So what to do with the current Transportation Hub?

[Darkbeer1]

So with the Parking Structure opening on the West Side, what to do with the current East Side?

Looks like for the short term, it will be needed, and maybe get more use during the West Side Construction.

But Disney has not talked about the actual Hub.

Now, Disney could easily build a West Side Hub to service all ART Routes (including Toy Story), Hotel Shuttles, Taxis and Uber/Lyft.

I presume that Walnut Street will get more use at the Magic Way corner for a loop type of route.

The problem is the Public Transit routes. There are a lot of businesses on Harbor now, and I don't see OCTA route 43/543 moving (It would have been an easy 2 block detour to Manchester).

OCTA route 83already services Walnut, so the new Hub could be the Final stop of the Route. the LA Metro Route 460 could also end its route at the new Hub, maybe adding a stop (aka first stop on Harbor, then end at Walnut.

So how could Disney close off the Eastern Gateway to guests to allow for DCA expansion?

Well, if you do close it off, the current Hotels on Harbor would need an ART Route or two, so you could add a new major stop at the location that was designed for the Toy Story Buses, also you could look at GardenWalk, which already has a Bus Hub built next to the 24 Hour Fitness.

So you could end up with all the Security Checks on the West Side, move the Ticket Booths closer to the security checks. This would allow for the entire East Side to be used for expansion.

And then you would have less vehicular and pedestrian traffic on Harbor Boulevard.

Maybe even throw the city a bone, offering a mediation fee to allow the city to buy land on Walnut Street for street enlargement. Since no Disney structures would be built, it is legal to do. (California has strict eminent domain rules currently, after some major abuse)..

So it is doable, but Disney still wants the Eastern Gateway, since it expands the size of the property, allows Pumbaa to get built, ending all need for shuttles for guest parking.

Toy Story Parking is only zoned for parking with a temporary permit, which is a worry. But hopefully the new West Side Structures and Pumbaa would allow Toy Story to become available for CM parking, or other uses,

 

[JD2000]

I'd thought about this earlier today. But to entirely close the east side would probably not be very favorable or necessary.

 

[FerretAfros]

Ultimately, who "owns" the ART system? If it's anybody other than Disney, I suspect this idea is a non-starter. If it's owned by the Resort District, the stakeholders (aka hotel owners) will push back because it will massively increase travel times to/from the parks and would remove the walking-distance status of dozens of hotels. If it's owned by the City or County, there will be pushback from residents who don't want buses travelling along Walnut St, or don't want the increased traffic along Ball or Katella to access the west side.

Speaking in general terms, the ART system serves passengers on the east side of the Resort District. It makes little sense to move the main bus stop to the west side of the Resort District, increasing distance travelled, travel times, and staffing/equipment required for normal operations. This move would likely add about 15-20 minutes to each route's circuit, which means more buses and drivers would be required to maintain the existing headways.

The ART system currently has about 15 lines (which split to create 20 total lines), running at about 20 minute headways, or about 45 buses per hour at the main DL stop (plus layovers, gap buses, peak buses, etc.). Realistically, if the Martha Schwartz East Esplanade is closed to all bus and pedestrian traffic, they would probably need to add at least 2 more routes to cover the nearby Harbor hotels, and increase frequency on all lines to accommodate the increased volume due to the reduction of pedestrian access. Let's be kind and say that makes 60 buses per hour (1 per minute), though it would likely be over 100.

Can Walnut St handle the increased bus volume? It's currently classified as a secondary arterial, and rarely has any noteworthy traffic, but that doesn't mean it's suited to become a primary transit corridor. Regardless of who owns ART or the main bus stop, the City owns the streets and would have considerable say in a change like this. And given the current anti-Disney sentiment among voters, how do you think the people living adjacent to Walnut will feel about this?

Can the nearby intersections (particularly Ball Rd & Disneyland Dr and Harbor & Katella) handle the increased bus traffic? Those intersections area always backed up, and massively increasing the number of buses through them will only make it worse. Realistically, how much more can/will the City do to improve those locations?

Yes, the existing East Esplanade is Disney's property, however something like that must have been built with a series of easements to guarantee that the various transit agencies (ART, OCTA, Metro, grandfathered hotel shuttles, etc.) are allowed access to the property. Changing those easements for a new bus plaza on the west side would likely bring all those stakeholders back to the table to renegotiate their access, which would be a very messy process with the scale of change you're proposing

Yes, I suppose it's an option that they could put on the table to try and scare them into submission. However, given the number of stakeholders involved in the ART system, the existing East Esplanade, and the surrounding roadway network, I think this will be a non-starter. Short of converting the system to some sort of fixed-guideway (RIP, ARC), which frankly isn't realistic due to cost and construction timeline, I just can't see it happening any time soon, if ever.

 

[Darkbeer1]

ART is owned by the city, but is run and funded by the tourism agency in charge of the TOT.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaheim_Resort_Transportation

>>ART is a quasi-government agency organized as a nonprofit corporation. Its board of directors is made up of representatives from hotels, local government, tourist attractions, and other businesses in the Anaheim Resort and Platinum Triangle. Diana Kotler is the executive director of the organization.<<

So Disney is the main funder in revenue, both from the Toy Story Shuttles, and the operational budget.