As you may have heard, the TTC has joined York Region Transit, GO Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, Burlington Transit, Brampton Transit (it's a secret!), Grand River Transit and Guelph Transit by sharing its data with Google (Guelph Transit is currently offline because the city is one giant construction zone right now). If you want to plan a trip using transit in areas served by these services, just use the same Google Maps interface you would use to plan other trips, but be sure to select the transit option.
I've been a long-time fan of Google Transit (much to the chagrin of a certain someone who, despite leaving negative comments and not responding to rebuttal, is still a cool person), but the benefit of this system over the in-house travel planners that many agencies have developed is two-fold. Google Maps is available to most mobile device users allowing you to plan trips while on the move, whereas the in-house planners often use web code not supported by all mobile browsers. Secondly, Google's trips plans span multiple agencies, so a trip between two random points within the coverage area is just as easy to plan as a trip between two other random points within the coverage area.
Now, Google has a few limitations which users should keep in mind before using. Read more »
This morning myself and @mfac19 were the third and fourth passengers on the first ever Züm departure from Brampton Terminal to York University at 4:45am. There was much fanfare and we all got swag. I am now near Islington heading back home, and here are a few thoughts:
On September 20th, Brampton Transit will launch Züm, a limited stop bus service running every 15 minutes between Downtown Brampton and York University (and twice as frequently during the peak hours). In the process, service on Highway 7 in Vaughan and Queen Street in Brampton will be completely reorganized. Read more »
Returning home from a friend's house at around 2 am, I spotted two Brampton Transit Novas turning south onto Highway 10 from westbound King Side Road, both filled with passengers.
As I was waiting to pick up my brother from his summer job in Brampton, I noticed the 40 CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL bus pass at about the same time his shift was supposed to end. Since service at that time of day is every 30 minutes, someone who misses the bus would have to wait an awfully long time for the next trip. Pushing back the schedule by 10 minutes to catch the people getting off the morning shift would make transit a viable option for people at this particular business.
Did I mention that this company is the 3rd largest manufacturing employer in Brampton and the largest employer in that part of town?
This is a case where little schedule tweaks can improve the transit experience for hundreds of people without spending any additional money.
Going beyond, working with the transit agency to integrate the shift schedule with the bus schedule is something companies can do to help fight gridlock, save on parking facilities and leave their employees with more money in their pockets.
I went to the Hurontario Rapid Transit / Urban Design public information centre at Brampton City Hall tonight, and found Sean Marshall from Spacing hanging around his old stomping grounds. While there were very few people there, staff answered all of the questions asked with a lot of depth. They seemed genuinely interested in the suggestions we had to offer, both written and verbally. There was paper, pens and post-it notes for us to use, and it was always within arms' reach.
From the transit side of things, the decision was clearly between LRT and BRT, with the only uncertainty being how to deal with the narrow sections between Queen Street & Shoppers World, and between the QEW & Lakeshore. Going elevated might interfere with the urban design of the area, going underground might be costly, and traveling in mixed traffic might end in disaster. The City of Brampton is also looking at moving the Shoppers' World terminal closer to Main Street, which I take as an indication that they are striving for better. In addition, the project leader was very clear that there was no intention of making people transfer at municipal boundaries - another sign they are looking to provide a better customer experience.
From the urban design side of things, I got the sense that there was a real desire to build transit oriented development along the corridor in order to make Hurontario be more of a complete street. The slogan used was "21st Century Main Street", and many of the concepts presented reminded me of the lively main streets in small towns in Ontario. The only challenge will be how to urbanize the area between Steeles and Bristol, which is currently a mix of warehouses, vacant fields and offices setback fifty feet from the property line.
Overall, I think it was a great session, and I can only hope the Mississauga side presents the same vision to the public tomorrow.
