dowlingm Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 I have to say I dislike what I've seen of Judy W-L's statements that boil down to being in favour of BRT because New Flyer doesn't make LRVs. http://www.chrisd.ca/blog/26465/judy-wasyl...uncement-video/ If we want to seek a national transit strategy in this country then we need a strong and competitive transport manufacturing sector. After all, if Winnipeg bought LRVs from Bombardier Transportation (as much a German company as a Quebec one) those streetcars would have a shorter distance to travel from TB than if delivered to Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DE40LFR Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 I think Judy's opinion in this issue is fantastic! Her point on this issue alone would make me want to vote for her (fortunately I can't yet) I want to see the entire project done as BRT, and see the local economy benefit from it too. Good job Wasylycia-Leis! I find this quote interesting: She also said the City of Winnipeg needs to rethink how it tenders contracts, and consider awarding them to local businesses first, and not whoever can offer the lowest price. So if New Flyer had higher prices for buses, Winnipeg would still purchase them! I also hope she gets the Bus garage extension done earlier and give more funding to transit to improve on the route structure and how the system works. I hate how there's no input into where and what routes will operate and how long they operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WpgBusDriver Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 Now that the Jubilee overpass is open you can see the entrance/exit to the bus way on the westbound Jubilee to northbound Pembina roadway. And the left turn lane from east bound Jubilee. Buses only maybe??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinguni Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Buses only maybe??? Hard to say. Can't see that there would be much need for cars to turn there though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WpgBusDriver Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Hard to say. Can't see that there would be much need for cars to turn there though. Looking at it again today, it's not really a left turn lane after all. The road just goes from 1 lane coming off Pembina to two lanes just before the traffic lights on Jubilee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WpgBusDriver Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 PRELIMINARY ROUTE NETWORK PLAN for the busway 606___Preliminary_Route_Network_Plan.pdf 606___Preliminary_Route_Network_Plan.pdf 606___Preliminary_Route_Network_Plan.pdf 606___Preliminary_Route_Network_Plan.pdf 606___Preliminary_Route_Network_Plan.pdf 606___Preliminary_Route_Network_Plan.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinguni Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 PRELIMINARY ROUTE NETWORK PLAN for the busway There was a revision issued to that bulletin already. Looks like they plan to keep the 60 running the same route it does now, and there's a addition of route 99 to provide service over the Midtown bridge. I'd expect changes before RT opens though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WpgBusDriver Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 There was a revision issued to that bulletin already. Looks like they plan to keep the 60 running the same route it does now, and there's a addition of route 99 to provide service over the Midtown bridge. I'd expect changes before RT opens though. I'm sure in the next 12 months (or more, will it even be ready by next November??) there will be many changes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusRider Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Activists want BRT finished No budget cash for project, project backer laments Rapid transit advocates want Mayor Sam Katz to finish what he started and plan to reignite their push to get city council to extend the southwest corridor to the University of Manitoba. The $138-million first phase of the rapid-transit corridor is slated to be complete later this year, and will create a 3.6-kilometre link between Queen Elizabeth Way near The Forks and Jubilee Avenue at Pembina Highway. The bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor will allow riders to bypass traffic gridlock in areas such as Confusion Corner, but extending the line to the University of Manitoba has dropped off city council's priority list. Thomas Novak says advocates will hold events in an attempt to put transit back on the city's radar. Thomas Novak, past co-chairman of the Winnipeg Rapid Transit Coalition, said there was not a penny for any sort of rapid transit -- bus or light-rail -- in Winnipeg's 2011 capital budget. He said he's not convinced Katz and his inner circle have any intention of moving ahead on a second phase, despite concerns over traffic gridlock on Pembina Highway due to the new football stadium at the University of Manitoba. Novak said advocates will hold events in the coming weeks in an attempt to put transit back on the city's radar. While he declined to specify what is planned, Novak said he believes public pressure to get the job done will be the only impetus on council to move ahead with the project. "We