Questions at Parker Lands BRT Hearing

https://youtu.be/Kp40NsAHyPQ

 

http://citycircus.ca/transit-official-claims-if-brt-part-of-marion-freeway-plan-public-engagement-will-follow-successful-parker-lands-brt-model/

For decades (since 1973) the Plan for BRT (or LRT) was to use Markham as the point at which the line would veer off to and from the University of Manitoba.

Except now we hear that it was interference meddling with Shindico and Katz and the University of Manitoba itself that lead to another, smaller road being chosen instead.

Pambrun's an idiot.

"CompuVision" computer store display CED videodisc (1984)

Telephone Documentaries

Youtube - AT&T Tech Channel

Youtube - British Telecom (BT) Let's Talk

Winnipeg Area Travel Survey (2007)

I've been looking for some data on the traffic volumes experienced between Winnipeg and Selkirk and I think I've found something relevant.

The Winnipeg Area Travel Survey of 2007 was conducted by iTrans Consulting (now HDR Inc.) of Ottawa.

The two areas of interest to me are labelled [1]:

External District #23 - East St. Paul & West St. Paul, and

External District #27 - 'North Northeast' and includes Selkirk, Winnipeg Beach, Grand Marais, and St. Andrews.

They surveyed over 366 households[2] in 'North Northeast' who regularly commute to/from this area.

For External District #23, the report has a combined population of 13,230, contains 4,390 households, and of that 8,760 active commuters using a total of 10,480 vehicles.[3]

For External District #27, the report has a combined population of 33,200, contains 12,650 households, and of that 12,700 active commuters using a total of 24,910 vehicles.[4]

When the figure for Active Commuters in External Districts #23 and #27 are combined, it totals 21,400 vehicles daily.

While installing commuter rail line between Winnipeg and Selkirk areas might encourage more people to live beyond the Perimeter Hwy., it is inevitable that growth in the Winnipeg Capital Region will create this anyways.

A diesel (DMU) commuter train can carry 50-300 passengers at once compared to one diesel bus of 50 passengers.

A Diesel Multiple Unit train provides a much smoother ride for passengers because the train glides along smooth track, rather than having to ride along poor quality asphalt roadway.

A DMU train can be kept outdoors and does not require any indoor heating, unlike a bus that needs to be kept warm in the Winter.

[1] "2007 Winnipeg Area Travel Survey Results - Final Report", iTrans Consulting Inc., pg. 7
[2] Ibid. pg. 6
[3] Ibid. pg. 80
[4] Ibid. pg. 88

The Winnipeg Capital Region - List of RMs

1.  RM of East St. Paul - Birds Hill, North Hill, River East Estates
   
2. RM of Headingley
   
3. RM of Macdonald - Brunkild, Domain, LaSalle, Oak Bluff, Sanford, Starbuck
   
4. RM of Ritchot - Glenlea, Grande Pointe, Ile-des-Chenes, St. Adolphe, Ste. Agathe
   
5. RM of Rosser - Rosser, Marquette, Meadows, Gross Isle, Little Mountain Park, Gordon, Lillyfield
   
6. RM of St. Andrews - Clandeboye, Petersfield, Lockport (W of the Red River)
   
7. RM of St. Clements - Beaconia, East Selkirk, Grand Marais, Libau, Lockport, Thalberg
   
8. RM of St. François Xavier
   
9. RM of Springfield - Oakbank, Dugald, Anola, Cooks Creek Hazelridge, Glass
   
10. RM of Tache- Dufresne, Landmark, Lorette, Rosewood, Ross, Ste-Genevieve
    
11. RM of West St. Paul -Middlechurch, Rivercrest

St. James-Assiniboia Detailed Area Plan

Author: Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg
Date Publ. February 1971
Size:  903 K

St. James-Assiniboia Detailed Area Plan

Commuter Rail Needed Between Winnipeg and Selkirk

Other regions have 'em. They enable commuters to live further outside the central city and commute without taking their cars.

Commuter rail here existed 100 years ago in the form of the Winnipeg, Selkirk and Lake Winnipeg Railway (ca. 1908 - 1939) ... interurban trains. They were replaced by  Beaver Bus Lines in 1948 and haven't returned since.

Interurban train on Eveline St. (Selkirk, Manitoba)

While electric transit with its guy wires are cool looking, lots of bigger metropolitan areas use DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit). These were called Interurbans in the early part of the 20th century, and later Budd Rail Co. called them RDCs (Rail Diesel Cars). Either way, they enable a transit authority to provide expanded capacity to haul many more passengers at one time than a bus, and do it more comfortably.

The current bus line between Winnipeg and Selkirk could use improved options for passenger travel between both cities.

In fact, the Partnership for the Manitoba Capital Region ... stated in their Capital Region Transportation Master Plan (CRTMP) released in 2014:

The large majority of the survey respondents indicated the City of Winnipeg as their primary residence.
 
Major themes generated by the survey questions and respondent feedback included:
 ...
A need for alternative modes of transportation including active transportation and regional transit.

 Current populations of metro Winnipeg and points north:

There is currently ample population that could handle a DMU-type transit, as a replacement for the Beaver Bus. It's time to switch back to rail, which helped this region grow.

Service could also be extended somehow to the communities on the east side of the Red River, such as East St. Paul, which currently lacks any form of public transit.

The current Beaver Bus schedule provides 11 runs from Selkirk and 11 runs from Winnipeg, daily. The trip one-way takes about 55 mins.:

 No bicycles are allowed on Beaver buses. So, for example, if a person in Winnipeg wanted to do a day trip to Selkirk and ride around, they could not do it. However, if the Beaver bus was replaced by a Beaver train you could accomplish this.

The whole Beaver Bus fleet consists of several Orion V buses, each with a passenger capacity of about 50 each. A rail-based DMU could handle about 70 seated passengers at once per rail car, 140 if two cars were joined.

One of the benefits to using DMUs is that each rail car is self-powered, so adding extra rail cars for capacity doesn't burden the lead car.

See also:

IRFCA - DMU FAQ
RM of St. Andrews - Winnipeg, Selkirk, and Lake Winnipeg Railway Co. 
Bombardier VLocity DMU in Australia