The provincial budget was introduced yesterday, and contained some transit goodies for the GTAH.
n Hamilton, service on the B-Line will be improved to connect Eastgate Square with McMaster University, and the A-Line will be introduced to connect downtown with the mountain. In addition, there's funding for a new GO station in Hamilton at the foot of James Street. This station could serve as a jumping-off point to Niagara, and would be less expensive to expand all-day-service to (as CP demands the Hamilton tunnel essentially be rebuilt before service improvements to the station on Hunter Street).
Peel will see service improvements on Dundas and Hurontario, hopefully resulting in something better than an on-street connection between the two bus routes serving the latter street. Also, GO service to Bolton will be improved, but it won't be a substitute for a local transit system.
Halton will see BRT along Dundas, and hopefully a combination of development and feeder bus systems will improve ridership. Dundas is a very busy street, but with most of the homes backing onto it, I worry if there are other corridors which need attention in Halton.
In York Region, VIVA will be getting bus only lanes from Richmond Hill centre to Newmarket Terminal, and along the VIVA Purple route from Pine Valley Drive to Kennedy Road. Curious locations, but its a good first start and addresses the most congested portions of the route.
Durham will get funding to wean themselves off GO and build their own BRT route on Highway 2. This should help DRT finally find its own identity, and could lead to the "plate of spaghetti" in Pickering and Ajax being turned into a logical network. They also received funding to establish a route to Cornell Terminal. DRT routes are almost completely isolated, and this will bring the system into the warm embrace of the GTHA network.
Toronto will get funding to start work on Transit City, funding for automatic train control and funding for the Yonge Street busway - all projects which will build capacity and speed up service. It will be interesting to see the busway's final design, as it will have to accommodate express and local buses heading between Steeles Avenue and Finch Station.
In the broader picture, there will be funding for bike racks on vehicles and lockers at GO stations, 20 new coaches (for the Lakeshore Line, but not necessarily for the Lakeshore Line), 10 more double decker buses (the first was spotted on the road today running some tests), and passing tracks to bring all-day service to the Bradford and Stouffville lines by 2010.
In addition to all that, there's gas tax funding. It was a good budget for transit, but as always, I hope the province doesn't rest on it's laurels.
In other news, this round of collective bargaining between the TTC and the Union seems to be filled with conflicting reports. It's difficult to sort truth from fact, but the bottom line is that the Union will be in a legal strike position on April 1st... and that's no foolin'!
One thing is abundantly clear about the city's new AcceleRide program. The meltdown of the city's finances is inevitable. Timing is the only uncertainty.
AcceleRide will be Brampton's great disaster of the 21st century.
Say goodbye to downtown parking and the hoped-for downtown revitalization. Say hello to skyrocketing property taxes.
Say goodbye to quiet residential streets downtown. Say hello to worsening gridlock.
Be warned and look for the first of the "For Sale" signs to go up along Main Street.
And be sure to wave at AcceleRide Project Director Dave Roberts and Mayor Susan Fennell as they drive their cars to work.
Michael Rodgers, Brampton
Mr. Rodgers' concept of the neighborhood, is, well, factually wrong on almost every single point he makes.
AcceleRide will not cause the meltdown of Brampton's finances. It will be caused by the fact that you cannot finance a city on regressive (property) taxes. You need a tax base which is directly tied to income.
AcceleRide will not be Brampton's great disaster of the 21st century. It will be the greatest triumph in transportation planning to date. The disaster would be to do nothing.
You forget that there are three large municipal parking lots in downtown Brampton, and that the on-street parking you refer to is actually the cause of downtown congestion in the afternoon rush hours. I say good riddance, because a single bus could carry more people than the on-street parking could handle. The downtown revitalization is not in jeopardy, as a public transit system will make such a district more accessible to all people. Property taxes may rise, but only because property values will be on a one-way ride to the moon.
Gridlock is caused by too many cars. Buses carry people who would otherwise be in cars. Therefor, cars decrease. Buses do not magically spawn cars onto residential streets.
