I wrote my University thesis on
building transit routes on existing corridors. Let's think about
what that means for a moment.
Urban areas, are increasingly becoming hell to live in, because
of one thing: TRAFFIC! And the root cause is more cars and not
necessarily more people.
Public transit is one of the easiest ways to embrace growth and
give some relief from the congestion that the major passages, routes
and throughways deal with.
But where do we put the transit? Urban centers are running low on
space and suburbs are not dense enough to justify any real form of
rapid transit. Sure you can go underground (ie. a subway), but that
is VERY expensive and not very efficient in low-density suburban
areas. My thesis, focused on placing rapid bus transit (or
light-rail) lines on existing corridors. Existing corridors,
include hydro-fields, old railroad tracks and highway buffers that
are already "exist" and cut-through our cities. Bus rapid
transit, when having its own right-of-way, is just as fast and
efficient as rail. The vehicles costs much less and can also be used
more flexibly.
The advantages of using existing corridors are VERY evident and
it is a big surprise, this idea is not being considered more
seriously by municipalities and regional governments. The obvious
advantage is cost. There is little choice with route planning and no
land needs to be expropriated. There is little to no distraction to
the public during construction/maintenance as all work would be done
away from major populations. The natural buffers that existing
corridors provide would also limit noise and air pollution.
If you are a planner, politician or just curious, please contact
me to share ideas on "Transit Routes on Existing
Corridors."
BUS RAPID TRANSIT ON AN EXISTING CORRIDOR
