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Long time viewer first time posting. I just wanted to share a Fantasy Transit Map I made while procrastinating from my studies. I know its crazy fantasy but I love the idea of transit that doesn't focus around the car. But for all you car lovers I did include highway extensions. In this fantasy Waterloo and Kitchener have amalgamated in to one City called Grand River City. The city boundaries have also been expanded into neighbouring Woolwhich and Wilmont. I've included several separated bike lanes that integrate in with the transit system. For the station names I pretty much just went by cross street/ neighbourhoods but if you better names for the stations give me a heads up. Or if you have a better name for lines. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions how I could improve it?
Oh trust me neither do I. I just got carried away and started adding everything I could think of. Originally i didn't have the ring highway or the ring line but i could help myself from create more.
(02-20-2016, 05:54 PM)jamincan Wrote: I definitely don't believe that they should build a ring highway for starters.
I don't know. This town would be a mess without the expressway and forty years hence it might just be without a ring highway if we keep growing at this pace. Again, I'm all in favour of pubic transit and I can't wait until the LRT opens but proper planning has to be grounded on facts.
(02-20-2016, 06:56 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: A ring highway might just be a necessary evil.
If the cities continue growing (as I expect them to), a ring highway is probably a lesser evil than trying to channel all the traffic to/from the northwest quarter (western Waterloo) through the city streets.
Valid points on the ring road. I feel the opportunity to start building the ring road would have been through the planning of ira needles. But who knows what the future will hold. I feel the region has position themselves well to continue to grow and accommodate that growth.
02-21-2016, 02:57 AM (This post was last modified: 02-21-2016, 02:57 AM by mpd618.)
Y'all are assuming a lot of growth on the northwest side of Waterloo, but are forgetting the growth boundary means there isn't going to be much more out that way.
More particularly, I believe that the region doesn't want development in that area as it is the primary groundwater recharge area for the area. My reason is more personal; I simply love my bike rides out in that direction and an expressway, even without matching development, would ruin the rural character of that part of the region.
02-21-2016, 12:34 PM (This post was last modified: 02-21-2016, 12:35 PM by SammyOES.)
I think one issue is that its not really taking into account east of the river and the growth that's happening Breslau to Guelph. For example, over the next 65 years there's going to be a lot of growth along the old highway 7 towards Guelph. It will probably make sense to have a lot more transit options out that way - especially if you include the proposed Go station in Breslau.
The other thing is that we probably don't need the ring-road that you have because we already have really good expressway coverage of the city. Between 7, new highway 7 towards Guelph, 8, 85, and the 401 we have decent coverage of a large part of the region.
(02-21-2016, 02:57 AM)mpd618 Wrote: Y'all are assuming a lot of growth on the northwest side of Waterloo, but are forgetting the growth boundary means there isn't going to be much more out that way.
Good point. Here's hoping that increased density and better public transit obviates the need for a western arm of the highway. Hard to tell what will happen, with growth and so many transit changes in the horizon: Uber, dedicated bicycle infrastructure, car with no drivers, electric cars, electric bikes, LRT, more iXpress routes, car share, HSR, all-day two-way GO...
02-21-2016, 12:38 PM (This post was last modified: 02-21-2016, 12:38 PM by SammyOES.)
Also looking at the transit options, I think it would make more sense to extend your Victoria/Airport line further out along old highway 7, down through Breslau, and then to the airport. Might even make sense to have it continue along old highway 7 all the way to hook into Guelphs public transportation system. Really hard to think about what the area will actually look like in 65 years though.
(02-21-2016, 12:34 PM)SammyOES Wrote: The other thing is that we probably don't need the ring-road that you have because we already have really good expressway coverage of the city. Between 7, new highway 7 towards Guelph, 8, 85, and the 401 we have decent coverage of a large part of the region.
It really depends on where the future growth will be. Those highways provide fairly good coverage -- except for the western parts of Kitchener and Waterloo.
I expect intensification will continue (and probably even accelerate) over the coming decades but I don't foresee a complete stop to the growth of the suburbia in the next few decades. And as long as people are spread out in the suburbs, transit can only supplement, not replace, private car transportation (whether self-driven or driverless, both will need roads).
I agree in the thinking that growth will come to mostly to the east of the city. With the new highway 7 being constructed a lot of potential suburban growth will be concentrated in communities like Breslau, Bridgeport and even Bloomingdale. Eventually possibly extending all the way to Guelph to create a new Tri-Cities. I do hope that the focus of the region continues to be on urban growth, redevelopment and providing access to alternative forms of transportation. Nobody knows exactly what the future will bring but its fun thinking of different potential scenarios.
(02-21-2016, 12:56 PM)tomh009 Wrote: It really depends on where the future growth will be. Those highways provide fairly good coverage -- except for the western parts of Kitchener and Waterloo.
I expect intensification will continue (and probably even accelerate) over the coming decades but I don't foresee a complete stop to the growth of the suburbia in the next few decades. And as long as people are spread out in the suburbs, transit can only supplement, not replace, private car transportation (whether self-driven or driverless, both will need roads).
I don't think every area of the city needs to be within X minutes of a major highway. Those that value distance to a highway will live in the many areas that provide that. Those that care less will be fine in the other areas. I suspect our highway coverage is (and will remain) significantly better than most cities our size.