Any for-sale signs along Main Street will be because skyrocketing property values has caused property owners to cash-out.
I don't like Susan Fennell, but I'll be sure to wave at her next time I see her. Not the cynical wave you describe, because I give credit where credit is due.
City OK's free rides for vets Sunday March 25 2007 PAM DOUGLAS
Local war veterans will soon be getting a free ride on Brampton Transit, but the issue has raised questions about who else should be given the same break.
City councillors have agreed to allow veterans of the Second World War and the Korean War to ride local buses for free, despite a city staff report recommending against the plan.
City staff agreed it would be a gesture of respect and acknowledgement of the sacrifice and commitment to the community and the country the veterans have made.
However, they warned that it would set a precedent for other groups to make their own requests.
"In fact, some of the rationale expressed by Mr. (Ian) Drummond could be applied to all seniors aged 80 years and older in the city," Brampton Transit Director Suzanne Bass wrote in her report to Committee of Council Wednesday.
Local war veteran Drummond had made the request of council on behalf of local veterans, and thanks councillors for approving the free passes.
The paperwork will take some time to complete, he was told, and formal approval is still needed from full council Wednesday, but the majority of councillors were present for the committee vote.
Immediately after the vote, Wards 7 and 8 City Councillor Sandra Hames expressed concern about other groups.
"To me, if we are looking at transit subsidies, we should be looking at more than vets," Hames said.
"There's more that we need to do in the way of transit for lots of people than we do today," she said. "I will support this motion, however, we have a committee of disabled people today that can't ride our transit because they can't access it. They're paying $10 to get where they need to go."
Many members of the city's Accessibility Advisory Committee have to take a cab through Transhelp to get home from city hall after the monthly night meetings, which forces them to wait and leave one at a time, she said.
"If we are going to use the philosophy that some groups need to help more than others, to me, that's wrong. We should be looking at what we can do to help their people that really need it."
Committee Chair Grant Gibson told her to tell the Accessibility Advisory Committee members to bring their request to council.
She said she would.
Wards 7 and 8 Regional Councillor Gael Miles echoed Hames' concern about others in the community.
"We should really be looking at all seniors over 80," she said. "I know there's a cost for it, but if we're going to do it for vets, we should do it for all seniors."
In other communities that offer free rides to veterans-- Guelph, Stratford and Windsor-- a photo identification is used. Brampton currently doesn't have the equipment to produce such a photo identification and would have to spend $2,000 to get it, a cost that was not included in the just-passed 2007 budget.
Transit staff said it is difficult to determine how much revenue would be lost to the system because statistics are not available to show how many veterans or seniors use the bus. However, if there are 200 veterans in Brampton eligible for the free pass, the potential revenue loss could be $108,000 a year, assuming those veterans are currently purchasing a seniors monthly pass.
Using 2001 Census data, the lost revenue would top $2 million to give free rides to all local seniors age 80 and above, according to the staff report.
Veterans don't get the respect they deserve in this country. The wars currently being fought may or may not be justified, but there is no question as to the honor in the sacrifice our World War II and Korean War veterans gave. However, city staff recognized that such a policy could open up the door to other groups, especially seniors groups. I don't normally buy into the "it will leave the door wide open" arguments, but with the baby boomers aging, this is a real possibility. I believe all seniors should get discounted transit fares, but offering free transit to such a large group would result in the money having to come from somewhere else.
Regardless of what happens, the city should bite the bullet on the $2000 and buy the photo machine - or use the ones already installed in every recreation centre in the city.
There was also an editorial in the Guardian with another idea. It splits the difference, but I'm doubtful that the money they propose to use will make a meaningful difference in the price of a transit pass. Either way, its good to see someone is posing alternatives rather than ragging on the situation without contributing anything else.
Another option for veteran riders Another option for veteran riders Sunday March 25 2007
Allowing local war veterans to ride Brampton Transit for free has wide-ranging ramifications that city councillors may not have thought through before they turned down a city staff recommendation against it.
