Survey begins on transit overhaul
New downtown terminal, redesign of routes under consideration for Peterborough Transit
A new survey is circulating in Peterborough to help the city determine how best to overhaul its public transit system.
The survey is available to fill out online or in person at the transit station on Simcoe St. from now until the end of November.
It asks specific questions about how citizens get around the city: it wants to know whether you own a car, for instance, and whether you take it to work or use some other means of transportation.
The data is collected anonymously, according to a city press release, and will be used only to give the city a better idea of travel patterns across Peterborough.
City council voted in August to plan an overhaul of the transit system, over the next two years, including a complete redesign of the bus routes and a concept for a brand-new downtown terminal.
Council hired the Toronto consulting firm IBI Group Inc. to do the study, which starts with the survey.
A redesign of the bus routes could see an end to the current radial system, where almost all buses run along routes that begin and end at the downtown terminal.
Mayor-elect Diane Therrien has said the city may be better off with a grid system, with cross-city routes that skip the downtown to get to their destinations faster.
The study is also expected to come up with a concept for a new downtown terminal, perhaps one where buses can come in one side and drive out the other.
Currently that’s not the case: buses need to drive
Transit riders get off a bus at a stop on Hunter Street East near Armour Road on Monday. The city launched a travel survey Monday as it considers a transit network overhaul.
in and back out of the terminal on Simcoe St., which sometimes clogs the traffic along the street.
The consultants will also consider whether the Simcoe St. station needs to be rebuilt in the same location or not.
If Via Rail were to follow through on a proposal to establish a high-frequency passenger train line between Toronto and Ottawa with a stop in Peterborough, the study determine if the city could use an all-purpose station for the train, transit buses and GO Transit buses.
The new survey takes about 15 minutes to fill out online.
In the press release, city transportation manager Kevin Jones states that the data it collects is “incredibly important” to the planning process.
“The results will help us better understand where and how people in Peterborough are travelling,” he stated.
The city is offering survey participants the chance to enter a draw to win prizes such as an Amazon Echo Plus, a Fitbit Flex 2, 30-day transit passes and more.
NOTE: The survey will be available at the transit station or online until Nov. 30. Find it online here: http://ptsurvey.ca