd. and Park Ave., both between Jean Talon St. and downtown. More routes are possible in the future, the city says.

- Modern, electric tramway cars with low floors to allow for handicapped access.

- Stations that are outfitted with shelters and display boards providing real-time information on the arrival of the next tramway.

- A dedicated lane for the tramway cars with priority over car lanes at traffic lights.

Steps to building a tramway:

- 2008-2009: Impact studies, identify what kind of equipment will be needed, identify sites to build tramway garages, measure potential ridership.

- 2009: identify exact trajectory, decide on tramway stop locations, traffic studies, cost studies, economic impact studies, identify such related changes as bus route modifications.

- 2009-2001: Preliminary plan for the first tramway line.

- 2010-2012: Plans and specifications for contract tenders.

- 2011-2013: Construction.

- 2011-2013: Test runs.

- 2013: First line in operation.

[Rico Rommheim]

^Funny to see mayor Tremblay suddenly have extravagant ambitions once a legitimate opposition begins to form and pose a threat.

[mr.x]

posted by officedweller:



From the Busby website:


Busby Perkins+Will has been commissioned to design three stations for the Richmond portion of the new Canada Line transit system, an elevated line running parallel to No. 3 Road. Aberdeen Station, Lansdowne Station, and Richmond-Brighouse Station will be designed as a family, united by similarities in structure, glazing, and roof elements.

The stations will be fully glazed to encourage inward and outward visibility. Platforms will be accessible primarily via stairs and escalators, with transparent elevators providing wheelchair access. On the platforms, extensive use of glass will create a visual connection with the surrounding area. Distinctive wooden roofs will provide weather protection for the length of the platform, and will clearly identify the stations as part of the Canada Line's Richmond segment.

Each station has been concieved as a catalyst for future development, and has been designed to complement its envisioned surroundings. Aberdeen will support mixed-use commercial development, Richmond-Brighouse will serve a large-scale urban project, and Lansdowne will be surrounded by a large-scale park and plaza. Strategic daylighting will ensure that future development does not reduce the level of daylight brought into the stations, and rooftop rainwater collection will be incorporated into landscape design features. Other opportunities to incorporate sustainable principles are being pursued as designs progress.

http://www.busby.ca/clients/CanadaLine/images/01.jpg

http://www.busby.ca/clients/CanadaLine/images/02.jpg

http://www.busby.ca/clients/CanadaLine/images/03.jpg

[francely57]

So yeah, the tramway is definitely making its grand return to Montreal within the next 5 years! (our old trams disappeared in the 50s I think)

But it would be really bad if there's no money/will left in the meantime to beef up the rest of our transit system.
Like someone said in the Quebec section, many many neighbourhoods on the island immensely need metro stations or something equivalent...

[SteelTown]

YAY! :banana: :banana:

Plans for light rail system in city steaming ahead

June 17, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator

Hamilton is aiming to have a rapid transit plan by the fall in hopes of securing provincial funding.

The city is focusing on light rail as its top option after it was overwhelming endorsed by the public. The public works committee agreed yesterday to allow staff to develop a feasibility study over the summer.

If council signs off on the plan, the city hopes to deliver a request for funding to Metrolinx in the fall. The province has set aside $17.5 billion for rapid transit.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said the city must move quickly to get government funding before it's gobbled up by other cities. "I really think we need to have our oar deep in the water by fall."

Metrolinx has not told the city how much money it would be willing to invest, but city staff said they were told to "dream big." A Hamilton light rail system would cost $1.1 billion. Several councillors agreed to take the next step, but are worried about the potential cost to taxpayers.

[vid]

YAY!!

The cost will be more than made up by the benefits of a modern, comprehensive mass transit network. :yes:

[Nicko999]

The Gazette

They're calling it the biggest bridge repair project in Canada. And transport officials are pledging that the two-year, multi-million-dollar facelift about to be received by the Honoré Mercier Bridge - which links the Montreal borough of LaSalle to the Mohawk reserve at Kahnawake - will not prove to be motorists' biggest pain in the neck.

But a South Shore mayor whose 10,000-resident municipality is linked to Montreal by the 74-year-old span wonders whether the renovation - while clearly necessary - is really what's needed to meet the long-term interests of residents living in the region.