For example, what about the spouses of veterans? The women who kept the home fires burning, went to work in the factories, and raised the children while their husbands went off to fight? Did they not contribute to the war effort as well and our freedom? If their husbands are given a free ride, they should be given the same courtesy.
How about veterans who fought in other wars? As they age, they will need transit, too.
Some councillors already made mention of how far this idea can be carried. Set the precedent and it will be difficult to argue seniors 80 years and older and the disabled should not be given the same break.
It is a political hot potato, to be sure. How do you say no to war veterans? But there is another way.
Perhaps the Legions might use the money donated by the public in annual poppy sales every year to subsidize the transit needs of veterans. After all, the money is supposed to be used to help and support veterans.
What better use than to set up a fund to pay for transit passes for local veterans? The need is clearly there. Thousands of dollars are collected every year, and every year there is a surplus of dollars, which is then donated, not to the veterans, but back to the community through a gift to the fire department or hospital.
So why not use that money for this? This would ensure the municipality is treating all residents fairly and equally, and money will not be drained from our transit system, which is just starting to come into its own.
Subway a thrill ride for Vaughan $3 billion windfall a boost for 905 transit, though Miller warns it's just a start March 04, 2007 Jim Byers CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
Overdue. Hugely welcome. But only just a start.
GTA politicians reacted with emotions ranging from uncontrolled glee to cautious optimism yesterday at news that the Tory government in Ottawa is ready to throw a huge pile of cash at everything from a subway extension to York University and Vaughan to better bus service in car-crazy Mississauga, Brampton and York Region.
As reported yesterday by Bruce Campion-Smith in the Star, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty this week will announce some $3 billion in public spending on public transit in the GTA – just as talk of a federal election heats up across the country.
"We're all just thrilled in Vaughan," Mayor Linda Jackson told the Star.
"It's a great day for all of York Region and all residents of the GTA."
Jackson said the subway extension, which has been talked about for two decades and represents the first subway in the 905, will enable her city to intensify development in the city centre as well as help the environment.
The promise of new funds "is the first spike in the development of an overall GTA transit network," a more restrained Toronto Mayor David Miller said yesterday.
"The York subway is a very important transportation connection in Toronto and York Region.
"It's good they're paying attention to transit. But we hope this is a sign that both governments are moving to permanent, sustainable funding for transit so we can build networks ... in Scarborough, Calgary and Montreal."
Miller has talked in the past about building a series of dedicated streetcar lines in North Etobicoke, Scarborough and along Don Mills Rd. and Eglinton Ave.
Jackson, meanwhile, said as great as the subway extension will be for Vaughan, the money to help York Region build dedicated bus lanes is just as important.
"Residents of York Region have a love affair with their cars, and this is a big step," the mayor said.
"You can build subways but they take a long time. The changes for VIVA (York Region's bus network) can be almost immediate."
In Mississauga, Mayor Hazel McCallion cautioned the busway planned for her city won't be ready until 2009.
"It's good that the money's starting to flow, but I don't know what impact this will have on gridlock.
"In the short term, it does nothing."
TTC chair and Toronto Councillor Adam Giambrone said the subway extension, which will cost Ottawa, Queen's Park and the City of Toronto andYork Region some $2 billion, won't be ready until 2014.
Ottawa will pay $697 million as its share of the subway extension, as part of its total transit contribution of more than $1 billion. The subway will run 8.7 kilometres from Downsview Station to the Vaughan City centre, with a stop at York University.
Other projects that will get federal money include:
# A bus-only road along Highway 403 and Eastgate Parkway from Burnhamthorpe Rd. to Eglinton Ave.
# Brampton's AcceleRide program, aimed at speeding up buses in the car-dependent city;
# A program to get York Region buses out of clogged roads and into dedicated bus-only lanes;
# Widening Highway 7 and looking at an extension of Highway 407 east to link up with Highway 401.
# A study of rapid transit options for Durham Region.
"We're symbolically piercing the 416/905 barrier, which is huge," said Toronto Councillor Brian Ashton, a member of the newly created Greater Toronto Transportation Authority.
