Montrose Transit Exchange Design
Outlined below is a compilation of thoughts regarding the design and amenities for the proposed Montrose Transit Exchange.
"Washrooms adjacent to the Queensway terminal will open Wednesday," Castanet, April 28, 2020
"City of Abbotsford seeks federal funding for Montrose transit exchange," Vikki Hopes, Abbotsford News, February 26, 2021
"City of Abbotsford seeks public input on Montrose transit exchange," by Vikki Hopes, Abbotsford News, July 13, 2021
Freedom of Information (FOI) file 0580-20/2022-295 - November 9, 2022
Part 1 - Literature Review: Background
"Washrooms adjacent to the Queensway terminal will open Wednesday," Castanet, April 28, 2020
"City of Abbotsford seeks federal funding for Montrose transit exchange," Vikki Hopes, Abbotsford News, February 26, 2021
"City of Abbotsford seeks public input on Montrose transit exchange," by Vikki Hopes, Abbotsford News, July 13, 2021
Freedom of Information (FOI) file 0580-20/2022-295 - November 9, 2022
Costs:
Lets Talk Abbotsford - Image
Image: Current Primary Bourquin Exchange: Sheltered, car-free passenger islands for efficient-and-effective connections with a pedestrian path connecting it to Sevenoaks Shopping Centre. Source: Google Earth.
Photo and Image: The proposed Montrose Avenue primary-exchange design (right image) in Historic Downtown Abbotsford, where passengers of all ages and abilities must mitigate four lanes of prioritized car traffic, with no mid-block crossings, to make connections while exposed to the elements. Pedestrians and cyclists are not separated on the sidewalk. There is no intersection traffic calming measures, like a roundabout. Although not visible in the bottom right of the conceptual drawing, no crosswalk is planned for Montrose Avenue southbound crossing McDougal Avenue, connecting a residential area. Source: Google Earth and City of Abbotsford.
The design should be an island or land (curb)-tied island to accommodate bus turn-widths, with Montrose Avenue closed to non-commercial single-occupancy vehicles like the Queensway Exchange in downtown Kelowna to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. The current Montrose design concepts prioritize single-occupancy cars over transit users with no mid-block crossings or raised and pedestrian-prioritized intersections. No reference in public documents indicates that the City will prioritize pedestrians at traffic signals, further inhibiting the overall guest experience and market appeal by making connections difficult and increasing the risk of missed connections. The proposed design issues are similar to the Second Avenue exchange in Mission.
Photos - Aerial and Street View: Queensway Exchange downtown Kelowna with washrooms, public clock and live bus info screens. Modo car share is available in the Museum and City Hall parking lots across the bus lane. Sources: Google Earth and City of Kelowna. | The adjacent Kasugai Gardens add to transit's delightfulness: Reference: https://twitter.com/rossfbrown/status/1561921695467720704
An island format offers many benefits, including:
1) More convenient bus connections for passengers,
2) Shelter covering the entire island,
3) Washrooms,
4) Consolidated transit information display system,
5) Cycle paths that don't conflict with pedestrians, and
6) Improved security.
4) Stall for commercial bus operators (e.g., Interurban scheduled service, tours, charters).
5) Taxi and ride-share pick-up stalls.
6) Public clock for persons without cell phones or a watch and persons with dead cell phone batteries, lost or broken phones. See Kelowna's public Queensway Exchange Clock in the background of the included image.
7) Smartphone device charging.
8) Space provisions with an electrical outlet for busking and community pop-up booths.
9) Food truck parking area. A food truck on-site for peak travel periods with vegan and vegetarian options would be an excellent guest amenity during the morning and evening rush hours.
It is critical to regularly publish transit's on-time performance figures and set performance expectations with B.C. transit, including irregular operation provisions (e.g., guest guarantees).
The City can further advance consumer confidence by curtailing its fleet of single-occupancy vehicles. City staff and elected officials who do not need specialty vehicles should use transit for all business trips within the urban areas of Abbotsford and Mission. Earning consumer confidence through proof of concept in the operation of the City's transit system will make it easier to resolve issues, lure large portions of the population to use transit over personal vehicles, and convincingly attract high-value private sector urban in-fill investment.
Adjoining property next to the proposed re-designed Montrose transit hub must include zoning for high-density mixed-use with below-market daycare spaces, work/live units, and street-level turn-key bike and mobility aid scooter parking with a minimum number of stalls and no car parking minimums. Daycare must be within a two-minute walk of the transit exchange for seamless commutes.