"More and more, people are using their cars to get into Montreal," said Jacques Lambert, mayor of the town of Mercier. "(The bridge renovation) is like a Band-Aid. What we need is more public transit, transit adapted to the needs of the region.

In that regard I guess we're like every other (Quebec) municipality, although in our case the need is greater. Especially in Châteauguay, Mercier and down to Huntingdon. We have no (commuter train), no métro. We have (inter-city) bus lines, but they're not co-ordinated."

Lambert's comments preceded the unveiling today of the details of the Mercier Bridge renovation, an operation that will involve reinforcing the span's supports and replacing the deck - the foundation of the road surface that vehicles ride over.

Officially announced last April by Lawrence Cannon and Julie Boulet, the federal and provincial ministers of transport respectively, the Mercier renovation will effect some much-needed repairs to a 1.3-kilometre span that has become infamous for potholes, poor road conditions and traffic jams.

The first phase of the refit will see the steel supports reinforced and the deck replaced on elevated access ramps that go through the Kahnawake territory. That phase of the project is expected to cost $66 million, $57 million of which is being paid by Ottawa, the balance by Quebec. Work is expected to be completed by next year. The second phase of the renovation is expected to deal with the Mercier's superstructure. The refit is to be completely finished by 2011.

Just how much that work will disrupt the flow of traffic across the bridge, which is used more than 28 million times annually, remains to be seen and is on the agenda of today's news conference. Thus far, transport officials have stressed that detours and disruptions on the span will be kept to a minimum and that if a shutdown of lanes does become necessary, it would not happen during the day "and especially not during rush hour."

That said, rush-hour traffic jams will probably only get worse once drivers have to contend with work crews on the span. Any detours by commuters avoiding the Mercier would also probably create a domino effect, shifting the area's Montreal-bound traffic flow east toward the Champlain and Victoria bridges.

That possibility for the summer of 2008 was a reality for motorists who found themselves re-routed by the Oka crisis in the summer of 1990, when Mohawks blockaded the Mercier span.

Yet while that crisis created traffic problems, a partial solution was found downstream, as cars heading to Montreal from the western South Shore were routed along the seaway dike and across the ice bridge erected parallel to the Champlain.

[vid]

A mayor of a small community asking for transit? OMFG!

They should get it.

[mr.x]

City eyeing digital billboards
By Matthew Hoekstra - Richmond Review - June 18, 2008


The city is eyeing 13 digital advertising displays for the downtown core to complement the reinvention of No. 3 Road and generate cash for the city.

IBI Group, the consultant heading the city’s No. 3 Road restoration project, is recommending one large-format LED screen for the exterior of each downtown Canada Line station and 10 freestanding wrap-around displays along Richmond’s main drag.

In his report, the city’s Amarjeet Rattan said the technology could be “aesthetically pleasing, engaging and informative without creating a sense of visual pollution or overload” and generate revenue for the city.

“Many other public transit systems around the world have successfully introduced similar types of advertising at stations and other prime locations,” he said.

On Monday, staff’s recommendation to kick-start a pilot program for the displays was set for a council vote, but it was pulled from the council table.

City spokesperson Kim Decker said staff are folding new technical details into the report. She said it’s not clear when the recommendation will go to a council vote.

The LED screens, similar to big-screen TVs, would be attached to the Aberdeen, Lansdowne and Richmond-Brighouse stations. The 10 360-degree displays would be located at various points on No. 3 Road between Cambie and Saba roads, under the Canada Line guideway.

The proposed technology is said to offer images as sharp in daylight as they are in darkness, can withstand weather and be connected to the Internet.

According to Rattan’s report, the project could net the city $400,000 a year in revenue, based on a sharing agreement between the city, InTransitBC and a partner that would pay for the capital costs of installing the technology.

The city would also have access to portions of the displays for use by city departments at no cost.

The cash could go to the city’s public art reserve, leisure facilities development reserve and general revenue, according to Rattan.

Coun. Rob Howard called it a “pretty significant opportunity” for the city to generate revenue from a source other than property taxes.

“We talk all the time about property tax being an inappropriate in some instances, source of revenue for for a bunch of different city programs. This is an opportunity to generate some additional revenue, while we’re enlivening the street.”

In January, council voted to explore opportunities with InTransitBC for multimedia technology along with Canada Line on No. 3 Road that could be used in providing public information, visual displays, audio and advertising.

