As I would have expected, there are businesses complaining about the proposed express bus because it would remove their parking on the street.
Given the look and feel of Douglas from Herald st to Finlayson is a reasonably dead zone already for any sense of community and shopping. It strikes me as the best and highest use for this road is to move people in and out of town quickly. Adding the next stage of transit evolution in this region is the addition of ways to speed up the buses. This work on Douglas is the start.
From here we should look at things like the B line buses in Vancouver. I would argue that making the #14 and #26 into something like a B line bus.
The Douglas improvements will move the buses out of the core quicker, but then at Tillicum and Mackenzie there needs to more work done to get the buses through those intersections quicker.
There also needs to be some considerations of moving the buses faster out to the peninsula. There need to be bus queue jumper lanes at the lights. The #70 has to be much, much faster in getting into town. Ideally we should have an express bus down the Pat Bay Hwy from the ferry downtown. Ideally there would be a Sidney local bus that would connect to the Pat Bay Hwy Express Bus. Another local one in Central Saanich to do the same. Ideally this should shave time off of the trip, save 15 to 25 minutes off of the trip downtown.
3 comments:
I know that putting this bus lane is stupid and wrong as these buses will cause problems with busniess down douglas st, it they want to put a lane in should be on Blansherd st as it is bigger and flows better.
The bus lane down the center of Douglas Street is stupid!
I have lived in Victoria for over 30 years and all I have seen is local Mayors ruin our CITY.
If you want bus lanes then ,put them down the side of the road,not down the middle.Or why not one way down Blanshard Street for the buses and the return way out to Langford out one side of Douglas.
We also need proper transit service out to the ferries and the airport for those of we home owners and Business owners who have to pay for all you Mayors of Vacouver Island stupid ideas.
We have train tracks in Victoria still.Why are you Mayors not promoting what we already have or are you planning on putting up more condos on that land?
To be really GREEN,why do you people start re-using what you already have?Trains and Train tracks.Did you know there was trains that went all the way out to Sidney and back before some other Mayor got rid of them.
When are you people going to put our money in the right spot.Maybe you should all get in your Hybrid cars made in Japan or your Smart cars from Germany that take Canadian Manufacturing jobs away from we Taxpayers ,that pay your wages and please leave our great city before it is too late for us to fix it.Thank you JMBC
Re: The Douglas Street Busway Proposal – Victoria , BC
As you may know, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is a non-profit, non-partisan business association that seeks to give independent business a greater voice in determining the laws that govern business and the country. With 105,000 members across Canada , including 10,000 in British Columbia and over 800 in Victoria , we are the largest organization exclusively representing the interests of small and medium-sized independent businesses to all levels of government.
Businesses cited four key issues that BC Transit needs to address before any changes on Douglas Street are made:
1) Business owners need to be consulted in a meaningful way. There concerns and suggestions for alternatives need to be considered carefully.
2)The question of whether the costs for this project are warranted needs more careful consideration. Are the new costs (A projected budget increase from $6 - $25 million) warranted for a 5 – 11 minute savings?
3)A comprehensive review of alternatives needs to be conducted.
4)Taking away left hand turns and removing street parking needs to be reconsidered.
Our members’ suggested alternatives:
What other alternatives have been looked at since the Douglas Street Busway Proposal was initiated? The simple answer is none. As we understand it, BC Transit feels it has a mandate to only look at the busway proposal. We urge BC Transit and the City of Victoria to consider alternatives less damaging to Victoria ’s Douglas Street family businesses.
Member Suggestion: Heading into downtown, still provide express limited stop service through three main corridors to Carey St. as is planned now. Have the regular busses and the new Rapid Buses use designated HOV (high occupancy vehicle) or “bus only” curb lanes from Saanich Rd. to Hillside using one of the Douglas Street regular traffic lanes in “peak periods” only. This would still leave the centre lane for left hand turns as it exists now. From Hillside to Fisgard, impose no parking heading into town from 7:00 am to 10:00 am and from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm heading out of town and use the curb lane, during these times, as an HOV or “bus only” lane. This way, all busses get dedicated lanes when they need them, improving transit times for all commuters.
Rapid Bus would still have the four limited stops as is planned now. Businesses would then only lose a portion of the day for valued customer parking, something in short supply anywhere in Victoria these days. All streets keep left hand turning capability’s allowing for the ease of access to businesses that are vital to Victoria ’s residents and businesses. Rapid Busses still get into town quickly and passengers are not inconvenienced with middle of the road drop off. Driver operated “delayed green light technology” could also be used to allow an approaching bus to drive through a green light intersection.
HOV or “bus only” lanes in peak times converting to parking lanes or regular traffic lanes in off peak times have been very successful in Vancouver and Burnaby, such as the business and retail intensive Hastings corridor. After “peak times” car traffic on Douglas will be reduced and commute times for busses, now in the regular traffic lanes, will not be affected. BC transit should also look at using Blanshard for the Carey to Hillside portion so as not to limit the regular traffic lanes on Douglas during rush hour.
Keep in mind that helping this scenario work is the very effective new BC driving rules mandating motorists to slow down or stop to let buses merge into traffic. These new driving rules were not around in the past and bus drivers and supervisors will tell you that they have greatly improved bus commute times.
