Sunday, April 28, 2024
This section defines terms specific to the transit section of the Municipal Class EA. It should be noted, however, that the glossary of terms included in the main Municipal Class EA document (see pages G-1 to G-11) applies to Part D as well.
With the addition of “Transit Projects” to the Municipal Class EA parent document, the definition of “linear paved facility” has been modified to:
“Means facilities which utilize a linear paved surface including road lanes, or lanes for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.”
High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) – a bus or motor vehicle containing the specified minimum number of persons prescribed by local by-laws
The following terms are specific to the transit section of the Municipal Class EA:
Municipal Transit – see discussion in Section D.1.2.
Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) – The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Public Transportation Fact Book, 2006 defines Heavy Rail as:
An electric railway with the capacity for a high volume of traffic. It is characterized by high speed and rapid acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multi-car trains on fixed rails; separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded; sophisticated signalling, and high platform loading. If the service were converted to full automation with no onboard personnel, the service would be considered an automated guideway.
Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS) – The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Canadian Transit Handbook describes ICTS in Section 3.3.4. An excerpt of which is included in Attachment 1.
Transit System – Encompasses the linear component of a transit facility and associated system elements such as stations, park and ride lots, storage and maintenance facilities and other ancillary features.
Linear Component of a Transit System - the travelled way including road lanes, lanes in an exclusive right-of-way, at grade track, or grade separated lanes/track of a transit facility and other ancillary features (e.g. ballast, electrical substations etc), exclusive of stations, park and ride lots and storage and maintenance facilities.
Transit Loop – A facility constructed for the primary purpose of allowing a transit vehicle to turn around, either at the end of, or midway along, its route. Transit loops may include modest pedestrian facilities such as a passenger shelter and, in some cases, washrooms for operators.
Transit Stop –A facility where transit vehicles stop to pick up and discharge passengers and may include boarding/alighting platforms, bus bays, passenger shelters, benches, fare collection equipment, passenger information facilities and other related passenger equipment, amenities, and facilities. Examples of transit stops include:
Transit Station/Terminal – A facility which is typically designed to accommodate passenger transfer activity between transit modes and other travel modes, and may include passenger pick-up and drop-off, and park and ride lots. Transit stations may include overpasses/underpasses for pedestrian use, passenger services buildings, shelters or structures, benches, fare collection equipment, passenger information facilities, bicycle posts/lockers and/or other related passenger equipment, amenities and facilities. The implementation of transit stations typically requires property acquisition. For the purposes of the Municipal Class EA, a transit station may also include the construction of a new subway station on a existing subway line, with or without any significant transfer facility at-grade.
Maintenance Facility – A facility where the service and repair of major mechanical components of transit vehicles is undertaken and typically includes vehicle storage.
Storage Facility/Yard – A facility used for the storage of transit vehicles, and can include vehicle fuelling, washing facilities, and minor “running maintenance”.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) – “The application of advanced and emerging technologies (computers, sensors, control, communications, and electronic devices) in transportation to save lives, time, money, energy and the environment”
Source: ITS Canada, 2006
Park and Ride Lot – Parking lot associated with a transit stop, station, or terminal, for the purposes of passenger transfer between personal automobile and transit services.
The Municipal Class EA defines the same purpose, use, capacity and location for municipal roads and water/wastewater projects in the Glossary section of the parent document. The definition has been modified for municipal transit projects as follows:
Same Purpose, Use, and Location (for transit projects/activities) refers to the replacement or upgrading of a structure or facility, where the objective and application remain unchanged, and there is no substantial change in location. For the purposes of the Transit Project schedules: Purpose and Use refer to the overall intended result/objective of the project, and the specific operational utilization of the corridor.
Location refers to the specific site of physical changes. For example, for a transit facility within a roadway, works carried out within an existing road allowance such that no land acquisition is required are considered to be in the same location. (Note: road allowance is defined in the Glossary section of the parent document) It is recognized that some projects may involve no change in purpose or use and be within the existing road allowance other than minor additional property requirements in localized, site-specific areas. If the impacts are determined not to be significant, this can be considered to be in the same location.
Note that this definition does not apply to operational changes on a roadway that do not involve physical construction. For example, the dedication of an existing traffic lane for the exclusive use of transit through signing and/or pavement markings would not constitute a change in purpose and use, within the context of this document and the transit project schedules, if not accompanied by the construction of a physical barrier (see Project #17).
Accordingly, Example a) A general traffic lane is reconstructed as a physically-separated (e.g. semi-exclusive) transit lane. This is considered to be a significant change in the purpose and use of the lane (See Project #16).
Example b) A median transit lane separated from general traffic by a physical barrier is reconstructed with no change in footprint and with no change to the extent of physical separation from other traffic. This is considered to be for the same purpose and use (See Project #15).