Winnipeg City Transit/Rapid Transit

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I know I'm a cranky old whiner, but how about people sit in their seats and watch the game?

The Bombers wouldn't exist if those people weren't drinking the entire game. No one's making money while people sit down.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

The Bombers wouldn't exist if those people weren't drinking the entire game. No one's making money while people sit down.

It's irritating because they did not design the space with that in mind, yet that's how they want to use it. Maybe they should just rip out some end zone seats and create a standup bar area like they did in Edmonton... get the Rum Hut crowd out of the concourses that way.

[camzmac]

Bishop Grandin Off-Ramp Closing at Pembina for Rapid Transit Construction (Apr 13, 2017)

The off-ramp from eastbound Bishop Grandin Boulevard to Pembina Highway is temporary closing tonight.

The closure is in effect from 8 p.m. [Friday April 13] until Sunday, April 16 at midnight to accommodate piling construction for the southwest rapid transitway overpass structure.

Author/publisher: ChrisD.ca
Link: http://www.chrisd.ca/2017/04/13/bish...mbina-highway/

It's listed on Winnipeg.ca on the master list of lane/road closures, but the above news story provides informative context. Hopefully this will help some people adjust their long weekend driving habits.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by buzzg

The Bombers wouldn't exist if those people weren't drinking the entire game. No one's making money while people sit down.

First need to address this. The Bombers live and die by the money they get from TSN for tv rights, not people getting in on the cheapest ticket available, standing at the Rum Hut all game and buying a couple $10 beers. And yes the Bombers are well aware that you are buying the cheapest tickets available, never going to your seat and clogging up the lower bowl concourse all game. I am betting they regularly have discussions on ideas to combat those issues. I personally think they should hire some employees and basically say play is happening, either you are in transit to somewhere or you are waiting for a stop in play to return to your seat. No more standing in the concourse for extended periods.

Originally Posted by buzzg

Still curious to see what the Bombers do with the Rum Hut. With that gate now becoming likely the de facto main entrance... it's going to be a nightmare over there. Really poor planning since they new the RT station was coming eventually.

Previous years the RH location was great because no one ever used that gate, so people could hang out and take up the entrance. With the amount of people that will go through there now... yikes.

I think it was a huge mistake in the design. The smarter move would been to have make the rapid transit gate area a family friendly zone and put the Rum Hut in the opposite (south) end, near gate 2/the pre-game patio. I still also think the Bombers would have been smart to make a stand room ticketed area for the Rum Hut similar to the Enns Sky Zone they have now but more Rum Hut vibe. To get there you would either need a ticket specific to that area or you would have to pay a cover charge to get in. Once its at capacity you could wait in line like at the night club.

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I know I'm a cranky old whiner, but how about people sit in their seats and watch the game? Having the Bombers encourage standing around drinking is a big part of why IGF has circulation issues on the main concourse.

Notice that the upper level concourses have no such spaces to stand around and drink... ta-da, no congestion up there.

Its a fair point. I've had friends who go to every game invite me (and others) by saying ti just buy the cheapest seats available and hang out together in the concourse. Not my preferred way to watch to be honest, but people do it.

The Rum Hut is pretty stupid. Can't they build an addition and make it a separate area in the tailgate section or just outside the main concourse?

[MG922]

The video at the end of the article has some shots of the new stadium station at IGF, with the pedestrian bridge lifted in place.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...bers-1.4072873

[bomberjet]

Eastern Corridor Study is commencing with public engagement sessions. Get your ideas in or else you're not allowed to complain! lol All kidding aside, a very good opportunity to get involved and provide some input.

Theres a number of sessions scheduled for the upcoming weeks.

http://winnipegtransit.com/en/major-...orridor-study/

[roccerfeller]

^ Awesome to see its moving forward. I honestly thought they wouldn't start this public engagement part of the process until 2020 or 2021

[bomberjet]

Lots of banter on the internets about where the route should go. Personally I believe in a connected RT network with no on street operations to bridge the gap.

The Point Douglas route will most definitely require on street buses to get from the eastern route to the southwest route. The St. Boniface route provides that connectivity by following the tracks through Union Station right to the southwest transitway. This creates a hub at Union Station for transit. Lots of opportunity there. There is also lots of TOD opportunity immediately adjacent to Portage and Main. I think that's a huge opportunity for high density, real TOD.

Point Douglas can benefit from a new Lousie Bridge and Waterfront Drive extension. Doesn't necessarily have to be TOD. There is also opportunity for the northeast transitway to utilities the new Louise Bridge to get into PD. Then it could cross over the Red again into St. B and connect with the eastern and southeastern routes. I'll draw a map and post it here haha.

The main driver of this is transit, not TOD. TOD is a secondary factor in this.

[esquire]

^ I kind of wonder about the benefit of attempting to turn Union Station into a transit hub... we already have Graham Ave and to a slightly lesser extent, Portage. Eventually you start spreading things pretty thinly if you add a third hub to the mix. And Union Station is not especially convenient given that there aren't many big school or office towers within close walking distance, and it's not on the skywalk. Make Union Station a stop for sure, but I don't think it should be a hub.

[bomberjet]

And that's a fair point. Transit's requirements are connectivity to Graham Ave, which I agree with. Maybe not a hub in the true sense. My map below would have a 'hub' at Whittier Park, which is sort of middle of nowhere but really any hub between the transit routes in that area will be middle of nowhere, except for Point Douglas, which losses transit connectivity. I see this eastern corridor study being quite difficult. So many moving parts.

