West transitway extension to run north of Queensway
Posted Mar 5, 2010 By Kimberly Lochhead
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Tweet ThisEMC News - Large groups of residents filed in and out of Maki House on Feb. 24 to view updated plans to the West Transitway Extension from Bayshore Station to Moodie Dr,. after staff chose the Queensway North route as the preferred option.
"We've selected the Queensway North route as the preferred route for the transitway based on many factors like environmental impact, noise and cost," said Jeffrey Waara, senior project manager. "We've done an evaluation of all four options and selected this route. As it stands now, we're no longer looking at the other options."
At the preliminary design stage, staff looked to the public at the third open house to obtain feedback on proposed designs and explained why the other routes were ruled out.
"We have criteria that we have to meet as well as the study objective, which requires us to have an interim configuration," explained Mr. Waara of the undesired options considered.
He said the option of running the transitway along the highway's median was ruled out, as a station is required at Moodie Dr. Another option, which staff called the CN rail route, was ruled out because of its impact on the area residents. Mr. Waara said there would have been a lot of noise in the community, and the route would have impacted residents' access to the greenbelt.
After eliminating the above routes, staff compared the remaining Queensway North and South routes, noting the south option would prove to be significantly more expensive due to the need for a bridge or tunnel to cross the highway and access the north side of the road.
"Now, the city is considering different options within the Queensway North route," Mr. Waara added. "We broke it up into the Holly Acres intersection, the Queensway main line route, Moodie Dr. and the interim configuration."
The Transportation Master Plan identified the construction of the transitway from Bayshore Station to Moodie Dr. as a priority project in 2008 since the western area of the city faced operational concerns. According to the city, there has been a decline in eastbound transit service reliability during peak hours in the area. Westbound buses drive along the paved shoulder of Highway 417 between Holly Acres Rd. and Moodie Dr. An auxiliary lane for eastbound buses was cited as not practical because of the design of the ramps for Highway 416 ramps.
With a new rapid transit route for buses, delays along the busy highways would be avoided, creating a more efficient system requiring fewer buses.
The next stage involves a comparative analysis of the different options, taking into account the collected public feedback to then create a preliminary design. Mr. Waara said the team is hoping to present the project to transit committee on April 21 for endorsement.
klochhead@thenewsemc.ca
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