Towards an integrated transportation network, part IV

The demand for housing close to transit will increase to the point where the desire to keep urban neighbourhoods stable will buckle under development pressure, while owners of homes in auto-dependent suburbs will be unable to sell their properties due to the high cost of commuting – this great upheaval is what we face if we do nothing as gasoline prices and congestion continue to increase. In my first post about building an integrated transportation network we established the baseline network of today. In this fourth post, we will look to 2020 and analyse the network as it will likely be.
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Niagara Region Transit

Niagara Region Transit (NRT) is one of the new kids on the block, having commenced operations on September 21, 2011 with eight buses running on five routes. Oriented as an express service connecting the otherwise disconnected municipalities in eastern Niagara Region, the new service has a high cash fare but accepts transfers and passes from the municipal systems it connects with. I wish it great success going forward, but I wonder if a new transit provider was really the solution to the inter-municipal transit problem in Niagara. Before we can answer that question, we need to establish some context: Continue reading

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Niagara Falls in the off-season

GO Transit’s summer weekend excursion train service was never the only option for those who wanted to visit the falls but weren’t interested in driving. The joint VIA Rail / Amtrak Maple Leaf train to Toronto was always an option, as well as Greyhound and Coach Canada buses, but the GO trains (and the buses which run all year) brought the sustainable options to the front of the public consciousness. While the falls are best enjoyed in the summer, the Urban_Empress and I decided to spend Valentine’s Day alongside one of the seven wonders of Canada. Continue reading

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