Thanks Reece for a very interesting article. If I understand you correctly, route 510 has a (largely) segregated right of way, but the service is still slow. This is because, firstly there is no tram priority at intersections, not even over vehicles turning left across the tram tracks. Secondly stop dwell times are too long, partly because there is not level boarding into the streetcars.
There are clear lessons for the rest of the world. Firstly there must be ABSOLUTE PRIORITY for public transit at intersections. Secondly, it is crucial that stop dwell times are as short as possible.
On this second point European experience confirms that 'level boarding' speeds up services.
On your recent video on the Zurich S-Bahn, a commentator resident in Zurich complained about the slowness of TRAM services. Some Zurich tram routes (eg 10 and 12) are 100% low floor, but most routes are still worked by a mix of low floor and high floor cars. The high floor cars are of course slower at stops. as people have to climb up into the tram. I am sure you can guess the result. The high floor cars tend to run late.
The streetcar platforms should be "refugee islands" for pedestrians. They don't need to get all the way to the other side of Spadina. Even the so called "safety islands" in the suburbs (safety for motorists that is) should become "refugee islands" with radar detectors for the pedestrians instead of buttons.
Thanks Reece for a very interesting article. If I understand you correctly, route 510 has a (largely) segregated right of way, but the service is still slow. This is because, firstly there is no tram priority at intersections, not even over vehicles turning left across the tram tracks. Secondly stop dwell times are too long, partly because there is not level boarding into the streetcars.
There are clear lessons for the rest of the world. Firstly there must be ABSOLUTE PRIORITY for public transit at intersections. Secondly, it is crucial that stop dwell times are as short as possible.
On this second point European experience confirms that 'level boarding' speeds up services.
On your recent video on the Zurich S-Bahn, a commentator resident in Zurich complained about the slowness of TRAM services. Some Zurich tram routes (eg 10 and 12) are 100% low floor, but most routes are still worked by a mix of low floor and high floor cars. The high floor cars are of course slower at stops. as people have to climb up into the tram. I am sure you can guess the result. The high floor cars tend to run late.
The streetcar platforms should be "refugee islands" for pedestrians. They don't need to get all the way to the other side of Spadina. Even the so called "safety islands" in the suburbs (safety for motorists that is) should become "refugee islands" with radar detectors for the pedestrians instead of buttons.
https://youtu.be/7KPGVP85WpU