nfitz
Superstar
I'm puzzled how the 80 km/hr vehicle speed rather than 100 km/hr is a constraint.
I haven't read the rest of that figure. Hard to take is seriously now.
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Waterloo Region Transit Developments (ION LRT, new terminal, GRT buses)
I haven't read the rest of that figure. Hard to take is seriously now.
Northern Light
Superstar
Excellent work! Ty for posting.
kalis0490
New Member
The region has unveiled a new business case for Cambridge GO:
https://pub-regionofwaterloo.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=8846
Its a pretty similar plan to the last batch but its a lot more detailed
Complimentary BlogTO "article"
https://www.blogto.com/city/2024/08/proposed-go-transit-line-ontario/
https://pub-regionofwaterloo.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=8846
Its a pretty similar plan to the last batch but its a lot more detailed
Complimentary BlogTO "article"
https://www.blogto.com/city/2024/08/proposed-go-transit-line-ontario/
emphurent
Active Member
Grand River Transit is making quick work of a new path up to the train from the bus stops (something meant to be done 10 years ago when the grade separation occured!)
Metrolinx and the region are coordinating Construction agreements to get the new platforms started, so this will be useful in the meantime.
Metrolinx and the region are coordinating Construction agreements to get the new platforms started, so this will be useful in the meantime.
chrisw
Active Member
GRT Business Plan
Grand River Transit's business plan will provide a roadmap to guide transit investment priorities to 2030 and beyond
www.engagewr.ca
GRT 2025-2030 Business Plan
Image 1: Frequent Transit Network, and Highway Express.
Conventional Bus and Train Business Plan
Guide the expansion of conventional bus and train services, to ensure GRT can meet the needs of a rapidly-growing population and support the Region’s commitment to reducing community emissions.The plan focuses on strategic transit priorities identified by riders, the community, GRT and the Region:
- Frequency, Speed, Customer-driven innovation, Strategic new coverage, and Simple and intuitive transit
- Frequent transit network: Service every 10 minutes on weekdays, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., and every 15 minutes all other times, on 16 routes in Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo
- Highlighted network concept in red. Proposed network routes includes 301, 302, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 7, 8, 12, 16, 20, 51, 53, 61.
- Riders will benefit from improved transfers, save up to 6 minutes during peak times and 8 minutes during off-peak times.
- Strategic new coverage: Strategic expansion focused on new growth and industrial areas with streamlined routes for useful improvements to coverage
- Focus areas includes Cambridge Industries, Southwest Kitchener, North Waterloo
- Consistent schedules: Enhance frequency to make schedules more consistent all-day, everyday, so more transit trips are more equitable and intuitive for more riders
- Focus on Improved Evening Schedules,
- New and improved weekend service
- More consistent schedules all day during the weekday as the GRT bus fleet grows.
- Highway express: Introduce frequent and rapid single-seat service between Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, giving riders more time back in their day
- Highlighted in concept in Green.
- Service every 15 min, all day, every day.
- Four stops at Cambridge Centre, Pinebush, Sportsworld, Conestoga.
- Potential time savings for riders of up to 35 minutes between Cambridge and Waterloo.
- Supports ridership growth ahead of Stage 2 ION and Cambridge-Guelph passenger rail projects
- Overnight network: Launch 24/7 service on key routes, with 30-minute overnight frequency supporting shift workers, students, and core areas
- Overnight service every 30 minutes on core routes
- Industrial trips to support 24/7 operations (areas shaded in blue on map) [Not sure how this is going to work]
- Operational adjustments for transit security and station and stop improvements considered to support safe trips for overnight operators and riders
- Preliminary proposed overnight route includes Routes 301 (modified bus service integrated with routes 7 and 91), 302 (modified service integrated with route 51), 201, 202, 204, 8, 12, and industrial trips.
Sunnyside
Senior Member
Really quite a good plan. Overnight network is huge, way bigger than I think anyone anticipated. I don’t think this covers north Cambridge as well as the map suggests, but it’s fairly underdeveloped today so I don’t think it’s too much of an issue.
GRT Business Plan
Grand River Transit's business plan will provide a roadmap to guide transit investment priorities to 2030 and beyond
GRT 2025-2030 Business Plan
Image 1: Frequent Transit Network, and Highway Express.
View attachment 609949
Conventional Bus and Train Business Plan
Guide the expansion of conventional bus and train services, to ensure GRT can meet the needs of a rapidly-growing population and support the Region’s commitment to reducing community emissions.