believe it's only going to be pressure that will convince the mayor and EPC that this has to be finished," Novak said. "We don't see evidence the mayor is committed to any kind of rapid transit because there's not a cent for BRT or LRT money in this year's capital budget." Katz declined to speak to the Free Press about rapid transit and a spokesman for the mayor said "there is nothing new to report." Last year, Katz turned down $130 million in infrastructure-stimulus funding for the second phase of the busway that would create a six-kilometre extension to Bison Drive at the U of M. He said it wasn't enough money and said he would rather see the Building Canada Fund used to finance road and bridge projects, including traffic improvements around Polo Park and an extension of the Chief Peguis Trail. During last fall's municipal election campaign, Katz told Winnipeggers he will continue to lobby other levels of government to transform the first phase of the southwest corridor into a light-rail route and try to access P3 Canada Funds for the project. Since then, there has been no update on the status of the project. "We're waiting because the mayor has other priorities," said Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi. Gerbasi said the mayor has deferred the second phase -- for which there is still no plan or design -- which could lead to further cost overruns. She said Winnipeggers will probably scratch their heads once the first phase is complete as transit riders will be able to bypass downtown traffic congestion only to wind up back in traffic on Pembina Highway. "It's going to be very frustrating for transit riders," Gerbasi said. "When people are stuck in traffic waiting to go to the stadium, they're going to be thinking, 'Why didn't we finish this thing?' " Novak said he's optimistic Winnipeggers will want more rapid transit lines once the first line is operational later this year. He said city council would be foolish not to accept federal-provincial dollars earmarked for the project. "Build the rapid transit and Winnipeggers will say, 'We need this all over the rest of the city,'" Novak said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WpgBusDriver Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I was looking at the bus way along Donald and got thinking. With those walls on either side of the roadway, what is the plan for snow removal??? You can't exactly go down it with a grader or plow there's no where for the snow to pile up along the sides. I can just see the first major snowfall happening around rush hour on a Friday afternoon and all the BRT buses taking longer to get to Pembina than the ones on normal streets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted April 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2011 Rapid Transit End of the Road. The literal end of the road of phase 1 of the southwest rapid transit Transitway, alongside the CNR main line at Pembina Highway. Whether it turns out to be the political end of the road too remains to be seen. There is no firm construction schedule for phase 2 and a promise by the Mayor to implement light rail transit remains an unfunded mirage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted May 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 Article in the May 24th, 2011, edition of the Winnipeg Free Press Busway set to roll next April-- Completion expected by end of year -- Tunnel construction underway now By: Bartley Kives Posted: 05/24/2011 1:00 AM Work continues on the Winnipeg rapid transit corridor that runs along Pembina Highway. Winnipeg's first dedicated busway won't be ready to roll until April 2012, even though it is expected construction will be completed on schedule this year. Winnipeg Transit buses running between downtown and Fort Garry will be able to bypass the traffic around Confusion Corner next spring by using the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor, a 3.6-kilometre busway that runs from Queen Elizabeth Way near The Forks to Jubilee Avenue at Pembina Highway. ... Read the rest of the article here: Busway set to roll next April Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted May 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 This was the first weekend for installation of the transitway overpass over Osborne Street. This weekend nine I-beams were installed on the west side of the overpass. The beams reach out over the west sidewalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted August 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 The Osborne Station superstructure is now largely in place. I believe this is the only station that will have a full roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armorand Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Looking good! Wonder if it'd be possible to get a tunnel picture... So what's the plan on keeping cars off this busway??? You see cars all the time on Graham, Vaughan and going into the bus bays at the shopping centres. Once you get onto the busway at either end will there be a way off or will you be able to go all the way to the other end? I can see a lot of people driving on it. Remember Winnipeg motorists are not exactly the smartest bunch Warning, then $2000 fine! Thats gonna keep them off the