Quote:
Originally Posted by manny_santos
I'm not sure Kingston needs streetcars. They've got a good thing going with their new express bus service. It just needs some traffic signal priority and it's good to go.
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Hmm. Didn't know about the express bus route system. I do prefer the idea of streetcars to buses, though, for their capacity and permanence, as well as aesthetically, and as a city grows, it can be a precursor to full-on LRT. I'm not sure Kingston will ever grow to be that big, but who knows. I put Kingston on the list because it is an older, urban city with a large student population. I could see a single line going from Queen's University, over to King/Ontario St, meet up with Princess St and then go up to Cataraqui Centre.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Horus
Niagara Falls does not need LRT. The town's population is only 88,000. It does need a good transit solution between the train station (VIA) and the tourism zone (if none already exists)
I'm not sure Guelph needs streetcars either. Traffic is much worse between Guelph and KW than it is within Guelph. A lot of Guelph's population does not work in Guelph. I'm less familiar with Peterborough, but I'd think they do not need streetcars either.
If these statements are based purely on the size of the cities listed (i.e. city of minimum size X should have transit option Y), they are oversimplifying the requirement for advanced forms of transit.
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It's really awkward (though possible) getting from the VIA station to Fallsview. A direct, permanent, high capacity rail line, because Niagara Falls is more than the 100k due to the huge tourist population would be very useful and convenient. It would be very easy for out-of-towners who don't like to fuss with bus route names/numbers and would be far quicker. Could also hook up to Lundy's Lane.
Guelph and Peterborough I included because they are both cities with walkable cores and major university presence, but the university is located away from the walkable core. So I thought having a direct rail line would be useful.