Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit

[Second_in_pie]

That is far from a band-aid solution. A busway built to this scale with that type of urban high-density developments surrounding it is generating subway levels of demand and ridership to rival even that of the Yonge Line. See, I have been mocked for months when trying to say that this is what we need here in Toronto/GTA. Finch Hydro Corridor is primed for this, 4 lanes and 2 platform areas can fit there easily. Highway 27 is also another potential ROW. I don't know why anyone would prefer to spend 120 minutes on the combined Finch West-Sheppard LRT line when a Finch Hydro Corridor crosstown BRT could navigate that length in under 45. But I digress; this is really impressive and puts most North American incarnations of BRT to absolute shame.

Yeah... you don't honestly think that the reason it has all this ridership is because it's a BRT, do you? Would a subway have a lower ridership then? I'll admit, BRT has it's uses and transitways are awesome, but each system has it's pros and cons. Just as subway isn't a one size fits all solution, BRT isn't either. The only case where it has is Curitiba, and that's a very, very specific and special case.

 

[Hipster Duck]

^I agree. BRT is great for certain contexts but also sort of lousy in others. Genuine BRT is something of a space hog and it would be probably the worst rapid transit option for most of inner city Toronto. On the other hand, in a auto-dominated suburban environment it provides the greatest accessibility for the lowest cost. It also offers flexibility for feeder routes which can circulate around auto-dependent trip generation areas (like suburban office parks) and then run express in the ROW to a major hub. Genuine Bogota/Curitiba/Guangzhou-style BRT would be very powerful in the 905, especially if it links up with a fast regional rail system for longer-distance commuting.

BRT is not great in urban environments but, let's face it, 90% of the 905 will never be urbanized, anyway - and none of it will be urbanized in the tight-knit, micro-scaled approach that characterizes prewar neighbourhoods. "Urbanization" will never be the object of transport in the 905 but finding a way to move around the existing landscape in the quickest, most time-competitive way.

 

[Second_in_pie]

What do you mean when you say "urbanized"? I'd say it's more like 40% of the 905 will hopefully not get urbanized, maybe 60% not being urbanized at the best. But you aren't talking about that kind of urbanization are you?

I think you'd be surprised at just what can be done with the 905. I know in Markham and Durham, the new subdivisions are getting tighter and tighter, getting closer to resembling the denser neighborhoods close to downtown, even more than places like Bloor West or the Danforth. There's plenty to go on in those areas, in terms of both transit and urban development. It might take some buildings to be knocked down, but it's definitely doable. Suburban arterials can easily be changed to add in BRTs down the middle or 4 storey mixed use buildings on either side, and they could be built to blend right into the suburban landscape. Something like Kennedy Road from 16th to Major Mackenzie has a huge number of options to make it more walkable and more transit-friendly. Same with Brock Street through Whitby, or Steeles Avenue. And at that point, major arterials like Highway 7 and Hurontario will have enough pressure to demand LRT or even subway, on top of the very dense building that's already slated to go up all along those streets.