Sharing the Road with LRVs
Vic Roads has produced the following video about sharing the roads with trams in Melbourne. This sort of video could be very useful here in Toronto, though the Province of Ontario could learn a few things from the State of Victoria where it comes to rules for traffic with streetcars and LRVs.
The video outlines the fines for not obeying the rules, and near the end it has a demonstration on how hook turns are performed.
Special thanks to Joshua Odell for bringing this to my attention.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:28 am
Excellent video!
Had to make mental note that for us, their “right” means our “left” and their “left” means our “right”.
One difference right of the top is: stop at the rearmost of a tram, while for us it is two metres behind the rear doors of a streetcar where passengers are getting off or on.
They use red arrows instead of a full red lights for the U-turn signals. Much more logical use.
Cal’s comment: I forgot to point out the left/right swap as it comes naturally to me with Melbourne!
The two-metre rule is accurately paraphrased above (see section 166 of the Highway Traffic Act for actual wording), but I strongly suspect that once the new LRVs arrive and all-door loading will be used, the effect of the law will mean that one will have to stop at the rearmost of the LRV except where there is a platform in the street. Having said that, I really think it would be wise to update the HTA, as the current wording leaves too much to interpretation regarding what constitutes “until the passengers have got on or got safely to the side of the street.” Make it “while doors are open” or “while lights are flashing” (notice that in Melbourne the lights flash when the doors open at a stop), and there is little room for interpretation.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:36 am
I would like to see Toronto try out hook turns (left turns from the right lane) on our streetcar routes. King Street West at Jameson Avenue would be the first to try out hook turns, if I had dictatorial powers.
Cal’s comment: I think hook turns could be useful in Toronto, but that requires a very good educational program for the public. One partial drawback is that it works best where left-turners per cycle are limited in number, since the queue space is limited to the width of the cross road, making it likely only enough space for two cars to wait to turn left without interfering with straight-through traffic or right-turners.