Letter - Issue: Safe and Delightful Transportation To and From School
Letter: Mission Transit Exchange
Issue: Striving For Safe Streets
Literature Review: Street Safety
Urban Development Project Evaluation
BC Transit - Planning Standards and Guidelines
= = =
Keywords: Abbotsford, transit, exchange, hub, transfer, Bourquin, Montrose, bus, passenger, traveller, customer
Project budget: $5,400,000
Concept design: $45,790
Preliminary design: $42,651
Detail design: $271,632
Total design costs: $360,073
The proposed design and drawings were completed by Associated Engineering (B.C.) Ltd. and Watt Consulting Group.
Lets Talk Abbotsford - Image
Image: Current Primary Bourquin Exchange: Sheltered, car-free passenger islands for efficient-and-effective connections with a pedestrian path connecting it to Sevenoaks Shopping Centre. Source: Google Earth.
Photo and Image: The proposed Montrose Avenue primary-exchange design (right image) in Historic Downtown Abbotsford, where passengers of all ages and abilities must mitigate four lanes of prioritized car traffic, with no mid-block crossings, to make connections while exposed to the elements. Pedestrians and cyclists are not separated on the sidewalk. There is no intersection traffic calming measures, like a roundabout. Although not visible in the bottom right of the conceptual drawing, no crosswalk is planned for Montrose Avenue southbound crossing McDougal Avenue, connecting a residential area. Source: Google Earth and City of Abbotsford.
Part 2 - Design Format
The design should be an island or land (curb)-tied island to accommodate bus turn-widths, with Montrose Avenue closed to non-commercial single-occupancy vehicles like the Queensway Exchange in downtown Kelowna to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. The current Montrose design concepts prioritize single-occupancy cars over transit users with no mid-block crossings or raised and pedestrian-prioritized intersections. No reference in public documents indicates that the City will prioritize pedestrians at traffic signals, further inhibiting the overall guest experience and market appeal by making connections difficult and increasing the risk of missed connections. The proposed design issues are similar to the Second Avenue exchange in Mission.
Photos - Aerial and Street View: Queensway Exchange downtown Kelowna with washrooms, public clock and live bus info screens. Modo car share is available in the Museum and City Hall parking lots across the bus lane. Sources: Google Earth and City of Kelowna. | The adjacent Kasugai Gardens add to transit's delightfulness: Reference: https://twitter.com/rossfbrown/status/1561921695467720704
An island format offers many benefits, including:
1) More convenient bus connections for passengers,
2) Shelter covering the entire island,
3) Washrooms,
4) Consolidated transit information display system,
5) Cycle paths that don't conflict with pedestrians, and
6) Improved security.
Part 3 - Design Features
1) More car-sharing stalls are needed (e.g., Modo car share) for seamless bus-car-share connections, including specialty car-share vehicles (e.g., van, small truck). Specialty vehicles at Queensway Exchange are popular with Modo members in Kelowna and must be at a central, turn-key access point.
Source: https://twitter.com/rossfbrown/status/923693101247488001 (OGO is now Modo)
Source: https://twitter.com/rossfbrown/status/923693101247488001 (OGO is now Modo)
2) Short and long-term bicycle parking with designated future bike-share areas (e.g., cargo bikes, standard bikes). Plus, e-bike charging.
Picture: DropBike pick-up and dropoff zone using geo fencing, downtown Kelowna.
3) Shuttle stall (e.g., shuttles for hotels, the Airport Terminal / Tradex and Abbotsford Centre, agriculture workers, remote event locations - like Air Show and the Tulip Festival).
Picture: DropBike pick-up and dropoff zone using geo fencing, downtown Kelowna.
3) Shuttle stall (e.g., shuttles for hotels, the Airport Terminal / Tradex and Abbotsford Centre, agriculture workers, remote event locations - like Air Show and the Tulip Festival).
4) Stall for commercial bus operators (e.g., Interurban scheduled service, tours, charters).
5) Taxi and ride-share pick-up stalls.
6) Public clock for persons without cell phones or a watch and persons with dead cell phone batteries, lost or broken phones. See Kelowna's public Queensway Exchange Clock in the background of the included image.
7) Smartphone device charging.
8) Space provisions with an electrical outlet for busking and community pop-up booths.
