Raise the Hammer

Mr. Meister,

While I agree with you that the entire lenght of the line is not "dense enough", I would disagree with the usefulness of a small LRT system.

One of the most important concerns with LRT is where to locate the stations. You need to locate them in places where people are heading to, or coming from. This lines up with the "nodes" of the city's nodes and corridor transit study. Where there is no discernable core to a city, or no "destinations" ridership is so difuse that you're left with a system that doesn't take anyone anywhere they want to go.

From our GO Station (James and Hunter) to Main, is 2 blocks. Heading from there to Victoria is another 7. How many people make this trek? From Hunter to Main along James? And from James/Main to Main/Victoria? How many people would actually ride it? Would it be worth the cost of the ride? (I think most people would walk the 2 blocks from the GO station to Main). Would it be worth the cost of purchasing LRT vehicles? How many vehicles could you even run on such a short line, two? They could each make the trip in 2 minutes? You'd spend more time waiting to make your right turn onto Main street than you would moving.

I think your system has three major problems:
1. It doesn't hit any nodes where people actually want to go to/from except the GO Station. Unless you're living on Victoria Street and getting to/from the GO Station, your proposed system is pretty much useless.

2. It's so small as to be useless in that no one will pay the LRT fair (assuming it is the standard HSR fair) to travel such a short distance.

3. It is largely useless to most citizens in the city.

Contrast this to the City's LRT plan, which hits Eastgate, Jackson Square, and McMaster, the most heavily trafficed corridor, and can easily bring people between three of the most visited spots in our downtown. It is potentially useful not only to residents of the lower city travelling east west, but also people commuting from above the mountain to mcmaster, after a transfer at Jackson Square.

Maybe there won't be many people getting on between those major nodes (which is of course, why LRT has fewer stops than a bus) but that doesn't mean it's not going to attract a large ridership, simply by virtue of hitting those three nodes.