The plan focuses on strategic transit priorities identified by riders, the community, GRT and the Region:
The following proposed investments would help achieve these strategic priorities:
- Frequency, Speed, Customer-driven innovation, Strategic new coverage, and Simple and intuitive transit
Image 2: Overnight network
- Frequent transit network: Service every 10 minutes on weekdays, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., and every 15 minutes all other times, on 16 routes in Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo
- Highlighted network concept in red. Proposed network routes includes 301, 302, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 7, 8, 12, 16, 20, 51, 53, 61.
- Riders will benefit from improved transfers, save up to 6 minutes during peak times and 8 minutes during off-peak times.
- Strategic new coverage: Strategic expansion focused on new growth and industrial areas with streamlined routes for useful improvements to coverage
- Focus areas includes Cambridge Industries, Southwest Kitchener, North Waterloo
- Consistent schedules: Enhance frequency to make schedules more consistent all-day, everyday, so more transit trips are more equitable and intuitive for more riders
- Focus on Improved Evening Schedules,
- New and improved weekend service
- More consistent schedules all day during the weekday as the GRT bus fleet grows.
- Highway express: Introduce frequent and rapid single-seat service between Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, giving riders more time back in their day
- Highlighted in concept in Green.
- Service every 15 min, all day, every day.
- Four stops at Cambridge Centre, Pinebush, Sportsworld, Conestoga.
- Potential time savings for riders of up to 35 minutes between Cambridge and Waterloo.
- Supports ridership growth ahead of Stage 2 ION and Cambridge-Guelph passenger rail projects
- Overnight network: Launch 24/7 service on key routes, with 30-minute overnight frequency supporting shift workers, students, and core areas
- Overnight service every 30 minutes on core routes
- Industrial trips to support 24/7 operations (areas shaded in blue on map) [Not sure how this is going to work]
- Operational adjustments for transit security and station and stop improvements considered to support safe trips for overnight operators and riders
- Preliminary proposed overnight route includes Routes 301 (modified bus service integrated with routes 7 and 91), 302 (modified service integrated with route 51), 201, 202, 204, 8, 12, and industrial trips.
View attachment 609950
The frequent/express network continues to grow, which is welcome. The network is getting close to Toronto’s density, which is impressive.
I like the highway express addition as a reworking of the 302, though I still don’t like how it doesn’t go straight to downtown Cambridge. It’s diversions really add a lot of time today, too, so hopefully they’ve addressed that.
It’s too bad I’m gone before this comes into effect!
Northern Light
Superstar
Excellent Business Plan overall.
Though the map really does highlight the absolutely insane/non-existent road grid in K-W.
Fixing all of it is out of the question, but the region really does need to take a closer look at getting some additional streets that run clear across town either E-W or N-S.
Elsewise, A really great initiative. Better transit service, when fully delivered than most U.S. cities. and all but a handful of Canadian ones.
Though the map really does highlight the absolutely insane/non-existent road grid in K-W.
Fixing all of it is out of the question, but the region really does need to take a closer look at getting some additional streets that run clear across town either E-W or N-S.
Elsewise, A really great initiative. Better transit service, when fully delivered than most U.S. cities. and all but a handful of Canadian ones.
ZEBuilder
Active Member
KW does have a decent N-S, E-W grid, its certainly not a perfect grid but the arterials due tend to follow a N-S, E-W pattern. The main E-W network consists of Ottawa, Victoria, Fairway, Bleams, Block Line, New Dundee, Bridgeport, Erb, Columbia, University (for the most part), then N-S you have Fischer-Hallman, Westmount, King, Weber, Lackner and River.
Sure its not a convential grid but it works suprisingly well all things considered. The only real exception to the grid is Lancaster and Highland which both do their own bizarre things but with the network that exists it's not hard to get around the city.
In terms of the business plan the 10 minute service has been asked for locally for a while, right now during rush hour the 7/8/12/16 are all sardine cans (not a common occurrence in KW, the busses take longer unloading at stops from how crowded they are then actual travel) and the 201 is already running on 10 minute frequencies and is still horrific most days.
The LRT is the only disappointing thing as it could definitely use some improvements at various times of day but with it being a PPP there's only so much the Region can do with regards to that.