SWRTC. Mwahahahahaaaaa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted August 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Looking good! Wonder if it'd be possible to get a tunnel picture... With Warsaw Avenue all dug up access to the north end to take pictures is not currently possible. Access to the south end has never been possible without trespassing, since it's bounded on all sides by private property. Here's a tunnel picture (north end) from April 24th, 2011, when Warsaw Ave was still accessible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted September 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2011 Some observations from the last week or so... Queen Elizabeth Way/Stradbrook Trees and sod removed, roadbed of southbound transitway connection from QEW under construction. Harkness Station Northbound platform largely poured. Haven't started the forms for the southbound platform yet (or the missing sidewalk on the south side of Stradbrook). I heard the shelter structures have arrived. Transitway behind Masonic Lodge This is one of the last pieces of the running roadbed to be built. Grading and gravel roadbed looks complete or close to complete. Still needs asphalt (or more likely concrete). Osborne Station Roof trusses are being installed. Looks like about two thirds of them are in. Haven't started any of the glass installation which will enclose the walls and roof. Pedestrian entrance on the west side of Osborne Street looks largely complete. (It has what looks like a badly designed narrow throat at the Jessie end.) They were installing the electrical insulating fence (there's an adjacent hydroelectric substation) this past week. Pedestrian entrance on the east side of Osborne isn't really started yet. That area is still occupied by the crane lifting the roof trusses into place. Warsaw Avenue Reconstruction The new, wider, road surface for Warsaw between the Transitway and Pembina Highway has been poured. There is still curb work to do. The mounts for the traffic lights at Pembina are in. I heard there is a design flaw at the Transitway end. An irregular merge layout between bus traffic entering and exiting the Transitway and car traffic moving between Warsaw and the alley to Jessie. Luckily the car volume should be minimal. Tunnel Under Canadian National Railway This is the one area it's almost impossible to observe without trespassing. From what little one can see from Warsaw Avenue it looks quite close to completion. There's a giant "rt" logo on the westside tunnel entrance wall. The whole "rt" (pronounced "artee" apparently) and red-white-blue colour scheme is a bit of a yawner if you ask me, and it looks really American. Fort Rouge Station (I really think this station should be called "Morley" or "Lord Roberts".) Haven't started the forms for the boarding platforms yet. The bus loop (for the 95) has been in for quite a while. There's an outer loop for route 95 buses and an inner loop for (I'm guessing) station drop-offs by car. The two loops share one northbound side making the whole station foreground resemble a giant paperclip. Extension of Morley Avenue to the station is in, as is the parallel "active transportation" path (which we used to call a sidewalk...). The corresponding active transportation path connecting the station to Arnold Avenue is not complete. Morley - Jubilee Leg Construction is underway of a parallel active transportation path. Grading and graveling is complete all the way to Jubilee. I'm guessing asphalt is to come... Jubilee Station OMG there's a fourth station! The boarding platforms are complete at Jubilee Station (on the Transitway on/off ramps at the Jubilee overpass offramps). Sidewalks connecting the two platforms to each other, and to Jubilee Avenue, are staked out but not yet built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted September 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2011 Two pictures from 22 September 2011: [1]. #152 navigates the paperclip at Fort Rouge Station. View is from the southbound station platform (see the red paint circles on the ground) across the station to the paperclip (the route 95 stops). The CAT shovel on the left is working on the new transit garage site. [2]. #152 exits the paperclip onto the transitway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 A small number of observations. Osborne Station All the roof trusses have been in place for a while now. Welding was continuing recently to connect it all together. At the moment there is a gap between the building segment built on solid ground east of Osborne, and the segment built on the bridge over Osborne. I suppose there is some sort of building equivalent of an expansion joint that fills the gap. Harkness Station Poured piles have been installed to support some sort of station building at the south end of the southbound platform. The northbound platform didn't get similar piles, and is completed looking like a yellow-safety-edged sidewalk. Fort Rouge Station Poured piles for some stort of station building have been installed at the north end of the northbound platform and the south end of the southbound platform. Forms for a knee-high concrete barrier/planter have been built and filled between the route 95 bus bays and the inner loop of the paperclip (a drop-off area, maybe?). Poles for traffic