General Township Updates and Rumours

[Viewfromthe42]

I don't think of route 21 in the same class as the new flex bus setup west of the cities because I think of it as a successful route. Every Saturday, people use it to get to and from the market. While working near Conestoga mall, I would always see people awaiting that bus when I got off the 7. One of my coworkers even lived with his wife and three kids right at the northernmost point of the route, and often mentioned being thankful that he could use it to get to work, leaving the van with his wife, a single car scenario they would not be able to afford to double.

[Elmira Guy]

I don't profess to be any kind of expert on urban planning or transportation. In fact, I've probably learned as much on this site as I did in the two transportation courses I took in uni.

That being said, I find it odd how the 21 barely touches upon the residential areas of Elmira. Now I don't expect it to become a means of transit within the town, but the current route only goes along the main street, into downtown, and then only one block off of downtown when leaving before departing back out the same way it came into town.
The population of the town must surely be about 10,000 by now, and with the construction of 1,500 residential units on the northwest side of town, I think there would be a definite increase in ridership if the route was more accessible to people in the residential areas.

I understand that time is an issue so there is obviously a limit to how much of the town can be covered while maintaining the current schedule, but I have thought of two options on how the route could be expanded within town, using only request stops.

While there are practical limitations to what kind of service can be offered, I think there is definite room for improvement that would see an increase in usage. That should also be a goal of transit.

[danbrotherston]

...

Hmm.  Just looking at realtimemap.grt.ca (which is awesome), it doesn't go as far west as I thought, based on the loop on the PDF schedule.  You're right, it might be better to loop back on say Kildeer Rd.  

That being said, I don't actually know what the population densities in the town are, it might be that more people actually live near Main St. but I think you're probably right, it is probably schedule adherence reasons.

Really though, the town could be covered by a fairly small loop, given the size. This is what I liked most about the township. If they made a strong investment into great biking infra, the entire town would be easily bikeable in 5 minutes for anyone in town. Even walking, you're not far.

And yet, they're the most car dependent places in the region.

[taylortbb]

I remember at the time route 21 launched GRT studied two options. The small in town loop with service every 30 mins, or a larger loop with service every 40 mins. The final decision was that frequency was more important, and as the rest of the GRT network runs on 30 min cycles that allowed for timed transfers at Conestoga. Otherwise you'd often have a 20 min wait for a transfer.

Was that the right trade-off? I don't know, I don't use the route enough. But it's not because these things weren't considered.

[DHLawrence]

Hey, I'm not trying to be a dick or anything. But it's frustrating when people defend the status quo and say it's okay for others to pay for services they don't receive when you are someone who would truly appreciate having an option. It would be great to be able to visit my family in Elmira on a Sunday without having to leave Waterloo on Saturday afternoon and stay in Elmira until Monday. I think a lot of people who live and work in the cities take transit for granted, and that includes many people here who are much more informed about such matters than most people out there.

That is the basis of my frustration and annoyance.

This whole argument could also be made about Cambridge...

[tomh009]

Commentary on the development fee question in the Record:
http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/6...ban-issue/

Basic argument is not to change the previous agreement.

(And, yes, the usual comments below, downtown is dead, haven't been there for decades, blah blah blah)

[Elmira Guy]

Elmira Site Proposed For Electrical System Battery Backup Facility

https://observerxtra.com/2017/02/16/elmi...-facility/

[white_brian]

The rest of the trees have been cleared out of the lot at the corner of Ottawa and Trussler Rd. Awesome looking house that was hidden by those trees!

[MidTowner]

Thanks for that link, Elmira Guy! Very cool that Elmira will host that battery backup facility! I find these things very neat- solutions like these to smooth loadsare what are going to allow us to transition more quickly to renewable-generated electricity.

Not uncommon that the journalist mixed up MW and MWh, but if it's two MWh that can be stored, that's pretty substantial. And, from the sounds of it, our Region will host the first such installation in the province.

[Elmira Guy]

@MidTowner

Yeah, it sounded pretty cool to me too, though admittedly I know virtually nothing about such things. This has inspired me to learn mind you.

Presumably there will be no opposition to this like there was to the bio-fuel facility.

[DHLawrence]

St Jacobs Market sold.

[Masala]

That's big news. Could lead to fresh development near the Market in the long term. It strikes me that there is room for infill and redevelopment projects there.

[tomh009]

That's big news. Could lead to fresh development near the Market in the long term. It strikes me that there is room for infill and redevelopment projects there.

I think they would need to build a parking structure.  The parking already overflows onto the lawns at peak times.

[danbrotherston]

Or a trail and improved transit. The last thing that area needs on market days is more cars.

[DHLawrence]

Whatever they put up, I hope it's tasteful.