HomeMy WebLinkAboutEGD-012-15 clarington
Engineering Services
Report
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Report To: General Purpose and Administration Committee
Date of Meeting: June 8, 2015
Report Number: EGD-012-15 Resolution: GPa- 4010-\S
File Number: D1035001 DA01 By-law Number:
Report Subject: GO Transit Re-route Options, Newcastle Village
Recommendations:
1. That Report EGD-012-15 be received;
2. That the demolition of the former fire hall in the Village of Newcastle be delayed to allow
GO Transit to continue to use this property as a temporary turnaround on an interim basis
until opportunities for strategic partnerships have been explored, and
3. That Staff be directed to enter into discussions with GO Transit and Durham Region Transit
to see if opportunities exist which may allow us to maintain or even enhance transit service
to the Village of Newcastle in the least disruptive manner possible, and
4. That Staff be directed to report back to Council in the Fall of 2015 on the progress of their
discussions, and
5. That scheduling of the demolition of the former fire hall in Newcastle be revisited at that
time, and
6. That all interested parties listed in Report EGD-012-15 and any delegations be advised of
Council's decision.
Municipality of Clarington
Report EGD-012-15 Page 2
Report Overview
In January of 2015 Council voted to declare the property known as 247 King Avenue East,
Newcastle, as surplus and authorized Staff to proceed with site remediation, including
demolition of the building in preparation for the sale of the land by a public proposal call.
As part of report PSD-007-15, mention was made of the fact that GO Transit (Metrolinx) have
used the site as a turnaround and layover for their buses for several years and that if the land
was deemed surplus and sold an alternative route would need to be found. GO Transit has
been working with the Municipality in an effort to maintain full service to the Village and to find
an alternative route that would meet the community's needs. Engineering Services sat down
with GO Transit to look at potential options and having identified three, GO Transit and the
Municipality sought feedback from the community through both an on-board survey as well as
a Public Information Centre hosted on May 19th 2015 by the Municipality. The feedback we
obtained collectively has been summarized in this report.
1 . Background
1.1. Current GO Transit Service for the Village of Newcastle
For at least sixteen years GO Transit has provided regional bus service to the Village of
Newcastle and for the duration of this service GO buses have relied upon the use of the
former fire hall located at 247 King Avenue East as a turnaround. Many members of the
community have planned their lives around a service that has allowed them to get to
work, to school, to recreational activities, to medical appointments and more. Quite
understandably, the community sees transit as a vital service.
1.2 The Former Newcastle Fire Hall
As explained in the Planning Report PSD-007-15, the Municipality of Clarington
purchased the property at 247 King Avenue East in 1975 and used it as a Municipal Fire
Hall in 1976. When the new Alfred Alldread Fire Station opened on Highway 2 in 2014,
the building ceased to be used as a fire hall by the Municipality but it continued to be
used as a turnaround by GO Transit. Early this year Council declared the former
Newcastle Fire Hall property as surplus, and it was agreed that the building would be
demolished and the site prepared for sale.
1.3 Transit to Newcastle Village
It is widely recognized that "communities which are successfully improving the
sustainability of their transportation networks are doing so as part of a wider program of
creating more vibrant, livable and sustainable cities", and it is because transit is so
important to Clarington residents that every effort has been made to look for ways to
maintain full service to the Village of Newcastle.
Municipality of Clarington
Report EGD-012-15 Page 3
1.4 Obtaininq Community Feedback
Realizing how important transit is in Newcastle, both GO Transit and Clarington Staff met
to look at options for maintaining full service with the demolition of the former fire hall
having been announced. On April 23, 2015 an on-board survey was administered by GO
Planning and Bus Operations East. A copy of the results of that survey have been
provided (Attachment#1). A total of 89 passengers out of an estimated ridership of 120 —
130 were invited to participate in the survey. As part of their findings we learned that
70% of GO customers walk to their stops and most board from the three most eastern
stops. A majority of the respondents preferred that full service to the most eastern stops
in Newcastle be maintained and clearly the least favourable level of service was to stop
at the Park & Ride at 35/115.
On Tuesday, May 19th Engineering Services, in collaboration with GO Transit, hosted a
Public Information Centre from 5 pm to 8 pm at the Newcastle Public Library located at
150 King Avenue E. (see attachment#2), to present three potential options for service
(see Attachment #3), being:
• Option 1 - Start/terminate GO bus service at the Hwy. 35/115 commuter parking lot.