signs have been installed (but not the signs themselves). In Sunday's high wind standing among them was like attending a talentless recorder concert. Transitway between Scott Street and Osborne Station Concrete road surface is poured. Transitway between tunnel and Brandon Avenue As of Sunday concrete for the southbound lane of the road surface had been poured. Active Transportation path between Morley and Jubilee The middle 95% or so of this has been paved with asphalt, leaving the north 20 metres and the south 150 metres or so to be paved. The earth "plug" blocking the Morley Avenue extension to Fort Rouge Station, at the point where the AT path meets Morley, has been removed. I spoke with a CN worker near Osborne Station a couple of days ago and he said they have another track repositioning to do. He seemed annoyed that they had shifted the main line so many times to accommodate various phases of the tunnel construction... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armorand Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 A small number of observations.Osborne Station All the roof trusses have been in place for a while now. Welding was continuing recently to connect it all together. At the moment there is a gap between the building segment built on solid ground east of Osborne, and the segment built on the bridge over Osborne. I suppose there is some sort of building equivalent of an expansion joint that fills the gap. Harkness Station Poured piles have been installed to support some sort of station building at the south end of the southbound platform. The northbound platform didn't get similar piles, and is completed looking like a yellow-safety-edged sidewalk. Fort Rouge Station Poured piles for some stort of station building have been installed at the north end of the northbound platform and the south end of the southbound platform. Forms for a knee-high concrete barrier/planter have been built and filled between the route 95 bus bays and the inner loop of the paperclip (a drop-off area, maybe?). Poles for traffic signs have been installed (but not the signs themselves). In Sunday's high wind standing among them was like attending a talentless recorder concert. Transitway between Scott Street and Osborne Station Concrete road surface is poured. Transitway between tunnel and Brandon Avenue As of Sunday concrete for the southbound lane of the road surface had been poured. Active Transportation path between Morley and Jubilee The middle 95% or so of this has been paved with asphalt, leaving the north 20 metres and the south 150 metres or so to be paved. The earth "plug" blocking the Morley Avenue extension to Fort Rouge Station, at the point where the AT path meets Morley, has been removed. I spoke with a CN worker near Osborne Station a couple of days ago and he said they have another track repositioning to do. He seemed annoyed that they had shifted the main line so many times to accommodate various phases of the tunnel construction... I wonder if the Route Map will be revised from whats currently on the RT side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I wonder if the Route Map will be revised from whats currently on the RT side An interesting question. I wonder if, considering the scope of the changes, Winnipeg Transit will release the revised service to the public earlier than their traditional one week before "go live"? Others will know more than me but I seem to recall a close to complete overhaul of routes and schedules for not only Pembina Highway/University but also Osborne village, Linden Woods & Whyte Ridge, and even Grant services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armorand Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 An interesting question. I wonder if, considering the scope of the changes, Winnipeg Transit will release the revised service to the public earlier than their traditional one week before "go live"? Others will know more than me but I seem to recall a close to complete overhaul of routes and schedules for not only Pembina Highway/University but also Osborne village, Linden Woods & Whyte Ridge, and even Grant services. Ah, alrighty. It'd be nice to see 39 go to the Fort Rouge station as well as the 95. The 39 going there instead of downtown would increase the Rapid Transit brand, and make the route ALOT more frequent and fuller (Along with making it more of an Park-and-Ride). Waiting at 360 Main for the 55 today, I saw one go by completely empty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armorand Posted October 21, 2011 Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 New RT Scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinguni Posted October 22, 2011 Report Share Posted October 22, 2011 New RT Scheme Easier to see like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transit boy Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 I was that FRG last night with my friend and i seen the route map for a BRT here is what a got 84 and 86 are going to Windermere 65 and 66 are going to memorial and york and a new route 99 is going down to where the 29 turns around down donald to river a thing then around osborne village back on smith to RRC down town Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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