Ashton said the fact so much money is being poured into the suburbs recognizes that traffic in the 905 is just as bad, if not worse, than in Toronto.
That's the point Miller makes when he rejects the idea of a congestion tax on cars coming into downtown Toronto.
Tomorrow in Montreal, Miller and the other big-city mayors in the caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities are scheduled to unveil their plan for a national transit strategy.
A couple points I'd like to highlight:
"is the first spike in the development of an overall GTA transit network," - The first spike must be laid somewhere, and sadly, there would be detractors and opponents, regardless of where the next project was built. I recall that some opponents to the St. Clair right-of-way complained of a political bias towards downtown.
"We're symbolically piercing the 416/905 barrier, which is huge... the fact so much money is being poured into the suburbs recognizes that traffic in the 905 is just as bad, if not worse, than in Toronto." - The GTA needs to stop thinking of itself as a superior city with inferior suburbs. We are an integrated region with blurred borders, and we will not succeed unless we recognize that point.
I'm also looking forward to the national transit strategy the mayors plan to announce. It may help solve the many other transit problems this region and this country faces.
2014 is a far away, but the tangible and symbolic benefits are worth the wait.
I cannot put to words how exciting this morning's news was. Toronto is long overdue for large-scale transit projects, and hopefully, when the financial, environmental and political benefits of this project are realized, it will lead to a wave of transit projects in the GTA. Here's how I see it:
A subway to York University and Vaughan will reduce the number of trips made to and from the area which are done by car. Vaughan and other northwestern residents will have a transit option instead of driving into the city on the congested highway 400.
Overall system crowding will be reduced, as riders on the 36 Finch West, 60 Steeles West and 77 Highway 7 will be diverted onto the underused Spadina Subway and away from the overcrowded Yonge Line. Also, the overcrowded 196 York University Rocket will be eliminated, and the buses used elsewhere on the system.
This line will spur redevelopment and intensification around the stations, just as the Sheppard Subway has done in North York. The increased transportation will cause land values to skyrocket, and will encourage the big box stores currently located there to take advantage and sell. Developers will then build higher density to better recuperate the money they spent to purchase the property.
I concede the point that this project does address the transit needs of the entire city or the entire region. However, that it itself should not condemn the project. This subway line will bring rapid transit much closer to the Jane & Finch neighborhood, and will bring rapid transit to areas which are experiencing heavy congestion.
Perhaps even more importantly than the physical infrastructure is the progress we have made furthering the transit issue with the provincial and federal government. That is priceless.
$697M seals subway deal Harper and McGuinty to announce federal funding next week for long-awaited extension of Spadina line into York Region March 03, 2007 Bruce Campion-Smith OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA–The final piece of the puzzle is in place to build the first-ever subway line beyond the border of Toronto into York Region, with a stop at York University, the Star has learned.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty will announce next week that the federal government will pump $697 million into the plan to extend the Spadina subway from Downsview station. The province and the municipalities of Toronto and York have already committed money.
As well, the federal government will announce funding for:
A Mississauga transitway, a bus-only road along Highway 403 and Eastgate Parkway from Burnhamthorpe Rd. to Eglinton Ave. E.
Brampton's $280-million Acceleride project, meant to speed bus service. Ontario has already committed $95 million for the improvements.
An expansion of York Region's Viva bus system. York Region officials want to get buses on to dedicated lanes.
The widening of Highway 7, in the amount of $55 million.
An environmental assessment to extend Highway 407 eastward to link up with Highway 401. This would go through federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's Whitby-Oshawa riding.
A $5 million study of rapid transit in Durham.
