03-09-2022, 04:25 PM
(03-09-2022, 03:08 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:(03-09-2022, 02:37 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: I think she was speaking of bus service...there's NO way LRT would be justified at this point, only Elmira can even begin to justify full bus service, even New Hamburg/Baden isn't supporting a full bus service at this point. Ayr wants bus service.
I wouldn’t grant that. We build 4-lane roads out to new subdivisions with nobody living in them all the time; why not build LRT out to a small existing town and plan for the LRT rather than roads to take future traffic growth?
A student residence in Elmira straddling the tracks with elevators direct to platform level would be closer to UW in time than most existing student housing.
Hyperbole? Almost all existing student housing is within a 20 minute walk, and with the majority being less than 10 minutes from UW. When you include Laurier and Conestoga College the percentage of student oriented housing within 10 minute walk of a post secondary campus is probably >90%.
Elmira on the other hand, minimum travel time, by car, speeding straight down 85 from the south end of Elmira is already 15 minutes. No LRT is going to come close to being faster than walking from almost all student housing.
But I digress, I would love it if we prioritized transit in new developments. But I'm also realistic, a town of 4k (Ayr, where Sue Foxton is mayor) is not going to justify an LRT at any point in the foreseeable future. Mayor Foxton knows this, she was absolutely speaking about getting bus service to her area.
Even Elmira won't justify LRT while we have the current incentives and development plans in place. The only way for Elmira to justify LRT would be a 10x increase in the cost of driving, along with a 10x increase in density targets.