09-03-2015, 07:35 AM
(09-02-2015, 02:50 PM)MidTowner Wrote:(09-02-2015, 01:57 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: It's an unfortunate reality, but a reality nonetheless. The only way to serve GRH would be to take the same route as the 7, which currently sees a good deal of boardings (during my trips) at GRH. This would result in the Bridgeport-to-Water segment of the trip going from 10 minutes to at least 16, an increase of 6 minutes or 60% for this segment.
In reality, the 7 still comes more frequently, and virtually the same points at which you would get onto the iXpress to get to GRH will get you to GRH via the 7. I'm not sure there's any be-all, end-all reason to serve GRH during construction, much as it would be great for consistency.
I actually do think the 200 taking Park over Weber would be the better solution, though it's not the only one. I think you're citing 16 minutes as the distance between downtown and Bridgeport because that's what the 7 is scheduled to take. It would be less than this as the 200 doesn't have the intermediate stops that the 7 does. If it's a four minute increase in the time between downtown and uptown, that's a trivial delay for anyone taking the service more than one stop.
Alternately, the 200 could be put back on King as it is now partially re-opened, but this would also result in delays.
Alternately, a temporary stop could be introduced on the current routing somewhere around Weber and Guelph (I believe this is the closest) to provide express service to riders who have come to depend on it in the surrounding areas, and the area east of King. And also to cultivate ridership for the Grand River Hospital station when Ion opens in 2017.
Google would also suggest that the 1.6km walk from Weber and Guelph to GRH is 20 minutes, which would not be likely to build any ridership. They decidedly tried to avoid creating temporary stops, ones that would not be served by ION, and 1.6km through more than half a dozen turns is not a conducive travel pattern.
If someone were willing to walk for 20 minutes, they would also likely be willing to wait an average of 7.5 minutes for a transfer from an iXpress to a 7 for door-to-backdoor service.
The iXpress on Park would be very unlikely to exceed the 7 speed. Between King and Bridgeport and Joseph and Water, the nearest common stops, the iXpress takes 10 minutes, the 7 takes 16. As a daily 7 rushhour rider of that stretch, many stops are still unoccupied, and since all but the Victoria segment is single lane, you can't leapfrog any traffic, or the 7s.
I work by Conestoga Mall, live near the intermodal terminal, and frequent areas as far south as Ottawa. By now, I know that I'll never take the iXpress for any of those trips due to detour delays. I also visit GRH regularly, and continue to use the 7 for speed and directness.
I agree it's an inconvenience for particular riders. For those who simply must use the iXpress (almost none) to get to GRH, they now have a transfer averaging 7.5 minutes off-peak, as low as 2 minutes during peak. To now delay every single iXpress ride by 6 minutes, in order to spare certain users a 2-7.5 minute delay, is a tradeoff I can understand, and personally accept when I have to make use of it.