The announcement comes with both the federal and provincial governments attempting to prove they are serious about protecting the environment. More public transit means fewer cars on the road and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
It comes with the possibility of a federal election this spring, and winning Ontario seats is a must for Harper to win a majority government. On March 19, the federal budget will likely have a lot of goodies for Quebec, and the Tories wanted to make a big splash in advance in Ontario.
McGuinty faces re-election Oct. 10.
Once contributions from Ontario and the various municipalities are factored in, the projects represent a $3.2-billion investment to help GTA commuters get around.
In December, Flaherty declared, "public transit generally is significant ... and environmentally important."
At the heart of the announcement is the $2-billion extension of the TTC's University-Spadina subway line to York University and into York Region to help cope with population growth north of Toronto.
About six kilometres of the 8.6-kilometre line will be in Toronto. A "preferred alignment" on the TTC website shows stations at Sheppard West, Finch West, York University, Steeles West in Toronto and Highway 407 and Vaughan Centre in York Region.
There has been a demand for years to make York University more accessible for its 65,000 students and staff.
The provincial government has already set aside $670 million for its one-third share of the huge project. Toronto and York Region last September set aside long-standing differences and agreed on a deal to split their $670-million share of construction work.
Despite active lobbying by the province and municipal officials, the federal contribution has been the hold-up, until now.
Now, thanks to this announcement, workers could break ground as early as this summer on the 8.6-kilometre extension from Downsview station, through the York campus and across Steeles Ave. to the Vaughan town centre.
The negotiations around the subway funding date back months with Flaherty and his Ontario counterpart, Greg Sorbara, frequently discussing the province's demand for additional transit cash. The extension goes through Sorbara's Vaughan-King-Aurora riding.
"We're going to move ahead on that project and I believe that at the right time the federal government will be a partner. There is a huge political risk for them if they're not," Sorbara said after one of their meetings last December. Speculation has been rampant for weeks that an announcement was near but it was only on Thursday that the federal cabinet gave the green light for the spending, sources say.
News of the announcement comes as big city mayors, including Toronto Mayor David Miller, gather in Montreal tomorrow and Monday to discuss plans for a national transit strategy.
I'll admit, the Brampton Project's episode on Brampton Transit did have some flaws. One can expect that in the snow, buses will not run on schedule. But, that in itself is not enough to dismiss it as being invalid.
The video was meant to be a social commentary on living in the suburbs. The truth is that you cannot live in the suburbs without a car. Service is not frequent enough, and does not take you close enough to your destination. I believe that public transportation is critical to the viability of our urban spaces, the future of the environment, and our own health and safety. Brampton transit is the fastest growing system in Canada, but it has a long way to go.
The Brampton Project was trying to prove that without a car, mobility in Brampton is impossible. If it were a bright summer day, the results would have been the same.
Construction of a new condo tower is set to begin, bringing an end to the George Street parking lot at Brampton GO Station. Affectionately known as the gravel lot, it was the only guaranteed parking spot after the rush hour.
From now on, I suppose you can park at any of the malls along Main Street and shell out fifty cents to take Brampton Transit the rest of the way.
A 73-year-old Brampton woman suffered a concussion after she ran into the side of a Brampton Transit bus Wednesday morning, Peel police report.
The bus had just finished letting off passengers at the Bramalea City Centre station and was making a U-turn in the lot when the woman, who was running across the lot, ran into it.
She fell back and hit her head, according to police. She was taken to hospital and kept overnight for observation.
...Only in Brampton.
Please stick to the sidewalks and crosswalks at bus loops.
Residents furious with new transit terminal - Brampton Guardian
Residents furious with new transit terminal
PAM DOUGLAS
What residents in a northwest Brampton subdivision thought was a park is now being turned into a major Brampton Transit terminal on Sandalwood Parkway, and that has homeowners saying they feel misled by the city.