• Option 2 - Re-route the eastbound service along King Avenue West to Church
Street, south on Church Street to Emily Street, east on Emily Street to Mill Street,
north on Mill Street to King Avenue, and then return westbound along King Avenue
West.
• Option 3 - Re-route the eastbound service along King Avenue West to Mill Street,
south on Mill Street to Edward Street, east on Edward Street to Brookhouse Drive,
north on Brookhouse Drive to King Avenue East, and then return westbound along
King Avenue.
1.5 Identifying the Needs of a Community
Staff were aware going into discussions, that while we had considered the alternatives
carefully, none of the options we were exploring were ideal. It was important however, to
encourage dialogue within the community and to brainstorm together, ways to match the
needs of our residents with the solutions we might explore.
2.0 The Public Information Centre
The public were invited to attend the Public Information Centre by way of advertisements
two weeks in a row in the Clarington This Week and the Orono Times. Announcements
were placed on the Municipality's web page, on our Facebook Page and on other social
media outlets. One hundred and two people responded by providing feedback with 44
responses having been received by those who attended the Public Information Centre in
person, 10 emailed responses and 46 responses from residents who signed a local area
petition on the matter. The register from the Public Information Centre as well as other
responses are on file within the Engineering Services Department.
Municipality of Clarington
Report EGD-012-15 Page 4
2.1 Summarizinq the Results of the Feedback
Recognizing how vital transit service is there was almost no support in favour of having
GO Transit discontinue service into Newcastle at the Hwy. 35/115 commuter parking lot.
A very small minority were in support of Option 2 which was to re-route the eastbound
service along King Avenue West to Church Street, south on Church Street to Emily
Street, east on Emily Street to Mill Street, north on Mill Street to King Avenue, and then
return westbound along King Avenue West. Even fewer supported Option 3 which was to
re-route the eastbound service along King Avenue West to Mill Street, south on Mill
Street to Edward Street, east on Edward Street to Brookhouse Drive, north on
Brookhouse Drive to King Avenue East, and then return westbound along King Avenue.
2.2 Areas of Concern
Each of the three options presented carried their own areas of concern. These concerns
are:
Option 1 — Start/terminate GO bus service at the Hwy 35/115 commuter parking lot
"Daughter needs away to get to Bowmanville. 115135 is too far for her to walk".
"I rely on this bus to get to work daily. There must be a stop in Town".
"I moved to Newcastle because there was a bus in Town".
"1 need a way to get to my extracurricular activities and to be independent".
"The entire reason we bought our house was the GO bus stop in town. Please continue
to stop in town"!
"We have a developmentally challenged son who relies on the GO Bus to get him to
Courtice, Monday to Friday".
Option 2 — Re-route Church/Emily
There were few who were in favour of this option and one comment we received was
that:
1 "Live on Church, road conditions bad now because of the weight of the bus. We see
this now on King Ave. Traffic on Church has tripled in recent years. Safety and traffic
already issues. Don't want GO bus coming down Church. Lots of retirees and
pensioners".
Municipality of Clarington
Report EGD-012-15 Page 5
Option 3 — Re-route Edward Street/Brookhouse
Of the three options presented the one most passionately opposed by the community
was this one. A petition was signed by 46 residents who felt strongly that:
"We already have the school buses from 2 schools, the increased speeding traffic from
Tim Horton's and our local traffic. We have 2 parks, Walbridge and Brookhouse, which
get very busy when school ends at the end of June. We have had many issues with
speeding traffic". The petition went on to say: "there must be another way, even if it is
only temporary".
This sentiment was echoed over and over again and while six respondents welcomed this
option, fifty six were very much opposed.
2.3 A Fourth Option
An interesting development that came out of the Public Information Centre was the stated
wish of the majority of those who commented that the status quo be maintained through
the continued use of the existing GO bus turnaround at the former fire hall as a temporary
solution. Residents see the GO bus as a lifeline and in recognition of the fact that there
are no ideal options, they urged staff to consider leaving things as they are now until a
more permanent solution can be found. One resident stated that "we want the bus to
have at least one stop in Newcastle proper/downtown". Another asked that we "please
leave in town service as is and yet another couple stated that "we are in favour of
retaining this as a GO bus turnaround". They went on to say "We would like to suggest
that you consider delaying the sale for a reasonable time. " Fifty four residents stated
that "there must be another way, even if it is only temporary".
