Quote:
Originally Posted by Hybrid247
It's entirely possible, but I somehow doubt that would be the case. I don't see why they wouldn't just secure a corridor in the subdivision plan, like they did Avalon, and simply plan for grade-separated crossings. |
The "Avalon" corridor is a good example. If you look at the approved EA for the
Cumberland Transitway you can see that they were proposing at-grade, signalized crossings at Esprit, Portobello, and Provence, plus two signalized MUP crossings. Now lets imagine we are putting LRT down that corridor, and we are following the City's (silly / stupid) requirement for complete grade-separation. You could do one of the following:
Option 1: Grade Separate Major Roads- Grade separate Portobello (road over rail), maybe Esprit (rail over road probably), and Trim (road over rail).
- Dead-end Provence, and maybe Esprit, and remove MUP crossings
Option 2: Elevated Rail- All roads and MUPs are automatically grade-separated.
In terms of cost, I'd imagine Option 1 and Option 2 are actually fairly comparable. However Option 2 has way better community connectivity, and there is no need to change the vertical grade of the road or the rail throughout the alignment. Disadvantage of Option 2 is that an established community usually doesn't like to see elevated rail right outside their backyard (NIMBYism). Elevated rail probably would of been the preferred option for the Byron / Richmond corridor if it wasn't for that disadvantage.
The Kanata LRT doesn't (or shouldn't) have the NIMBY problem because it doesn't run through established communities. Another advantage of elevated rail in the Kanata LRT context is that the LRT is supposed to run directly next to a new north-south major arterial road between Maple Grove and Hazeldean. If the LRT was at-grade then the entirety of the intersections between the new N-S arterial and Maple Grove / Hazeldean (and intersections with any other east-west collectors) would have to be elevated above the LRT ($$$). That's why, when running directly next to a major roadway, its better to either elevate (see Millenium Line next to Lougheed Highway in Vancouver) or depress (see the Transitway / LRT trench next to Scott Street in Ottawa) the rail. This also applies to when the Kanata LRT is running next to Huntmar.
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