Three baseball diamonds in Caterpillar Park on Sandalwood, west of Hurontario Street, have been in place for more than a decade, even before the subdivision to the west of the land was built. There was no sign on the property indicating a major transit facility was planned for the site.
That has residents like Brian Houselander upset and concerned about noise, emissions and property values.
"We took two years to find this property, find a good builder, and decided this is going to be our last house," said Houselander. "For six years we have lived here, just the baseball fields, nice and quiet on the weekends even at that, and no sign indicating this bus garage was going to be placed here. If I had seen that when I was driving by looking for this particular piece of property, I would never have bought here. You can bet this is going to decrease our home values considerably when it's finished."
His neighbours are equally upset about the prospect of having the bus terminal operating on the adjacent land.
Recently bought a house
"I think the key issue is, they didn't warn us," Houselander said.
Daniel Bielawski has just bought a home in the subdivision, which was built in 1998. He has yet to move in, and when he found out about the transit facility, he contacted Mayor Susan Fennell and city staff, asking if the decision could be reversed. He was told it could not. Construction has already begun and, despite the temporary baseball diamonds that have been on the site since at least 1996, the property is zoned "industrial" and was never meant to be kept as a park, according to city officials. The zoning has been in place since 1988.
The city has apologized to residents in a letter for not notifying them construction on the facility was about to begin last month, and in an e-mail to Bielawski, Fennell agreed a sign should have been on the property informing residents of what was in the future plans for the city-owned land. She said the land was never meant to be a park, but the diamonds were a "temporary use" until the transit facility was needed.
The master bedrooms in the homes backing onto the city land are all on the second floor, he said.
"When you walk up to the master bedroom and look out, all you're going to see is this bus garage," he said.
He said the buses will be coming and going all day, starting at 5 a.m. and going until 11 p.m. or midnight as bus drivers begin and end their regular shifts.
Traffic on Sandalwood Parkway is "nuts", he said, so the addition of bus traffic is going to make it worse.
Houselander said the best residents can hope for now is a tall enough berm between the homes and the terminal to block the view and any potential emissions, he said. That berm would have to be as high as the rooftops, which would make it 40 feet tall, he said, because the industrial land is 16 feet lower than the subdivision, and he is skeptical the berm can be built that high.
"And we would still have to live with the drone of the noise," Houselander said.
The city is in a rush to build the much-needed facility to accommodate the rapid expansion of Brampton Transit. The $28 million project has been put on an "accelerated" construction schedule that will see it completed in just 14 months. It is expected to open in the spring of 2008.
Noise-reduction measures
It isn't a public facility, but a secondary facility that will support 200 buses and contain a maintenance garage with 11 hoists, a control centre and an expanded customer service call centre.
A city works and transportation yard is located on the east side of the site, and it will remain.
The city said it will have noise-reduction measures, including a building designed to minimize noise impacts on the surrounding residential properties.
Diesel emissions will be mitigated, according to the city, and computer model testing done by the construction manager indicates it will meet all Ministry of the Environment air emission standards.
The city's only existing transit facility is at 185 Clark Blvd. and it is currently supporting a fleet of 190 buses, 40 more than its capacity.
Brampton Transit ridership is expanding at approximately five times the national average, according to the city.
Transit Director Sue Bass said she is confident ridership will break the 10 million mark this year. October was a record month, with 967,000 passengers, a 14 per cent increase compared to October 2005.
"This growth is causing extreme pressure for transit service increases to be planned and implemented at regular intervals," according to Bass.
Last year, Brampton Transit increased service by 25 per cent and moved to a grid-based system. This year, service was increased another 10 per cent.
The baseball diamonds on the site were removed and the lights and bleachers put in storage to be re-used at another site. Sports groups using the diamonds were re-located, according to city officials.
This transit garage has been in the works for years and is necessary to improve transit in Brampton, but with houses so close, the city should have done more to notify the residents, or should have relocated the garage to a more industrialized area of the city. Either further north, near the brick works, or somewhere along the heavily industrialized Steeles Ave. corridor.
