The Livable Blog

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/onthemove/driving/traffic/transit_priority/freeway_en.html

Back in April 2008 I wrote this:

With gas prices soaring and the economy in deep trouble, people in the US are looking to cost-effective transit solutions.

The concept is to use the shoulders as queue jumper lanes between each intersection or interchange, not quite a continuous bus lane. The shoulder lanes are not used at high speeds, they allow transit buses to pass cars at a reasonable speed when traffic slows or grinds to a halt. When traffic is moving at high speeds, the lanes revert to shoulders for emergency stopping.

If bus rides in Maryland "cheer when you pass 70 to 80 cars waiting for a stoplight," imagine how people would cheer passing the line of cars on Highway 1 to merge onto the Port Mann Bridge.

It works, it is cheap and quick to implement, why not here too?

http://www.livableregion.ca/blog/blogs/index.php/2008/04/22/transit_riders_cheer_shoulder_bus_lanes_

In December, I didn't notice this media release that seems to have gathered almost no media attention. But on Saturday I saw the signs and the almost completed construction. Note that a Surrey company got the job, it was too small for multinationals such as Kewit.

This is what should be done on Highway 1, instead of the insane bridge replacement and freeway widening. The good thing is that it has been done in BC now, no more excuses to not apply this in other places.

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2008TRAN0097-001880
Dec. 11, 2008

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

BUS LANE WILL SPEED TRANSIT COMMUTE ALONG HIGHWAY 99

RICHMOND – Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Kevin Falcon, along with Richmond East MLA Linda Reid, officially broke ground today on the shoulder bus lane project along Highway 99 in Richmond, which will eventually carry transit commuters from White Rock to the Canada Line.

“This dedicated bus lane will move transit riders past rush-hour congestion on one of the busiest stretches of Highway 99 northbound,” said Falcon. “When we provide transit options like this that are quicker and more convenient than the single-occupant vehicle, we’ll get people out of their cars and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Transportation infrastructure projects like this bus-only lane will give commuters more reasons to take transit,” said Reid. “With this new bus lane, and the Canada Line’s estimated 100,000 riders daily, improved transit connections to and through Richmond will provide tremendous benefits to our local economy.”

The shoulder of Highway 99 northbound from Westminster Highway to Bridgeport Road, a distance of 2.8 km, will be widened to create a bus-only lane. Warning signals at on-ramps along the route will be automatically activated to provide priority for bus transit. The lane will be used by current northbound transit service, and will also be used by RapidBus BC service, once in operation, to carry commuters to the Canada Line’s Bridgeport Station.

“The new bus lane will offer superior travel time reliability for south of Fraser commuters connecting to the Canada Line and we appreciate the province's initiative to move quickly on this project,” said Tom Prendergast, CEO of TransLink. “There's no doubt that motorists will notice how well the bus-only lanes help our highway coaches avoid the heavy traffic line-ups and we expect this is going to entice quite a few more Vancouver-bound commuters onto transit."

RapidBus BC is a key pillar of the Provincial Transit Plan. Commuters riding RapidBus BC will get high quality, point-to-point service with minimal stops along a number of high-profile corridors in the Lower Mainland, including Highway 99 in both directions between White Rock and Richmond.

Jacob Bros. Construction Ltd. of Surrey was awarded a $4.7-million contract to build the four-metre-wide shoulder bus lane, which will be complete in summer 2009

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Media contact:

Jeff Knight, Public Affairs Bureau
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
250 356-7707