This morning was the first real test for the Scott Street bus detour, and I was onsite for a couple of hours through the morning peak to observe how it went. There are two categories of concerns that I and the community have had in the run-up to this: the impact on residents immediately adjacent, and the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and passengers through the corridor.
The latter were the focus of attention this morning as we watched the buses enter and exit the Transitway and make their way onto Scott Street. Because the buses need to wait for a light at Merton to continue eastbound (westbound buses will be able to turn into the Transitway on red if it's safe to do so), I expect that this morning's conditions will give us a good understanding of the biggest challenges faced by the detour, especially given that we had snow last night.
Here are a few observations:
Bottom-line? With some further tweaks and fixes, I'm satisfied that the detour from the perspective of all forms of traffic is working as well as we can hope. My worst-case fears - at least this morning - weren't borne out. Kudos to the City for having thought through the various aspects.
With respect to the other broad category of concern, the noise and air quality impacts to residents immediately adjacent to Scott, I need to speak with residents. Scott is loud, but in my view there was certainly an elevation in the noise level. We know that the City has modeled those noise levels, making assumptions about how much louder it might get. Our work will be to see whether that louder traffic is within the limits anticipated by the City.
Most residents are likely aware of my feelings about the detour, and I don't intend to re-fight old battles. The detour is here. Several of my worst fears were unfounded based on this morning's experience, but it's something I'll be keeping a close watch on. OC Transpo and the City have been very responsive all weekend. If there's something you think I should know about, please drop me a line.
Oh, if you haven't seen it yet, I've posted a short video looking at the detour that folks seem to have found useful. You can catch it here.