ldoto

Thu, January 4, 2007

The $105-million proposal contains measures to make public transit preferable to cars.

By JOE BELANGER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL REPORTER




Dedicated bus lanes, special traffic signals planned.
In the biggest overhaul in its 130-year history, London Transit wants to spend $105 million over the next nine years to whisk passengers across the city faster.

The key goal is to avoid future gridlock by getting more drivers to leave their cars at home and take the bus.

"We're not asking everybody to get out of their car, but change can occur," said Larry Ducharme, LTC's general manager. "It's not pie in the sky. It's doable with proven technology and service designs. Can we influence change? Yes. If the price is effective and we match the price with quality service, we'll influence change."

The plan includes:

- A new transit system design based on key nodes -- shopping areas, major schools and businesses -- and major road corridors.


- $68 million spent on 102 replacement buses and 32 additional buses to expand service.

- Implementation of bus rapid transit, or BRT, with pickups on some routes every five minutes during rush hour, depending on demand.

- BRT routes fed by buses providing basic service in neighbourhoods surrounding shopping, business and school nodes.

- The introduction of "transit priority measures" -- some already underway -- for the BRT corridors, including dedicated bus lanes, special traffic signals giving buses a jump at key intersections and a computerized traffic signal system that gives buses priority to stay on schedule.

- Dedicated bus lanes expected on only the four corridors with the highest demand, including Richmond Street, Oxford Street East and all or part of Western, Wharncliffe and Wonderland roads.

- New bus designs and shelter facilities along BRT corridors to add comfort and make boarding easier and faster.

- A $16.5-million satellite bus facility to ease congestion at the Highbury Avenue headquarters.

"We should have started on this yesterday, but we can't, so we have to start today," said former city controller Russ Monteith, chairperson of the London Transit Commission.

Monteith said London can't wait for gridlock once there's another 100,000 people.

"Eventually, we'll get to the point where we have to do it anyway, but it will cost us more money. So the earlier we start planning the system the cheaper it will be and the better it will be."

The long-term strategy goes to the commission for approval this month.

The plan then heads to city council where it's expected a transit working group will develop a final plan with public participation.

"This may not be the final plan, but you've got to start somewhere and the sooner the better," Monteith said.

If approved, bus riders could see some changes by early next year, including the BRT.

If the strategy works, city buses would be carrying 54 per cent more passengers, or about 28 million riders a year (from the current 19 million), by 2024.

In other words, 10 per cent of all travel during London's rush hours would be by bus -- a major goal of the city's transportation master plan.

Aside from capital costs, LTC staff estimate the added annual operating costs will total about $19 million by 2024.

LTC's proposed 2007 operating budget is about $49 million with taxpayers contributing $18.3 million and the rest coming from fares and provincial subsidies.

"No matter what we do, it's going to cost lots of money because we're either going to have more people taking the bus or we're going to have to build wider roads to accommodate all the cars that will be out there," said Monteith.

Another benefit of the move is environmental with fewer cars and less air pollution.

For the plan to work, Ducharme said, the LTC needs to be involved in the city's land-use planning with policies encouraging and supporting transit included in the official plan, which is now under review.

The plan also calls for a comprehensive parking strategy that reduces the number of parking lots downtown, drives up the price and makes bus travel more financially attractive to motorists.

Ducharme said he'd like to see BRT operating on a few routes next year.

"This isn't something we can introduce in 2024," Ducharme said. "We need to introduce it this year and next or we aren't going to get where we want to be by 2024."

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BASIC SERVICE:

Will still be provided to communities surrounding key nodes such as malls, schools and major business areas at 30-minute intervals, the same as now.

SECONDARY SERVICE:

(Oxford Street West, Fanshawe Park Road West) Provides 15-minute service during rush hour, 30-minute service at other times. Transit priority measures would include traffic signal priority for buses behind schedule and a special traffic signal at some locations so buses get through busy intersections before other traffic. It includes passenger amenities such as better shelters and larger buses.

PRIMARY SERVICE:

(Dundas Street, Wellington Road) Buses at 10 minute intervals during rush hour with one traffic lane dedicated to buses and high occupancy vehicles. Other transit priority measures could include traffic signal priority for buses and a special traffic signal so buses get through busy intersections before other traffic. It includes enhanced passenger amenities such as better shelters and larger buses.

BRT SERVICE:

(Richmond Street, Oxford Street East, Western Road and parts of Wonderland and Wharncliffe Roads) Bus service at five-minute intervals during rush hour, reduced to 15 minutes in off hours. Traffic signal priority for buses behind schedule and a dedicated buses-only lane.

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The Forest City