One of my planning textbooks suggests that NIMBY-ism stems from members of the community feeling like they were unable to participate in the planning process. This is a clear example of that theory in action. So what can we do about these situations? I propose a three pronged plan:
If you move to a house close to a nuisance land use, like an airport or rail yard, you do so at your own peril. It was there before you, don't expect it to change, and don't believe anyone who promises you it will change.
The developer should show the secondary and subdivision plan for the whole area to prospective buyers, not just the land that the subdivision sits on. Trying to hide things from prospective buyers or telling them that a nearby nuisance is set to close down should be, if it isn't already, criminal.
The planning process needs to be much more inclusive and give citizens many more opportunities to participate. While we cannot let proposals be killed because of citizen opposition, we must let citizens know that they can help make changes that will lead to a solution everyone can agree upon.
Here are the October service changes for some of the GTA systems: TTC - October 15
23 Dawes, 15 Evans, 504 King, 102 Markham Rd & 73 Royal York all have increased service.
509 Harbourfront, 86 Scarborough, 85 Sheppard East & 165 Weston Rd North all have seasonal service reductions, due to fewer people going to Harbourfront, Metro Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland, respectively.
192 Airport Rocket, 191 Highway 27 Rocket, 79 Scarlett Rd & 84 Sheppard West all have general schedule changes.
33 Forest Hill has been rerouted at the north end of the route for a trial period - again. Service is now 30 minutes instead of 20. Expect this to not be the last change this route sees.
Mississauga Transit - October 23
Accessible service comes to 1 Dundas, 1C Dundas-Collegeway, 8 Cawthra-Indian road & 68 Windsor Hill
5B Dixie-Meyerside, 24 University, 34 Credit Valley & 42 Derry all have either improved frequency, more coverage or both.
38A Creditview-Argentia & 6 Credit Woodlands-Westdale both ahve new Sunday service, though 38A Sunday will not serve the Meadowpine Industrial area.
Brampton Transit - October 30
Schedule adjustments come on 4 Chinguacousy (Saturday), 12 Grenoble (all days), 23 Sandalwood (all days), 53 Kingknoll (weekday) & 77 Finch Subway (weekday and Saturday)
York Region Transit - October 29
1 Highway 7 has its last two eastbound trips using highway 7 all the way to Markham-Stouffville Hospital.
4 Major Mackenzie stops serving Canada's Wonderland, and has changes to the first westbound trip.
9 Stouffville has more coverage in Stouffville, and changes to an afternoon rush trip.
20 Jane-Concord stops serving Canada's Wonderland, but like the 4, will return next year.
33 Wellington has changes to a morning rush trip to improve connections.
77 Highway 7-Centre, covered in the Brampton Transit section, has schedule changes in the afternoon rush and on Saturday.
91/91A Bayview South has changes to morning rush trips to improve connections.
300 Business Express will no longer serve Motorola, as VIVA does the job nicely. It's cut back to IBM with minor adjustments.
522 Markham Community Bus makes its debut, replacing Mobility Plus service in the area.
445 St Robert School Special has its morning 7:20 trip absorbed into the 82 schedule.
Greetings. I'm a graduate of Ryerson University's School of Urban and Regional Planning, and my interest in public transportation systems began at a very young age. Over the years, I've developed many ideas on how to improve public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and have been advocating for investment in public transportation, better urban design and more sustainable communities since 2003.
I am a writer, advocate and activist, and I have served on the Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan advisory committee, where I have been able to offer my opinion on transportation policy in the GTHA.
On this blog and its companion website, www.gttavisions.com, I will chronicle my observations, travels and visions for public transit in Canada's largest city-region.
I hope you enjoy what I have to say, and never hesitate to leave me a comment or write me an email at andrae@gttavisions.com
