Quote:
Originally Posted by lrt's friend
Where did you get that 20 minute figure anyways? Lowell Green? Randall Denley? The fact of the matter is that Barrhaven transit useage is lower than most other parts of the city. This tells you a couple of things. First, the current service is not meeting the needs of the residents. Second, there is more potential for ridership growth in Barrhaven than elsewhere. We also know that the most costly part of the old N-S project was for improvements on the existing Greenboro to Bayview portion. A relatively short extension to the airport is not going to increase ridership a lot beyond O-Train levels except by what you steel off the Transitway. If you want real ridership growth, extend the route into new areas. The fact that the old LRT route plan allowed for walk-on capabilities to large numbers of people in Barrhaven and Riverside South and the community plan included intensification along the line shows that it makes a lot of sense. Furthermore, it may be mostly one way traffic at the moment but RCMP headquarters is moving out to Barrhaven and Riverside South has a large designated employment area. Even if it takes longer by LRT for some Barrhaven residents, does it really matter? We are not going to blow up the Transitway. It will still be an option but I suspect that if you can walk to a LRT station and the ride is more comfortable, many will take that option even if it is a few minutes slower. We also have to consider that for many not travelling downtown, LRT will significantly cut travel times and these will more likely be new transit riders than the downtown folks. I am not opposed to an airport LRT terminal, but if we really want to deal with real traffic issues, it needs to also run to the southern suburbs. Remember, that the ridership studies indicated that an extension to Barrhaven would bring 40,000+ daily riders compared to 10,000-12,000 today on the O-Train. An extension to the airport only, will not accomplish this.
One last thing, Barrhaven and Riverside South residents elected 2 pro-LRT councillors. I think this means something.
I have said it before. We cannot afford to lay track on the Transitway. We gain few new riders for the money invested. We need to invest in new routes, whether east-west or north-south which expand our transit network. Replacing our existing transit network is a waste of money
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The numbers were from the city. They had a page with all From/To destinations.
Replacing the Transitway for these sections would offer better service, and better speed, which would increase ridership. You can't build a system on "good intentions". It needs to be backed up with facts and numbers. Of course the Barrhaven and Riverside South voted for that, (even if the polls weren't that favorable for the O-Train), they're the only one getting a good deal out of it. How can you sell a fast system like that? In the field?! Wetlands? Low ridership and extremely high cost and minimal return on investment? No wonder it was voted down.