[bomberjet]

[esquire]

^ Nice job. I wonder if the city would be more inclined to run the NE and SE line directly from Archibald to Watt without venturing into Point Douglas? It would be an easy way to avoid building two river crossings (one of which will admittedly be built either way, but still) that would only get the line into the relatively sparsely-populated eastern tip of PD. Everything else looks pretty plausible.

I hope the city prioritizes completing the busway and eliminating the on-street portions of the route... I realize that means pricy new river crossings, but otherwise it's kind of half-baked.

[bomberjet]

Thanks. I was just trying to find a way to connect the northeast and southeast directly into eachother. They would intersect the eastern route at some point. I know the City has shown them both connecting to the eastern route somewhere over near Archibald. However they wouldn't align with each other. Which may not be the biggest deal anyways.

Also the reason I chose to route the northeast down Stadacona over the Louise Bridge is the City plans on re-building/expanding Stadacona to 4 lanes as part of the Louise Bridge project. So everything could be done at that time. If they wanted it grade separated, that may cause issues and force the route back to the Gateway corridor under the Nairn overpass.

Otherwise then SE route will run somewhere adjacent to Archibald, in the area of McTavish shown on the image and meet with the eastern route somewhere north of Mission/ on Mission.

[Biff]

What I find frustration about the whole plan is Graham Ave. I love the street, I love it's potential as a transit mall and it's pending density. What I don't like is that it is a dead end street, terminated at either end by heritage buildings that will never move. I would love to see the Graham transit mall be able to flow directly onto the BRT lines but unless they spend ridiculous amounts of money on ramp structures (we know wont happen) it will always take a convoluted on street path to the BRT lines.

[bomberjet]

Yes. I have the same thoughts. Buses will take a circuitous route across Main St through rush hour traffic. Which can be difficult already. Use of priority lights, diamond lanes and police enforcement would be key.

[biguc]

Good map, bomberjet. I like your idea of running the transitway over the Louise bridge, I hadn't thought of that. I really like that it allows for a station at Provencher and Des Meurons.

I've been thinking about the Louise bridge lately, and how generally useful it would be if Higgins continued straight east and connected directly to Archibald. It would help draw trucks off downtown streets, at least. The idea of making a new vehicular bridge from Higgins to Archibald, and retrofitting the existing Louise bridge for RT only appeals to me.

Another benefit I see in this alignment is in the south east line. It runs past Westeel, which is in the business of running trucks down a residential street to Des Meurons because they have no other road access. That is insanity. If a rapid transit line ran past there, with a new bridge over the Seine, it wouldn't take much to build a lane for trucks, connecting to Archibald and getting trucks of Des Meurons forever.

[Labroco]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I see transit adjacent to the tracks through PD and tight to the existing crossings. An important part of this exercises is to hopefully reconfigure lands and properties to allow for redevelopment and densification in this Waterfront North area. By grouping the tracks transit and autos together in a linear fashion most of the lands are now freed up for an amazing new neighbourhood with views back towards the city and the success of Waterfront.

This is not about bring people from the edge of town, but rather creating connectivity in the heart of the city in such a way as to show the huge benefit of an urban lifestyle in a new neghborhood. The St Boniface option already looks and feels like a dog leg with no opportunity to create new urban neighbourhoods. Lots more discussion on those issues to come...

Please let's not make the same mistakes again! A huge urban opportunity is before us. Imagine a vibrant waterfront with new urban density all the way from existing Waterfront Drive through Waterfront North right to the tip of PD. Expropriate the land already and let's get started on some base remediation as a Canada 150 project. Just imagine an Evergreen.ca project at the tip of PD when all this new infrastructure is in place! Our kids will thank us...

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by biguc

Good map, bomberjet. I like your idea of running the transitway over the Louise bridge, I hadn't thought of that. I really like that it allows for a station at Provencher and Des Meurons.

I've been thinking about the Louise bridge lately, and how generally useful it would be if Higgins continued straight east and connected directly to Archibald. It would help draw trucks off downtown streets, at least. The idea of making a new vehicular bridge from Higgins to Archibald, and retrofitting the existing Louise bridge for RT only appeals to me.

Another benefit I see in this alignment is in the south east line. It runs past Westeel, which is in the business of running trucks down a residential street to Des Meurons because they have no other road access. That is insanity. If a rapid transit line ran past there, with a new bridge over the Seine, it wouldn't take much to build a lane for trucks, connecting to Archibald and getting trucks of Des Meurons forever.

The City has looked at this (the bold part) and I'm sure will be part of this study. The City has done a previous functional design in the 2000's and there's some good stuff.

This is a rather interesting planning exercise as there are soooo many moving parts. RT, Downtown and Union Station, Waterfront Drive, Point Douglas and St. Boniface, Stadacona extensions, Gateway/Concordia upgrades, Louise Bridge, Nairn/Regent corridor, Transcona. So many area affected.

[Tacheguy]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

The City has looked at this (the bold part) and I'm sure will be part of this study. The City has done a previous functional design in the 2000's and there's some good stuff.

This is a rather interesting planning exercise as there are soooo many moving parts. RT, Downtown and Union Station, Waterfront Drive, Point Douglas and St. Boniface, Stadacona extensions, Gateway/Concordia upgrades, Louise Bridge, Nairn/Regent corridor, Transcona. So many area affected.

I guess that could also reduce the truck traffic on Provencher? I would love to see that..