***

No. 3 Road displays considered:

•Interactive projection technology: images projected onto sidewalk surface

•Revolution 360-degree high resolution displays: standalone wrap-around virtual content panels with built in computer, media player

•Interactive kiosks: users can access information, download videos and ring tones, take and send photos and shop online

•LED screens: flat screens at Canada Line stations attached to guideway and around guideway pillars






Meanwhile, some new renderings are also out for some of the stations:



Broadway-City Hall Station
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3212/2603686558_b55c8c8ecb_o.png



Marine Drive Station
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/2603686472_c83b884a41_o.png



Yaletown Station
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/2602855911_11d2a7716a_o.png

[canucklehead2]

I'm just wondering what the current status of each cities rapid transit projects? Let's do a quick summary...

Victoria- ?
Vancouver-Canada Line under construction
Edmonton- South LRT under construction and to open around 2010. Engineering plans unveiled for NE, N and futher south extensions...
Calgary- ?
Winnipeg- ?
Ottawa-
London-
Kitchener-Waterloo-
Niagara Falls-
Hamilton-
Toronto-
Montreal-
Quebec City-
Halifax-

[francely57]

I'm just wondering what the current status of each cities rapid transit projects? Let's do a quick summary...


Victoria- ?
Vancouver-Canada Line under construction
Edmonton- South LRT under construction and to open around 2010. Engineering plans unveiled for NE, N and futher south extensions...
Calgary- ?
Winnipeg- ?
Ottawa-
London-
Kitchener-Waterloo-
Niagara Falls-
Hamilton- "aiming to have a rapid transit plan by the fall" -The Hamilton Spectator
Toronto- any news about the metro extension?
Montreal- two 1-station extensions to the metro will start soon, and endless talk about a LRT line to the south shore suburbs
Quebec City- ?
Halifax-

[vid]

Winnipeg is looking into possibly looking into what it would take to look into looking into rapid transit.

[canucklehead2]

Ah, they are possibly considering becoming interested in thinking about Rapid Transit?? That's progress...

[vid]

Yes, considering last year they were only thinking about considering thinking about possibly considering becoming interested in thinking about Rapid Transit.

Thunder Bay's city council doesn't know what rapid transit is. They think it's a bus breaking the speed limit.

[mersar]

Calgary
-2 extensions to NW LRT underway, first is nearing completion and second is in design stage (2008 and 2011 openings)
-extension to NE LRT funded and currently in design stage (2011 opening)
-West LRT approved, funded, out for tender later this year (2013 opening)
-downtown LRT tunnel alignments for the existing above ground NW and S route are under design
-SE LRT initial rough alignments approved, no confirmed funding yet (expected about $2B for first phase including a downtown tunnel)

[canucklehead2]

I'm still confused... What is the current status of the Ottawa O-Train expansion project? Can we actually expect shovels in the ground anytime soon? And is the downtown subway going to be a part of it? If so, will it be under Sparks Street or under or at grade on Albert and Slater?

[someone123]

Tenders are now being issued for the construction of two new high speed (50 km/h, down from 65) 250 passenger ferries in Halifax. Most of the $27M for the ferry project is going to be budgeted for this year so they can start constructing the new terminals.

A transit trip from Bedford to downtown Halifax takes over one hour now at rush hour but will be cut down to 20-30 minutes.

Ferry map from Wikipedia:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/Metrotransitferry.png
Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Transit_(Halifax))

A similar ferry in operation during a trial run in 2005, from the Chronicle Herald:
http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/photos/xlarge/07-17-08tkferry2.jpg
Source (http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/)

[SFUVancouver]

I'm surprised nobody has posted anything about the TTC's streetcar contract going off the proverbial rails. Bombardier's bid was rejected and the rest of the world's major players did not even bid in the end. The TTC's requirement for 100% low floor trains is at odds with the products the majority of tram makers actually produce. Low floor buses aren't even 100% low floor and yet are still considered fully accessible.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/07/18/ttc-contract.html

Streetcar contract stalled as TTC rejects bids
Last Updated: Friday, July 18, 2008 | 8:39 AM ET
The Toronto Transit Commission says its planned $1.25 billion streetcar contract has been derailed.

