10-03-2017, 09:04 PM
(10-03-2017, 04:49 PM)Markster Wrote:(10-03-2017, 04:35 PM)KevinL Wrote: They'll never get an exemption for the spur line as it technically remains a heavy-rail line.
The requirement that buses stop at all rail crossings is actually only a policy made at the Regional level. The law only requires buses to stop at unsignalized crossings. Ottawa has level crossings on their Transitway that buses do not stop for.
(Googling for the exact law is failing me right now, but here's a link that references it: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/handboo...3-12.shtml )
I think I heard that they might look into changing this policy after ION starts running. University Ave will come to a standstill once full service is running, if they don't do anything.
I did not know about the Regional policy. That makes it simple: the Region should simply revert to the federal (not provincial I assume?) rules for the entire Waterloo spur and all LRT track. The Waterloo spur in no way needs buses to be stopping at it, certainly not at protected crossings. It’s just silly and doesn’t enhance safety one bit.
Unfortunately, that handbook page you linked indicates the rules are different for school buses — they have to stop at all crossings. I think this is ridiculous but that seems to be the current rule. We should at least be able to say that LRT track locations, especially the “in-street” ones, are not “railway” crossings, but I’m not a transportation lawyer so who knows.
As to University Ave., I don’t see what buses stopping has to do with a difference resulting from service starting — the gates will come down more often, but there won’t be more buses stopping when the gates are up. Unless you mean that the combination of buses stopping whenever they arrive with all traffic stopping when trains are present will increase the impediment to road traffic flow enough to slow the road down significantly?