Sunnyside
Senior Member
Second basically everything you say here. I’ll add that I got to see firsthand the progressive overcrowding of the 201- travelled from UW to around Conestoga South. The huge student influx has meant the 2 or 3 parallel routes running from Block Line/Fairview to Conestoga are all standing room only most of the time. Personally, I think the iON should head there instead of Sportsworld.
All students (incl. the unis) are contributing to routes in City of Waterloo and north Kitch as well. The 7 (King St) is shockingly crowded despite the LRT, and its local nature is severely impacted by the lack of bus lanes or TSP. The iON is not cutting into that catchment well, and the 2051 planning horizon for a solution is too far.
Point is, the uptake on the bus network has been huge, and is magnified further still on a few key corridors.
Ironically, I also do not find WR’s road network that bad to drive nor use transit on- I wouldn’t call it intuitive, but the ‘weird’ roads are like ‘desire routes’; I’ve seen few capacity/network gaps, nor discontinuities on most trips. Perhaps since the region isn’t on a lake, entering or bypassing the core(s) is a non-issue. London residents may empathize, but its refreshing coming from Ham/TO where everyone converges on the same streets.
ZEBuilder
Active Member
A lot of the capacity issues that KW has is really because of how far the major trip generators are from each other which really forces everyone into a very small number of corridors but it isn't limited to the obvious corridors, obviously it does become beneficial having the trip generators spread out as it forces the entire network to get service improvements but it creates some really bizarre ridership patterns which are noticeable on numerous routes.
Take for example route 12, it runs North-South in what is older suburbia (1960s-1990s construction primarily) it feds the entire UW/Laurier/Conestoga Waterloo area, and with 1 transfer feeds DTK. It has some major transfer points in South Kitchener where you have the routes (22 and 33) running through newer suburbia (post 2000 construction) effectively feeding into the route, those routes continue onto the LRT at Block Line Station but way more people transfer to the 12 then the LRT, before these two points most mornings there's about 10 or so seats and by the time you're done at the second point it is approaching crush load, there has been days where the bus physically cannot get more people on it. Most people wouldn't consider Westmount to be a major transit corridor but it is one of the most popular routes in KW.
The 201 has similar issues but it not only feeds the UW/Laurier/Conestoga cluster but it also feeds the Conestoga Doon campus so it has the same issues as the 12 going each direction for much of the day and it is already running on 10 minute frequencies.
The 301 also is horrifically busy when the high schools along it let out but that's expected to some degree and a lot of the issues that the LRT has with speed can easily bed fixed if some of the TSP issues got resolved in theory it could switch some of the 7 riders to it which should hopefully relieve the 7 to some degree but with the amount of construction happening in DTK (Uptown Waterloo has nothing happening) both are going to keep getting slammed without major TSP changes. The LRT has to wait for lights at intersections in some cases which is bizarre and even to leave stations.
Regardless though the business plan is an improvement especially with 10 minute service on so many routes planned.
emphurent
Active Member
To add to this update from the dedicated thread, some tidbits:
Phase 1 now may include a larger bus shelter fronting Victoria, a welcome addition if true. This minor update to the render features a Metrolinx T pylon, so I think this may be more current:
Edit: The shelter was also indicated on the updated road design, so it seems to be in the plan.
I'd imagine this to take a very similar design language to the regional standard for large shelters (Current ones are this yellow and silver, some upcoming ones are black and wood toned). (Source)
Current progress sees that proper work begins next year (maybe, finally...), meaning a tender should be posted in the coming months. Here's the specific work description that is the responsibility of the region:
This report still shows conflicting designs for some reason, it could just be a lack of understanding by those putting these materials together, but at the end the region states the design package will be available by new year, the language suggests there is a crunch to just get it done.
I am under the assumption that the 2029 date is related to when the Phase 2 building wraps up as these timelines are regional timelines, not Metrolinx... I'd hope.
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duffo
Active Member
A tender was just posted. But it's for the design and engineering... https://regionofwaterloo.bidsandten...r/Detail/dffde2bd-755b-4375-b37e-454fc0b631a9
Suggests that construction next year is highly unlikely.
chrisw
Active Member
duffo
Active Member
Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Development - April 08, 2025
GRT 10-Year Business Plan is posted.
Allandale25
Superstar
Media article mentioning Stage 2 to Cambridge. Relevant parts to LRT bolded below.
www.cambridgetimes.ca
Cambridge council raises concern about LRT and transit service gaps
Starting in July, people who qualify will get a 55 per cent discount through the Affordable Transit Program.
www.cambridgetimes.ca