3.0 Transit as a Lifeline to the Community
The Municipality is very committed to sustainable transportation options for our residents
and have voiced this commitment in our Transportation Master Plan. At the same time
we respect the community's concerns about providing this lifeline in the least obtrusive
manner possible and it is clear that residents are strongly opposed to having a double
decker highway coach on their local roadways. People need away to get to their jobs,
activities and medical appointments but the community has, for the most part, asked that
we buy time to consider other options.
4.0 Proposal
In light of the feedback received at the May 19th, 2015 Public Information Centre it
appears that it may be best for the short term to maintain the GO Bus service as is until
the Municipality has had time to look more closely at opportunities to maintain or even
enhance service to the Village of Newcastle. If directed, Staff will enter into detailed
discussions with Durham Region Transit and with GO Transit to see if a strategic
partnership can be formed to promote enhanced service to the Village and furthermore,
we will look at the potential for private partnerships within the business community that
Municipality of Clarington
Report EGD-012-15 Page 6
may help us achieve the same goal. Should Council decide to support Staff's proposal
the cost of maintaining and operating the former fire hall will need to be set aside to flow
through the Operations Department Current Budget until such time as an alternative
option can be found.
5.0 Concurrence
The Director of Operations has reviewed this report and concurs with the
recommendations.
6.0 Conclusion
Transit service to the Village of Newcastle is an essential lifeline for many members of
the community and reducing service at a time when alternative modes of transportation
are being actively promoted is extremely counterproductive. At the same time the
Municipality fully respects the concerns of a community which has asked us to find ways
to maintain service without bringing double decker highway coaches into residential
neighbourhoods.
We respectfully recommend to Council that they vote to delay the demolition of the former
fire hall to allow us time to pursue every available option to maintain or even enhance
transit service to the Village in a manner that suits the needs of the community and in the
least obtrusive manner possible.
7.0 Strategic Plan Application
The recommendations contained in this report conform to the Strategic Plan.
ZY
Submitted by: Reviewed by:
Anthony Cannella anklin Wu,
Director of Engineering Services Chief Administrative Officer
ASC/ra/jb
Staff Contact: Ron Albright, 905-623-3379, ext. 2305, raIbright @clarington.net
Attachments:
Attachment 1 — GO Transit Onboard Survey Results
Attachment 2 — Notice of Public Information Centre
Attachment 3 — Map to illustrate the three options presented at the Public Information Centre
List of interested parties to be notified of Council's decision is on file in the Engineering
Services Department.
_ • o _
LO
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Prepared by: K. M . Mathew
arket Planner, Research and Business Solutions
30 April 2015 ,
Background
• For over 16 years GO Transit has been providing regional bus service to the community of Newcastle.
From the inception of this service extension, GO buses have been using the former fire hall located at
247 King Avenue East as the terminus turn around location. The new fire hall is operational and GO
buses will no longer be able to use the former fire hall premises as a turn around location as it would
be redeveloped. The Municipality of Clarington and GO Transit, in collaboration with Durham Region
Transit, are evaluating alternative routing options within Newcastle.
• Bus Services reached out to Research and Business Solutions (RABS) to conduct a short survey of
passengers using bus routes #90/91 to gather their feedback on 3 route options presented.
• The broad objectives of this research were to understand:
— How the different route options would affect the use of GO bus services
— How the different route options would affect customer experience
• An onboard survey was administered by GO Planning and Bus Operations East on April 23, 2015 on all
trips serving these routes. In all, 89 passengers out of an estimated ridership of 120-30 on
routes #90/91 completed the survey.
• The findings of this study are presented in this report. The presented results have an error margin of
4-5.3 - 5.9 % 19 times out of 20)
2
Executive
Summary
• The GO bus is a lifeline to many passengers residing in Newcastle, Clarington and Bowmanville, with many
dependent on it to get to work , school or other destinations.
• With over 70% of the customers (of routes #90/91) walking to their stops to access this lifeline and nearly
70% boarding from the three most eastern stops that are close to many customers' homes, the importance of
the service being easily accessible by having stops within walking distance needs no further emphasis.
• People feel that "public transit is a huge part of Newcastle lifestyle and changing these routes will drastically
affect many people's work and travel': Consequently, any change should cause minimum disruption to their
status quo or run the risk of being a deterrent to the usage of public transit.
• Customers have therefore clearly indicated their preferences: Starting/stopping at the Library will cause the
least disruption to continued usage and would in fact increase usage for 23%. This is followed by the option to
start/stop at Mill St. with 15% stating that this would increase their usage of GO bus.