Member Suggestion: Turn Douglas and Blanchard into one-way streets and implement the curbside HOV or “bus only” lanes in peak times as suggested above.
Member Suggestion: Do a full cost benefit analysis of a potential Blanshard HOV route taking into account the publics and businesses concerns.
Our members’ concerns with the existing Douglas Street Busway Proposal:
1)Safety for pedestrians: Several members expressed concern about commuters waiting in the middle of Douglas on a narrow platform with traffic on both sides. There certainly is not sufficient room to avoid vehicle generated splashes from both sides of the platform. Strollers, families with young children and the elderly will have significant challenges and may feel very uncomfortable waiting in the middle of the road, not to mention the added safety issues. Middle of the road bus stops will encourage “dash j walking” and large volumes of passengers blocking the road as they try to beat the changing light to get back to the side of the road. Is 5 – 11 minutes worth these extra safety concerns when we could achieve the same results, with less public safety issues, at a fraction of the cost?
2)Is the projected time saving real? Originally, BC Transit indicated the commute savings would be 5 – 7 minutes along the Douglas street portion of the project. However, they have since added 4 more intersections and 2 more cross walks, but have not decreased the time saved projections. How can you add 5 – 8 minutes of stop light intersections and not decrease the projected time saved? Why have they now increased the projected time saving estimate to 5 – 11 minutes?
3)Do benefits warrant the $25 Million (or more) cost? Initially the project was estimated to cost $6.5 million, in October 2007 that was increased to $15 million and now brochures are indicating $15 - $25 million and we are still a year away from construction. At what point do you say the costs out weigh any conceivable benefit, especially when you consider that HOV or “bus only lanes” achieve the same results at a fraction of the cost? Brochures also indicate that Rapid Bus Transit will increase potential capacity by 5000 passengers. What they fail to indicate is that increasing bus capacity (adding busses) in HOV lanes would achieve the same results.
4)Was Blanshard really considered? BC Transit indicates that Douglas , after much study is the preferred route for Rapid Bus and future LRT. However, everything written to favour Douglas over Blanchard could just as easily be used and is just as valid to favour Blanchard over Douglas . Business owners believe there is not much difference between the two potential routes and that Blanshard may in fact offer more potential redevelopment opportunities for density and so higher volume of commuters. Douglas Street is well within the catchment area for a Blanshard Route .
5)Build it and they will come: A BC Transit brochure indicates that simply building Rapid Bus Transit will attract rider ship. Adding bus capacity (more busses), increasing frequency and implementing ways to improve commute times with HOV or “bus only” lanes, will achieve the same results at far less cost.
6)Left hand turn lanes, will they work? An overwhelming number of our members felt the lack of left hand turning opportunities would be the number one issue to reduce customers visiting their business. As well, they feel the left hand turn lanes are not long enough. If one observes a car attempting a u-turn, the rate of the turn, on average, is reduced from that of a regular turn by more than 50%. This causes two problems: First, it greatly reduces the number of cars that will make the turn on a green light, increasing the need for much longer lanes. Secondly, the driver behind is not aware of the pending u-turn and will often hit the car in front as that car slows down to make the u-turn. Left turn lights worsen the problem as cars are expecting the traffic to flow and are not prepared for a vehicle that decelerates at the turn spot to prepare for a u-turn.
7)Ease of access to businesses will be greatly diminished: Customers having to now plan their route to access a business will go through a nightmare process to get to them. They will have to figure out where to turn and what back roads to use, what side road would be closer and hope they can find a spot to park. The process will encourage the customer to seek alternative businesses to obtain the service or products from. Many members projected their loss of business to be well over the 50% mark. They would have to shut down, re-locate, or go into bankruptcy.
8)Loss of Parking: The second issue our members raised to us was that the reduced convenient street parking could eliminate up to 30% of their customers. Members along these 11 blocks of Douglas have customers comment to them daily that the parking convenience is a factor for visiting the business. One member said over 50% of her sales were customers “popping in” to buy her products. Do you think customers will continue to “pop in” if they have to now park blocks away on a side street? Often the side streets are used for all day parking and it is very hard to find a spot within two blocks.
9)Loss of business leading to potential closure, forced re-location or bankruptcy: For the reasons stated above, over 10% of respondents to our informal survey already projected they would likely have to shut down or move.
10)No real, discussion or true consultation around alternatives: Our members and other businesses in the area are asking for a chance for their concerns, ideas and suggestions to truly be heard and considered. They would like a real discussion and real consideration given to alternatives. They believe the public would be in favour of trying to save some of their $25 million tax dollars, achieve the same results with the HOV or “bus only” lanes and help some of these small and family business owners sleep a little better at night.
Small businesses have raised a number of concerns about this project. Is $25 million (potentially a lot more) of hard-earned tax dollars worth 5 – 11 minutes of time for a few commuters? Are these time saving projections even valid? Why has the HOV lane suggestion on Douglas or Blanshard not been considered and given financial consideration? And, why were small family and independent business’s, affected by the project, not included in the planning process in a meaningful way?
Given these concerns, we are asking that the project be reconsidered. We cannot afford to make a decision that could harm small family run businesses along and near Douglas Street that could potentially see them close down, move out of the city or go into bankruptcy. We do not want a repeat of the Cambie Street merchant’s situation in Vancouver .
Brian Bonney
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