The TTC said Thursday it is ending its tender process for a fleet of more than 200 new streetcars and will go back to the seven companies that originally expressed interest and see if it can find a supplier.

Bids had been received from Bombardier and a British company TRAM Power. A third company, German engineering giant Siemens backed out of the process last month.

But the TTC dismissed the bid from TRAM and then said the Bombardier bid did not comply with technical specifications.

"The car that [Bombardier was] going to provide to Toronto had to work on the rails that we have on the street today — and had to be able to go around curves like they do at the loops for each line and go down into the station, like at Union [Station]. Their car did not meet those specifications," said TTC chair Adam Giambrone.

Bombardier expressed surprise at the rejection of its bid.

Giambrone said "at this point there are no cars that meet [TTC] specifications" and the TTC will continue to work with companies, including Bombardier, to resolve the technical issues.

The TTC is looking to buy 204 new, low-floor streetcars to replace its aging fleet by 2012. There was also an option to supply an additional 364 streetcars for future transit lines.

[Denscity]

Calgary
-2 extensions to NW LRT underway, first is nearing completion and second is in design stage (2008 and 2011 openings)
-extension to NE LRT funded and currently in design stage (2011 opening)
-West LRT approved, funded, out for tender later this year (2013 opening)
-downtown LRT tunnel alignments for the existing above ground NW and S route are under design
-SE LRT initial rough alignments approved, no confirmed funding yet (expected about $2B for first phase including a downtown tunnel)
Thank god. Couldn't see the rockies from Calgary the last time i was there from all the car pollution. You don't want to loose that view.

[mersar]

Car pollution typically isn't what affects the view of the rockies, there can be a slight smog blanket over the city but it rarely extends much beyond downtown if its even visible. The mountains however get obscured by smoke from forest fires, and thanks to the air currents that exist in the mountains those fires don't even have to be anywhere near the area.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Thank god. Couldn't see the rockies from Calgary the last time i was there from all the car pollution. You don't want to loose that view.

Impossible. Calgary has never had an air quality advisory, or even "poor" air quality readings, in the 8 years I've lived here EXCEPT due to smoke/haze from forest fires. If it was haze due to a temperature inversion, there is no amount of "public transit" that would make the air clear.

Calgary already has the sixth-highest rate of transit usage in North America- you make it sound as if these extensions are finally bringing transit here, when it's an incredibly successful system already.

[SteelTown]

Hamilton rapid transit open house, July 28

The City of Hamilton will host a public information meeting on its final proposals for rapid transit service on two crosstown lines on Monday, July 28.

On June 25, Hamilton City Council authorized staff to proceed with light rail transit (LRT) instead of bus rapid transit for the project. They also recommended that staff examine using the Claremont Access instead of James Mountain Road for the north-south line when it climbs the Niagara Escarpment.

You can review the latest proposal and offer your comments and ideas by attending the open house on July 28, or by completing the on-line survey here.

The July 28 information meeting takes place from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at:

Lloyd D. Jackson Square,
Rooftop, beside the stage.

City Council will approve the final plans for the LRT at its meeting in September. If Council approves the plans, the City will submit them to Metrolinx to include funding for the project in its next capital budget.

[SteelTown]

Looks like the Feds will announce funding of $7 billion towards Ontario’s infrastructure, nearly the exact figure of the Federal share for MoveOntario 2020.

[WaterlooInvestor]

Ont. to receive $6.2 billion to repair infrastructure
Updated Thu. Jul. 24 2008 10:51 AM ET
The Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080724/Ontario_infrastructure_080724/20080724?hub=Canada

Video: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/cash-for-ontario/#clip68930

LONDON, Ont. -- Ontario's battle to wrest more funds out of the federal government yielded a victory today with a multi-billion dollar commitment from Ottawa for infrastructure.

Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon says more than $3 billion in funding will help the province repair its aging roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

The Ontario government will match that amount to raise the total investment to about $6.2 billion.

Cannon says substantial infrastructure funding for Ontario was long overdue.

Deputy Premier George Smitherman says today's announcement shows the two levels of government are working together for a stronger Ontario.

The spending is expected to create much needed jobs in the province, which has been hit hard in recent months by cutbacks in manufacturing and the auto sector.

Initial priorities include improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway in northwestern Ontario, rural broadband coverage in parts of Ontario and rapid transit in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region.

