City’s growth strategy manager defends bus rapid transit plan

Transit improvements planned for Saskatoon are designed to meet the city’s needs, not fit into an evaluation model, the city’s growth plan manager says.

Chris Schulz, who is guiding the City of Saskatoon’s growth plan, said he rejects the definition of bus rapid transit (BRT) established by the New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).

Jacob Mason, the ITDP’s global research manager, told The StarPhoenix the city’s so-called BRT system does not meet the requirements set out by the transportation advocacy group.

ITDP has established a scorecard to evaluate transit systems because of the rise of improvements that had been labelled BRT, but did not feature the same infrastructure or deliver the same results.

“Our perspective is there’s not a one-size-fits-all evaluation of BRT systems,” Schulz said in an interview. “(Saskatoon’s plan) is a system that’s designed to meet the needs of the city on opening day and for the next 10 years.”

Mason said the main shortfall of Saskatoon’s plan lies in the lack of dedicated bus lanes through most of the proposed system. The ITDP definition requires three kilometres of dedicated bus lanes that connect to each other.

Schulz said the Saskatoon plan features about 3.2 km in total dedicated lanes, but they do not connect. Dedicated bus lanes are planned in Saskatoon for a section of College Drive, Third Avenue downtown and Broadway Avenue in the business district.

Schulz also questioned the validity of ITDP to judge transit systems.

“They’re an advocacy group,” Schulz said. “They’ve sort of selfstyled themselves as an authority.”

All of the ingredients of Saskatoon’s proposed transit improvements come from the tools used by ITDP to assess BRT systems, Schulz said, offering the example of traffic signal priority for buses.

Schulz added that just because Saskatoon’s system does not feature widespread dedicated bus lanes does not mean it might not one day change in response to increased traffic congestion.

“At some point, it may just be obvious that it’s time to be dedicating a lane,” he said.

Schulz said the city’s analysis showed no need for widespread bus-only lanes.

The system that Saskatoon city hall calls BRT would feature crisscrossing high-frequency bus lanes that connect to various parts of the city on major roadways like 22nd Street and Eighth Street.

Improved transit is the major plank of the city’s growth plan, which features targeted growth along the transit corridors and transit villages at a handful of locations.

The final design of the transit plan is expected next month. Construction on the system, valued at $90 million to $150 million, could begin in the fall.

(Saskatoon’s plan) is a system that’s designed to meet the needs of the city on opening day and for the next 10 years

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