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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sustranners will be interested in
this.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>-- <BR>Alan Howes, Perthshire, Scotland</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=Colin.Leech@transpo.ottawa.on.ca
href="mailto:Colin.Leech@transpo.ottawa.on.ca">LEECH, Colin</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com">Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, March 21, 2007 3:50 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> RE: [Transit-Prof] Re: [sustran] Re: BRT - switchover lanes
....alternatively,why not run on the other</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Robert Campbell wrote:<BR><BR>> Boston's
solution in the City of Cambridge is to have left hand<BR>> doors on its
trackless trolleys (trolley buses): this is for the bus<BR>> (former
trolley/tram) tunnel underneath Harvard Square and <BR>> for
operation<BR>> on Aberdeen Avenue where boarding/alighting is done in the
median of<BR>> this boulevarded type street.<BR><BR>See: <A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston-area_trackless_trolleys">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston-area_trackless_trolleys</A><BR><BR>>
[ For light rail in Cleveland, there used to be wrong way running in<BR>> the
section where the trolley cars ("Shaker Heights Rapid") run on the<BR>> same
right of way as the heavy rapid transit. The trolleys used a<BR>>
central low platform, and the CTS rapid used central high level<BR>>
platforms. I don't know if this still pertains.]<BR><BR>I don't know the
geography of Cleveland to know whether this is the same area or not, but their
new Silver Line BRT will have doors on both sides of the buses - see:<BR><A
href="http://www.euclidtransit.org/rapid_transit_system/design_engineering.asp">http://www.euclidtransit.org/rapid_transit_system/design_engineering.asp</A><BR><BR>Eugene
Oregon got their "doors on both sides" BRT running a little bit before
Cleveland, see:<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.ltd.org/pdf/EmX%20how%20to%20ride%20brochure%20web.pdf">http://www.ltd.org/pdf/EmX%20how%20to%20ride%20brochure%20web.pdf</A><BR><A
href="http://www.ltd.org/search/showresult.html?versionthread=6eec24bb231297a66d73fb145404cef2">http://www.ltd.org/search/showresult.html?versionthread=6eec24bb231297a66d73fb145404cef2</A><BR><BR>I
have been told that such buses also exist in Mexico City and Leon, a city in
central Mexico.<BR><BR>Montreal had peak-period contra-flow bus lanes on Pie-IX
Boulevard in the east end, with passenger stations in the median and
conventional buses. This created several issues:<BR><BR>- pedestrians stepping
out in front of buses coming from a direction they aren't expecting<BR>- head-on
collisions with oncoming traffic<BR>- collisions with other vehicles at
intersections<BR>- confusion among passengers during the changeover times
between the media contra-flow operations and the conventional curbside
operations<BR><BR>These contraflow lanes have not been service for a couple of
years and I'm not clear on what the major factor was in their demise. Each bus
used on this service had a large illuminated flashing arrow on the front to wake
up oncoming drivers who may have ignored the static signage that was in place.
Intersections can be handled to some degree by providing fully protected traffic
signal phases for left turns, but cars entering the street from side streets are
still an issue. In London UK there are signs in tourist areas warning
pedestrians to look in both directions before crossing since there are so many
tourists visiting from countries where traffic operates on the other side of the
street. I don't know how Montreal handled the changeovers at each end of the
contraflow lanes.<BR><BR>I was thinking that having doors on both sides of the
buses might be a way for Montreal to revive the Pie-IX bus lanes. The "problem"
with this idea is that you wind up with a dedicated facility - good for transit,
but bad for traffic capacity and hence tough to sell to the public and
politicians. The old Pie-IX lanes were contraflow, which is good for traffic
capacity, but bad for safety (especially in our winters when lane markings are
buried under snow).<BR><BR>Montreal also has peak period contraflow bus lanes on
the Champlain Bridge, but there are no passenger stops to worry about. Ramps
have been built at each end to allow access into/egress out of the lanes. In
addition to the static signage along the road, they also put out traffic cones
along the dividing line between the bus lane and the oncoming traffic. It's
labour intensive but it has been in operation for about 30 years and works
well.<BR><BR>Prof J G Krishnayya wrote:<BR><BR>> Just an idea.
Please shoot it down (with reasons) if it is<BR>> impractical for
India.<BR>> <BR>> Traffic in India drives on the left side of
a road. In the case of a<BR>> divided highway, one proposal is to run the
BRTS in a separate lane<BR>> (taking the place of the "Fast Lane", i.e. to
the right hand <BR>> edge of the left half of the road.<BR>>
<BR>> This means that entry and exit from the busses would have
to be to<BR>> and from fresh islands in the road (since doors are on the
<BR>> left side of<BR>> the bus) or else fresh doors would have to be cut
into the <BR>> bus, so that<BR>> passengers can board and get off onto a
central island..<BR><BR>The Spadina LRT line in Toronto has two reserved train
tracks in the middle of a wide road. I believe the passenger platforms are on
the outside of the tracks, resulting in separate islands between the tracks and
the regular traffic. I see no reason why the passenger platforms could not be
put between the tracks, or between the bus lanes in the case of a BRT. I see
your choices as:<BR><BR>- standard buses with standard doors, running
contra-flow with a single median island<BR>- standard buses running with the
regular traffic, with new passenger islands between the buses and the other
traffic <BR>- buses running with regular traffic, with doors on the wrong side
(may or may not need doors on the standard side also depending on whether they
are used elsewhere as well)<BR><BR>The ideal configuration will depend on your
local conditions. <BR><BR>> Pune experience within days of the
start of BRTS makes it clear that<BR>> with our population density, and
general attitude towards <BR>> discipline in<BR>> general,
Grade-Separation between the normal roadway (of at least 8<BR>> inches) and
the BRTS lanes, is essential to avoid many, many fatal<BR>> accidents.
If the BRTS lane is grade-separated, there should be no<BR>> problem about
the BRTS busses running in the opposite direction to the<BR>> regular stream
of traffic.<BR><BR>My preference would be to physically separate the two transit
lanes from the rest of the traffic. Whether this is through curbs or fencing is
up to you (8" seems a bit high to me). Fencing is easier for LRT than BRT since
you don't have to worry about the lateral width for vehicles to wander from side
to side. Once the transit lanes are physically separated from the other traffic,
it makes less difference which direction the buses are running in each lane. The
problem with the Pie-IX lanes in Montreal IMHO was that they were used in one
direction by cars during some times of the day, while used in the opposing
direction for buses at other times of the day. If you have completely dedicated
bus lanes, it's easier to avoid this kind of confusion.<BR><BR>You will still
have issues with other traffic at intersections, but those issues are a lot
easier to control as the physical separation will help alert other drivers to
the conditions. In Montreal they just used the regular lanes with some
signs.<BR><BR>Peter Lutman wrote:<BR><BR>> 'wrong-way' working [...] I am not
sure what arrangements<BR>> would be necessary if the vehicles had to leave
the busway and join<BR>> general traffic on a section of the route.<BR><BR>It
shouldn't be too hard to design something suitable. You can install a set of
traffic signals that turn red for all other traffic while allowing the buses to
exit from the bus lane to wherever they are going. Ramps and other ideas are
feasible if you have the space. I don't see this being the major hurdle with the
scheme but it will take a bit of thought.<BR><BR>All opinions are my own, not
necessarily shared by my employer. Feel free to pass them along to the other
mailing lists.<BR><BR>--------------<BR>Colin R. Leech<BR>City of Ottawa TPO -
Transit Priority Measures<BR>Ville d'Ottawa DCS - Mesures de priorité au
transport en commun<BR>613-580-2424 ext./poste 13826<BR><A
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