• On the other end of the spectrum, starting and stopping the service at the Park & Ride will be most
unfavourable to continued usage, with 4 out of 5 users saying that this will cause them to use GO less often.
• Consistent with these observations, the Library and Mill St. options have also been voted as the ones most
likely to improve customer experience for 13 - 15%, whereas the Park and Ride option is viewed as one that
will worsen the experience for 4 out of 5 customers.
3
On average, people travel 3.3 days a week on ro,,ute:s #� 9.0
and 91, with most boarding at the 3 mo:st eastern stops
The 3 most eastern stops account for nearly 70% of the boardings
King Ave. W @ King Ave. W @
• - 15 /0 44%11%
_ _ �.-•--•9!� _ _ 'q� a ..),_.. a�s�.... �—,--yam __ _ fr- .iY- — ��"�
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i
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GO Park Hwy2 and Hwy Massey Dr.& R ' - 11 / King Ave. @ 10% King Ave E @
: .
*These 5 stops account for 91% of the boardings, other stops account for the remaining 9%
8470 get off at the same stop Most often at:
Foodland
1470 get off at a different stop Beaver St. / Library sample n=89
Oshawa GO
Which bus stop do you typically board or get off at? 4
If you normally take the return trip on this bus,do you get off at the same stop/intersection?
The majority of ® s
•
i Drop off
- 71 /0 - 23 /0 - 6 /
Relatively higher~ numbers walk to Rudell Rd, Massey Drive, Beaver St. and North St. stops
90571,91111 - '
10-9 0
C®RIPM
• Park & Ride . King •
and Hwy 35/115 Massey Dr. Beaver St.
90091 90241,90131 90441,90111,90091,
90141,90221 l 9017 90281,91081 J
More passengers board at the stops for G® bus trip numbers shown
sample n =49
5
Which bus stop do you typically board or get off at?
• • • • ® • n: that
would encourage mcreased • ' • • �' ® ® 0
affect .
usage
The 3 route options
A. Service will start/end at the library (King Ave. east of Beaver St.)
B. Service will start/end at King Ave. and Mill St.
C. Service will start/end at the G® Park & Ride lot
How will the options affect usage of routes
saying will increase, no change or will decrease
o Change
11,U-,
A. Service will start/end at the library These 2 options least
disruptive to continued
King B. Service will start/end at Kin Ave. and Mill St. usage
C. Service will start/end at the G® Park & Ride lot This opt�Qn east favorable 1
--- -- -- -- --- — —- for�t�ntiied usag
sample n=89 6
How will these options affect your usage of GO bus routes#90/91?
Terminating, - buses at t - park
affect customers the most
While terminating the bus at the park and ride will affect most customers, it will particularly
affect:
— Frequent customers
— customers on trip #s 90091,90111,90131,90441,91111
— People walking vs. dropped off
— Stops shown below in red
King Ave. W • King Ave.
Rudell ' •
• Park : • , . . • • King Ave E @, Massey Dr. Beaver
sample n=89
7
How will these options affect your usage of GO bus routes#90/91?
Starting stopping at Beaver St. Or Mill St. W2111 improve the
experience for up to 15% of the customers
Starting/stopping the service at the library or Mill St. will improve the experience for
up to 15% while it will remain the same most customers. Starting/stopping at the
Park and Ride will adversely affect nearly 4 out of 5 customers.
Service will start/end at the 1%
library (King Ave. east of Beaver 84%
St.) 15% _
Service will start/end at King Ave. - 28% -
and Mill St. 59
13% Especially for:
79% Boarding at library
Service will start/end at the GO /0 Walking to their stops
Park & Ride lot ® 3�� 18 Trips 90111,
90441, 91111
0% 50% 100%
■Will worsen Will remain the same ■ Will Improve
sample n=89
8
Su. gestions
•So strong is peoples concern about the option of stopping /starting the bus from
the Park and Ride that 9 out of 10 suggestions were about this. Most people feel
that this option will curtail their independence and will make GO inaccessible to
many in Newcastie.
Many people will not be able to use GO/have access 25%
Inconvenient/Park and ride too far to walk 25%
Keep as is/Maintain stops 20%
Don't stop route at Park and Ride 10%
Extend service to Port Hope, Newtonville,Coburg 8%
Make bus turn on side streets = 5%
Other 8%
-
sample n 40 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
9
Suggestions
"Being able to walk to bus was key factor in move to "Don't start and end at Park& Ride lot as it will miss a
Newcastle. Turning at Park& Ride would be a HUGE lot of people in Newcastle (including myself). If I can't
impact." use the bus, 1 won't be able to get to school(or work)."
