Toronto Ontario Line 3 | ?m | ?s

I really don't think it is necessary to pull a second subway up to Finch via Don Mills. Eglinton is important because that is an intersection of quite a few major bus routes (Don Mills, Eglinton East, Leslie, Lawrence East). Given that there really wouldn't be many stops between there and Bloor, it would also provide a big speed advantage over Yonge. Between Eglinton and Sheppard, there really isn't much to intercept. There is the York Mills bus, then there is the Lawrence-Donway bus, neither of which would justify a subway. Sheppard isn't really in drastic need of relief, so putting another subway there would be overkill.

If the goal is to have the DRL turn into some kind of 30+ km uber line, we should make sure from the get go that we build it in line with lower ridership suburban operations. If we have to build some kind of 500m/km uberbahn up to Don Mills and York Mills, it will never ever have a chance of working. At least if we used something SRT-ish in scale and costs, it would be easier to extend it into low density areas.
 
The talk about extending the DRL to Finch ignores an important point: the line should end at another rapid transit line where people are transferring anyway. Several of the streetcar lines end at Bloor for this very reason; since most riders from the north are getting on the subway, continuing a streetcar past Bloor would introduce an unnecessary transfer. Ending the DRL at the Eglinton LRT or Sheppard subway makes sense, but not at the Finch bus.
 
It doesn't have to end at another rapid transit line. There's a pretty reasonable density from Sheppard to Finch, and Seneca College is at Finch as well.
As for transit connections, there's the Finch bus (which deserves a mention because it's ridership is massive,) and also the unknown Hydro Corridor route, which I think is still in the books for BRT at least. It'd also probably become the new terminus of Viva Green, which is actually really fast other than the 10 or 15 minutes spent going one concession down Don Mills.
 
Id think going up to finch makes sense that connects with a finch LRT

Sheppard is a good connection as well but the farther north it goes the more people it takes off of yonge.
 
Finch (Seneca) is the best place to terminate the DRL but only if the double fare issue with York Region is resolved in some way that integrates service. If that happens, a Seneca station would become the hinge of the city's busiest bus route and would have transfers to a line running up Don Mills to Leslie/Beaver Creek and another to Markham Centre, with possibly a few more feeder routes from the north (these routes will only be successful with fare/service integration). The 53 and the 42 could also have branches feeding into the DRL. This is the only way to maximize relief of the Yonge line.

Until the double fare issue is dealt with, Phase I can end at Eglinton.

That makes no sense. The ridership at King, Queen, and Dundas stations are 65970 (37%), 56290 (32%), and 54110 (31%). If you expect to relieve the YUS subway by putting a line on Wellington or Front you are making 31% walk a ridiculous distance.

There's an excellent chance no one is going to walk more than a couple of minutes north or south...you won't divert the bulk of the rides from Dundas via Yonge even if you put the DRL along Queen. It gets a bit tougher to say if you're considering a DRL extended north of B/D and depending on how many stations the DRL has (fewer stations = better relief/express service but worse local service, more stations = great for downtown neighbourhoods but every extra minute of travel time means people will stick to the YUS loop via Y&B).

But that's for the YUS loop area...it's more difficult to say how various alignments could affect ridership on E/W routes east and west of the YUS loop, where people probably are willing to walk farther.
 
For speed sake east of yonge the DRL should have few stops so people are encouraged to use it.

However west of yonge the DRL should have frequent service to encourage development.
 
That makes no sense. The ridership at King, Queen, and Dundas stations are 65970 (37%), 56290 (32%), and 54110 (31%). If you expect to relieve the YUS subway by putting a line on Wellington or Front you are making 31% walk a ridiculous distance.


There is a lot of excess capacity southbound from those stations in the PM peak. Naturally, people could take the Yonge subway south to wherever the transfer to the DRL would be.
 
Finch (Seneca) is the best place to terminate the DRL but only if the double fare issue with York Region is resolved in some way that integrates service. If that happens, a Seneca station would become the hinge of the city's busiest bus route and would have transfers to a line running up Don Mills to Leslie/Beaver Creek and another to Markham Centre, with possibly a few more feeder routes from the north (these routes will only be successful with fare/service integration). The 53 and the 42 could also have branches feeding into the DRL. This is the only way to maximize relief of the Yonge line.

Until the double fare issue is dealt with, Phase I can end at Eglinton.
Well I wouldn't expect a Phase 1 to go all the way to Finch. Eglinton- Pape-Union should be phase 1. Then, they could just continue tunneling up Don Mills. Just continually building that 9 km will save a lot of money, and will provide more and more relief every kilometer.

I just hope that it'll have a reasonable stop spacing. If you ask me, Eglinton-Sheppard on Yonge needs about twice the amount of stations there currently are. For the DRL, I'd put stations at Seneca College (right on the Hydro Corridor,) Finch, one or two at the Peanut (north and south,) Sheppard, one or two stations then York Mills, maybe one between York Mills and Lawrence, then one at Green Belt Drive.

Finch East has enormous potential for a number of bus routes converging on it. There could be BRT to Beaver Creek, MTC, and along Finch East, as well as a number of YRT and TTC bus routes. Not to mention it's got the hydro corridor, which is just waiting to have a RT route, and a reasonable amount of high density development.
 
If there are too many stations it wont be fast. If its not fast ppl wont take it.. If you add two stations on the yonge line between eglinton and sheppard then I could see then an allowance for more frequent stops on the DRL. However I dont see that happening and think instead we should be building for speed.

The stations north of Pape should be

Eglinton
Lawrence
York Mills
Sheppard
Finch
 
^^ Enough people seem to take the Don Mills bus in the first place. That stop spacing would be faster than the Bloor-Danforth, which isn't bad. If they want Yonge-like speed, they could build express tracks.
 
The stations north of Pape should be

Eglinton
Lawrence
York Mills
Sheppard
Finch

So they should skip one of the densest-populated neighbourhoods in the entire city, which includes a shopping mall and several thousand jobs?

Personally, I think that would be a bad idea.
 
Thorncliffe is barely a plaza. There is a HUGE amount of ppl that live there but it will NEVER become a destination. As a result to keep costs down and to make sure the DRL is fast I would allow bus routes to continue to serve this area.
 
Thorncliffe is barely a plaza. There is a HUGE amount of ppl that live there but it will NEVER become a destination. As a result to keep costs down and to make sure the DRL is fast I would allow bus routes to continue to serve this area.

Ha ha ha. Thanks man, I needed a laugh today.

Thorncliffe is home to almost 20,000 people and 8,500 jobs. It already is a major destination. YOU tell them that they don't deserve a subway stop so that other people can save a minute on their trip. You propose a gap of almost 6km between stops. Yet you mention York Mills, that intersection is surrounded on three sides by a golf course and parkland. How is that a "destination"?

I've heard lots of people advocating "putting transit where the people are". This is the first time I've heard someone advocate putting it where the people are, but passing right through without stopping.
 
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