Comment 23037

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted May 13, 2008 at 21:11:43

DavidG,

The goal is to get 20% of ALL cars off the roads, not just the two roads with LRT lines. An LRT car carries up to 300 passengers (or the equivalent about 300 one-passenger cars). With a frequency of 5-10 minutes, LRT has the potential to take an awful lot of cars off the roads.

Examples of cities of comparable size to Hamilton with successful LRT (just the ones I know about):

Grenoble, Lemans, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Nantes, Orleans, Rouen, Strasbourg, Valenciennes in France.

Edinburgh (city population < 500 000) is building a line, Sheffield, Nottingham in the UK.

Jersey City, Norfolk VA, Charlotte NC, Cleveland, OH in the US.

Kitchener-Waterloo is going for LRT right next door.

Remember that Hamilton is part of a megalopolis of about 6 million people. Metrolinx is now planning a coherent transportation network for this whole region. Hamilton's population is expected to grow to at least 600 000 over the next 20 years, possibly much more. The GTA+Hamilton is expected to grow by 3.5 million over the next 25 years.

During the morning, I am often have to wait for several full buses to pass by before I can get on. Buses are slower relative to cars: the goal of signal priority and dedicated lanes is to provide transit at least as fast, comfortable and convenient as driving. As the city and region grow, congestion will get much worse.

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