Comment 113354

By mdrejhon (registered) - website | Posted August 07, 2015 at 16:27:18 in reply to Comment 113350

Hey, I agree...I have been a carshare user most of my car usage life, and would sooner rather leave my car at home, or cease car ownership (except for a ZipCar during roadtrips and camping) and instead depend on the LRT/bike/bikeshare/walk instead. I'm NOT one of the automobile zealots, but I understand both sides of the escarpment.

Whether it be frustrated car commuters, or the beautiful renovated old-cars, and understand the need for a gradually surgical phased-adjustment compromise (Amsterdam cold-turkey isn't yet feasible in the current structurally low-density auto-grid) to prevent derailing a master plan...

Also..more like a +5 to +10 minute commute delay (thankfully -- this will massively increase LRT ridership when this forces me to take the more-pleasant LRT, which I of course, DO support, as a Lower City property taxpayer). Currently it takes me only 6 minutes to drive from near Gage Park to the 403 onramp, when following all but one synchronized traffic light (5 minutes if I successfully pass through James Street stoplight before it becomes red).

Even though I prefer not to own a car -- I can fully understand the upcoming frustration of Mountain drivers and eastern Lower City drivers. Historically, in similar cities with a successfully pedestrianized grid with improved LRT and bike infrastructure, and no more car-synchronized lights, cars average closer to 20-25kph instead of the 50-55kph I average keeping up with platoon flow. And that's excluding the delays from turns created by not adding a new Main on-ramp to 403. Talk about salt in a wound (auto POV speaking, of course). Doing average 20kph over 6 kilometers can create an almost 20-minute commute instead of 6-minutes, when you throw in the extra minutes of the Dundurn funnel.

This is a Good Thing for getting people onto LRT, but a Bad Thing to do Too Quickly (And get city to vote in a Rob Ford style Mayor). That's the rationale of the necessity of rejigging Dundurn properly (whether we widen it or not -- hopefully no widening is needed). Automobile owners in Hamilton have to swallow multiple bitter pills in rapid succession (Main 2-way AND the LRT) and this can erode support if we don't temporarily resolve the "salt in wound" surgical inefficiencies.

That said, perhaps I won't own a car by then (don't want if I can get by with carshare at less than $700/month including weekday drives and weekend roadtrips -- just before I decided to buy the car. Once I can get by with carshare at only under $200/month I'm going to let my owned car wear out instead and switch to carshare.).

With all-day 2-way GO, Aldershot becomes unnecessary for me.

But the LRT may start running before this happens. We'll have to see how Metrolinx solves the freight-GO sharing problem. Current plan for GO RER is hourly 2-way by 2025-ish.

Once I can catch a 4:00pm or 8:00pm or 11:00pm GO train directly to Hamilton, I can transfer to the now-nearly-24/7 Hamilton LRT to either GO station, and be done with it. Goodbye car.

Today's B-Line doesn't run evenings or weekends, so my HSR options whenever I'm back in Hamilton are rather inconvenient and unpredictable (can't trust a bus to appear when I'm standing at a bus stop after my 6:30 arriving in Hamilton 7:35...I sometimes have to strategically decide which bus stop to stand at depending on time of day and day of week...Delaware vs Main vs King, etc...so I often don't bother with HSR...sigh).

And of course, I may be working locally by 10 years -- hopefully!

Lots can change in 10 years -- betcha you agree with that, eh (Even if we debate the details)...

Comment edited by mdrejhon on 2015-08-07 16:57:03

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