Saturday 26 November 2016

Entry #52: Huge Changes to GRT

Hello everyone,
I deeply apologize I have not been blogging since July, I have been extremely busy, but I have some very interesting news with respect to Grand River Transit redesign and the ION LRT and the Breslau GO station. To begin lets take a glance at Grand River Transit's plan from 2017-2021 plus the redesign from now to 2021.

Grand River Transit Business Plan from 2017-2021
This was a very interesting read. I say that because many routes will be extended to service ION stations plus 2 main routes that service the CTC (Central Transit Corridor) will be reduced. Let's take a look at the service improvements from 2017-2021.

GRT 2017 Service Improvements
201-202 iXpress
- Service frequency increased from 15 minutes to 10 minutes during the fall and winter periods
- This will reduce overcrowding on the routes

203 iXpress
- More service along route 203 to provide better connections at the new Cambridge Centre terminal

ION UW Station
- Modify routes 9 Lakeshore, 13 Laurelwood, 31 Columbia and 201 iXpress to service ION UW

205 Ottawa Street iXpress
- New crosstown route that connects Ottawa/Lackner and the Sunrise Centre along Ottawa Street.
- 15 minute service Monday to Friday, 30 minute evening and weekend service

Route 10
- Increased frequency to 15 minutes during the fall and winter times
- reduce over crowding

Route 110
- Increased frequency to 15 minutes during the fall and winter times
- New 30 minute service during the spring and summer terms

Route 27 Chicopee and 57 Blair Road
- Midday summer service returned

Routes 56 Dunbar and 75 Saginaw
More service along routes 56 and 75 to provide better connections at the new Cambridge Centre terminal

Route 77 Wilmot
- All day service

2018 (ION Launch)

200 iXpress
- Route operates between Fairview Park and Ainslie Street terminal ONLY

201 iXpress
- Extended 201 to ION Block Line

Routes 1 Queen-River, 20 Victoria-Frederick, 204 iXpress
Shifted routes 1, 20, 204 to connect with ION stations

Route 2 Forest Heights
- Extended route 2 to Fairview Park via Franklin and Wilson

Route 3 Ottawa
- Extended service to the Huron Village/Rosenburg area

Route 4 Glasgow
- Modified route 4 to connect the Boardwalk and ION Grand River Hospital

Route 8 Courtland
- Modified route 8 between Downtown Kitchener and Fairview Park connecting ION Fairview Park and ION Block Line

Route 9 Hazel
- Split route 9 into 2 routes (9 Hazel, 19 Hagey)
- both sections of route 9 would operate every 10 minutes and service ION Northfield

Route 12 Westmount
- Modified route 12 to interline with new route 18 at UW and Fairview Park
- Streamlined route 12 to Bleams, Fischer-Hallman and Westmount Roads

Route 14 Waterloo Industrial
- Modified route 14 to service ION Northfield

Route 16 Strasburg
- Extended route 16 to ION Block Line

Route 18 Weber
- New route that connects Fairview Park and UW along Weber Street and University Avenue via Downtown Kitchener.
- Interlines with route 12 at Fairview and UW

Route 19 Hagey
- New route that ION Conestoga Mall and ION UW via Lakeshore and Hagey Boulevard
- Operates every 10 minutes

Routes 11 Country Hills and 22 Laurentian West
- modified and combined routes 11 and 22 into a 2 way loop that connects the Laurentian West-Country Hills neighbourhood and the ION Block Line station

Route 26 Trillium
- New peak-only service between the Huron Industrial Park and ION Block Line

Route 27 Chicopee
- New 2-way service along Morgan Ave with extension to Chicopee Ski Hill

Route 28 Belmont-Margrate
- New route that connects ION Grand River Hospital and ION Frederick via Belmont Avenue and Margaret Street

Route 29 Keats Way
- Modified route 29 to Conestoga Mall via Lincoln, and the Dunvegan-Davenport neighbourhood

Route 73 Northlake
- Extended route 73 to service ION Northfield

Route 92 University Loop
- Shortened route 92 via Ring Road
- midday, evening and weekend service introduced

These are huge changes coming to GRT. Also, Regional council has endorsed the plan for the Breslau GO station, this would mean that routes 20 Victoria-Frederick, 23 Idlewood, 34 Bingemans, 79 Breslau, 204 and 205 iXpress would be modified to service that terminal. This would be greatly beneficial to the residence of Breslau.