"I rely on this GO Bus picking me at "The reason 1 take GO Bus is "The GO Bus should add
Beaver St. every day to get to because 1 don't drive. If it
more stops to cover more
work. If they moved the starting starts/stops at Park& Ride, 1
stop any further, I would not be can't use it and it leaves me areas. Port Hope,
"
able to get to work." stranded." Newtonville, Coburg.
"Public transit is a huge part of
Newcastle lifestyle, changing these routes "If we ride, we don't drive. Will 'Although 1 mainly use the
will drastically affect many people's work affect me drastically and affect carpool lot, it is not far enough
and travel. Do not remove the Newcastle my independence." into town to accommodate."
bus loop or 1 cannot be environmentally
friendly and use your service."
10
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Origins of passen of Route #90/91
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is WS :W.d `K--L11 Cavae�luwb*oak-wMn69on:pnan S
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u=m m,e \\\
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ills �"'. 15v\`\\ ��'•`—''`''4°+$° ,.w,+�"-�-
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Number of passengers
_P.AFxERING TATIOIJB \ =I"z
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UGE HILL STATION --
Shown here — Only passengers residing in the area Source: GO Bus'Survey 2014 12
Days travelled
35%
31%
30%
25%
i
20%
17% i
15% 15%
11%
10.0/0 9%
6% 6%
5%
4%
0•%.
1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days 7 days Less than Other
n_89 once a week
Frequent riders board mainly from Beaver St., North St. and Park & Ride
How many days do you travel on the GO Bus Route#90/91 service during a typical week? sample n=89
13
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Attachment #2
EGD-012-15
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www.clarington.net / •
PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRE
GO-I-r nON Cie-Uom2e®ptoons Older- Adult S-1;
[,9GusCan-00e Vil[Ea ege
Municipality r
Today,the Old Fire Hall in Newcastle serves as the turnaround point for the
GO bus servicing the village.With the building's upcoming demoli=tion,new The Municipality of Clarington look
routing options for the GO bus are required. recreational environment for older .i
GO Transit plans to make changes efifective September 2015 and has sought create an environment where older#-,
advice from the Municipality of Clarington on what option would best meet Clarington
the community's needs. their needs.
Clarington
The Municipality of Clarington invites residents to join us in considering three �;
rerouting options: ' •
•�� •- 1
1.Start/terminate GO bus service at the Hwy.35/115 commuter parking lot.
2
this ;
.Reroute the eastbound service along King Avenue West to Church Street, inform
,jw
south on Church Street to Emily Street,east on Emily Street to Mill Street, Clarington
north on Mill Street to King Avenue,and then return westbound along King
Avenue West.
3.Reroute the eastbound service along King Avenue West to Mill Street, Adult Survey. This survey is availabl
south on Mill Street to Edward Street,east on Edward Street to Brookhouse www.clarington.net. Hard copies
Drive,north on Brookhouse Drive to King Avenue East,and then return are also available in all municipal
e westbound along King Avenue.
s facilities, branches of
s
An Information Centre will be held on u ueado w May 19",201 5-5 po m s a Un vDm Library, Clarington Beech Centr;
@2 iehe MQumonzsae Pub He Mbwavy located at 150 King Avenue E.,Newcastle.
community various other
o
You are cordially invited to attend the Information Centre.Preliminary options
and route maps will be available for your viewing and staff will be on hand [ m[Ag UnuOC>'CI1fl�c�Nk
to answer questions. Your input and suggestions can provide valuable
information that will guide the Municipality's recommendations to GO on bus Wednesday, Ncay 6, 201A5
E service in Newcastle.
s
6:00-7:30 prn Garnet B. Rig
If you are unable to attend and require further information,you may contact 2440 Hlghw
the undersigned. Please feel free to address comments in writing to the
Municipality of Clarington's Engineering Services department at the address
noted below. If you have any questions, please contact:
Engineering Services Department Erica Mittag, " '
Phone:905-623-3379 Email:engineering @clarington.net
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Legend a RF�F _DR loll -1 �f ' DRAWN BY:
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Option A
Option B DATE:
Option C (Commuter Lot) June 1, 2015
�F Existing Route REPORT EGD-012-15
ATTACHMENT NO. 3