03-10-2022, 03:56 PM
(03-09-2022, 09:40 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:(03-09-2022, 04:25 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: Hyperbole? Almost all existing student housing is within a 20 minute walk, and with the majority being less than 10 minutes from UW. When you include Laurier and Conestoga College the percentage of student oriented housing within 10 minute walk of a post secondary campus is probably >90%.
Elmira on the other hand, minimum travel time, by car, speeding straight down 85 from the south end of Elmira is already 15 minutes. No LRT is going to come close to being faster than walking from almost all student housing.
S Field Dr. in Elmira, at the tracks, to UW station is about 13km along the tracks, or 10 minutes at 80km/h.
So with the right LRT service, I think that compares pretty favourably to a lot of existing student commutes.
That being said, not every building could be literally on the station, and realistically if we ever get LRT to Elmira it would probably poke along at 70km/h, and depending on how many stops there are the real speed would be way below my 80km/h, and so on, but to just cede all interurban transport to road-based vehicles is in my opinion unambitious, especially in the medium to long term.
What you're describing is more of a RER/commuter rail service than an LRT.
80km/hr is pretty much max rated speed for most LRT-grade vehicles out there, so the average speed when including stops is *always* going to be less than that. The rule of thumb is that your average speed will be 80% of the maximum speed, assuming all segments have a geometry that lets the trains run at the same maximum. That means service out to Elmira, *if* the trams could go 80km/h between stations, would be at an average of 64km/h tops.
Better to buy all the GEXR/CP tracks down to Galt and the yard at Samuelson, make sure there's double tracks from Elmira to Galt, and run a heavy rail RER/commuter service that stops at Galt, Preston, Block Line, Downtown, Uptown, St Jacobs, and Elmira. With eyes on extending to Paris and Brantford, eventually, by rebuilding along the rail trail. (Yes, that can be done and still preserve the trail.)