The funding arrangement will run until 2014.

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :notacrook: :notacrook: :notacrook: :cheers: :cheers:

:thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou:


It's worth repeating:

Initial priorities include improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway in northwestern Ontario, rural broadband coverage in parts of Ontario and rapid transit in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region.

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :notacrook: :notacrook: :notacrook: :cheers: :cheers:

:thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou: :thankyouthankyou:

[WaterlooInvestor]

Press Release: http://www.buildingcanada-chantierscanada.gc.ca/media/news-nouvelles/2008/20080724london-eng.html

CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/24/ot-infrastructure-080724.html

Canwest: http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=ccbb3190-a5d1-4f60-9b93-72fb0fd43baa

:righton: :righton: :righton: :righton: :righton: :righton:

[DC83]

^^ Congrats, KW! Now let's get this M-Fer started already! ! !

[Denscity]

Impossible. Calgary has never had an air quality advisory, or even "poor" air quality readings, in the 8 years I've lived here EXCEPT due to smoke/haze from forest fires. If it was haze due to a temperature inversion, there is no amount of "public transit" that would make the air clear.

Calgary already has the sixth-highest rate of transit usage in North America- you make it sound as if these extensions are finally bringing transit here, when it's an incredibly successful system already.

I know there's transit in Calgary i've been there nearly thirty times. My brother lives in the northwest part of Calgary and its all houses and roads and more houses. I was waiting at a but stop for nearly an hour and a local walked by and didn't even know if there was a bus in that neighbourhood. Glad to hear a nw line in the works. I know cars keep the oil money pumping but i would like my bro and his neighbours to at least have an option.

[shreddog]

I know there's transit in Calgary i've been there nearly thirty times. My brother lives in the northwest part of Calgary and its all houses and roads and more houses. I was waiting at a but stop for nearly an hour and a local walked by and didn't even know if there was a bus in that neighbourhood. Glad to hear a nw line in the works. I know cars keep the oil money pumping but i would like my bro and his neighbours to at least have an option.
Are you sure that those 30 trips to were to Calgary, Alberta???

If your brother really does live in the northwest, and you actually visited him once during those 30 visits, you may have actually seen that there is already a nw line in service all the way to Dalhousie (and currently being extended to Nose Hill/RR) There is no nw line in the works since it has been in existance for about 20 years!!!

Also, are you sure you weren't waiting at a green bus stop (future stop) since I'm not aware of any bus stop in the NW that is on greater than a 60 minute cycle.

And as for transit use in Calgary, well let's see, in a city of just over 1 Million people, there are over 500000 transit passengers every day, with almost half taking the C-train.

Yep, maybe someday dem der Calgarians might be able to have an option wrt PT!:haha:

[kitchener-lrt]

Would you look who's back :P.

[vid]

Yeah, when the LRT opens I'm going to go to Kitchener, and he's going to give me that tour behind the happy little bush. :haha:

It looks like the government is finally going to work on four-laning the TCH through the Northwest. There was another funding announcement separate from this recently that will bring even more money to NWO, but that's not exactly a transit thing.

[crooked rain]

Car pollution typically isn't what affects the view of the rockies, there can be a slight smog blanket over the city but it rarely extends much beyond downtown if its even visible. The mountains however get obscured by smoke from forest fires, and thanks to the air currents that exist in the mountains those fires don't even have to be anywhere near the area.

Most of the air pollution blows south-east of the city. You can see massive brown clouds of it (if weather conditions are right) south of highway one as you head towards Strathmore or if you take 22X towards Carseland. The southside also has a fair amount of smog - you can observe this when you crest over Memorial Drive between Barlow and Deerfoot when you are heading into downtown. It doesn't block the mountain view from there, though.

I have also seen it on some particularily bad days from office high up in the buildings downtown and it is pretty disgusting and shocking since the air in Calgary seems to be clean.

Having said that, the smog problem is minor compared to other cities becuase of the climate and the fact that Calgary is still only 1 million people.

[MolsonExport]

RIM!

[SteelTown]

"The Conservative source said Harper will also make stops in Ontario next week, joining Premier Dalton McGuinty to make an infrastructure funding announcement."

MoveOntario 2020 funding? Gotta be pretty big if you managed to get Harper and Dalton together for the announcement.