9) Food truck parking area. A food truck on-site for peak travel periods with vegan and vegetarian options would be an excellent guest amenity during the morning and evening rush hours.
10) Vending machine shelter for hot and cold beverages, snacks and ready-made meals
11) Accessible drinking water fountain with a water bottle fill feature, pet fountain and wash tap.
Source: https://twitter.com/rossfbrown/status/850476786941022208
12) Public washrooms. See the article in Part 1 regarding the Queensway Exchange washrooms in Kelowna for a working example. It became a conceivable amenity through unique design features and community partnerships for ongoing cleaning and maintenance. The restroom needs to be gender-neutral with single locking stalls, a urinal area and a collective bank of sinks.
13) Rest area for drivers. There should be a private washroom with a toilet, bidet, shower and hairdryer with separate stretching and lunchrooms (e.g., easy access electrical outlets for device charging, day-use lockers, and day-use bicycle storage. Plus, a wet bar style kitchenette with sink, bar fridge, water cooler, kettle and microwave).
14) Water misting lines to keep passengers and drivers cool on hot days.
15) A plastic bus tire rub rail along the curb
Source: https://twitter.com/dongho_chang/status/1575129114931040258
16) Shopping cart corrals at stops adjacent to significant box stores, grocery stores or shopping centres.
17) Traffic and other noise at transit stops must be at a safe and dignified level (e.g., below 70 decibels)
Source: https://twitter.com/J_M_Warren/status/1586397451828822016
18) Consider how solar radiation will impact transit shelters:
11) Accessible drinking water fountain with a water bottle fill feature, pet fountain and wash tap.
Source: https://twitter.com/rossfbrown/status/850476786941022208
12) Public washrooms. See the article in Part 1 regarding the Queensway Exchange washrooms in Kelowna for a working example. It became a conceivable amenity through unique design features and community partnerships for ongoing cleaning and maintenance. The restroom needs to be gender-neutral with single locking stalls, a urinal area and a collective bank of sinks.
13) Rest area for drivers. There should be a private washroom with a toilet, bidet, shower and hairdryer with separate stretching and lunchrooms (e.g., easy access electrical outlets for device charging, day-use lockers, and day-use bicycle storage. Plus, a wet bar style kitchenette with sink, bar fridge, water cooler, kettle and microwave).
14) Water misting lines to keep passengers and drivers cool on hot days.
15) A plastic bus tire rub rail along the curb
Source: https://twitter.com/dongho_chang/status/1575129114931040258
16) Shopping cart corrals at stops adjacent to significant box stores, grocery stores or shopping centres.
17) Traffic and other noise at transit stops must be at a safe and dignified level (e.g., below 70 decibels)
Source: https://twitter.com/J_M_Warren/status/1586397451828822016
18) Consider how solar radiation will impact transit shelters:
20) Benches with back support
21) Parcel lockers (e.g., Amazon, Canada Post) and a Canada Post mailbox
22) Bike repair station, including a tire pump
Part 4 - Market Appeal: End User Experience Research and Proof of Concept
It is critical to regularly publish transit's on-time performance figures and set performance expectations with B.C. transit, including irregular operation provisions (e.g., guest guarantees).
The City can further advance consumer confidence by curtailing its fleet of single-occupancy vehicles. City staff and elected officials who do not need specialty vehicles should use transit for all business trips within the urban areas of Abbotsford and Mission. Earning consumer confidence through proof of concept in the operation of the City's transit system will make it easier to resolve issues, lure large portions of the population to use transit over personal vehicles, and convincingly attract high-value private sector urban in-fill investment.
Part 5 - Zoning, Daycare
Adjoining property next to the proposed re-designed Montrose transit hub must include zoning for high-density mixed-use with below-market daycare spaces, work/live units, and street-level turn-key bike and mobility aid scooter parking with a minimum number of stalls and no car parking minimums. Daycare must be within a two-minute walk of the transit exchange for seamless commutes.
Related:
Letter - Issue: Safe and Delightful Transportation To and From School
Letter: Mission Transit Exchange
Issue: Striving For Safe Streets
Literature Review: Street Safety
Urban Development Project Evaluation
BC Transit - Planning Standards and Guidelines
= = =
Keywords: Abbotsford, transit, exchange, hub, transfer, Bourquin, Montrose, bus, passenger, traveller, customer