Toronto Ontario Line 3 | ?m | ?s

Amen! Might even draw off drivers from the DVP, when they see the traffic coming to a standstill around Lawrence. "Hey, I could hop the subway at the next exit and avoid all this!"

Just like it gets people off Allen Road at Eglinton?
 
Yes, although they describe it as an east-west route, which is only tells half the story, and don't explain at all why it will divert riders from the Yonge line.

They also say something about Toronto's Bus Transit City Plan. Bus Transit City?! Where have they been the last couple of years?
Ed Drass wrote the article and he knows exactly what he's talking about. Easily one of the most informed people on transit issues in the city.

Bus Transit City I assume is something in the pipeline for routes that weren't chosen for LRT. Also, the article wasn't about the DRL so there wasn't exactly an opportunity to explain it fully. As I said, it "gets a mention."
 
Just like it gets people off Allen Road at Eglinton?

Yorkdale, Wilson, and Downsview parkings divert quite a few cars.

Two parking lots at Allen Road & Eglinton are too small to make a noticeable difference. There are no parking lots at Allen & Lawrence (and I don't think they are needed there).
 
I saw that article today. It wasn't really informative of anything, just a "The government's paying for a lot of transit and transit city's gonna be awesome."

Ed Drass wrote the article and he knows exactly what he's talking about. Easily one of the most informed people on transit issues in the city.

Bus Transit City I assume is something in the pipeline for routes that weren't chosen for LRT. Also, the article wasn't about the DRL so there wasn't exactly an opportunity to explain it fully. As I said, it "gets a mention."
That would include things like Kingston Road, McCowan, Lawrence and Islington right? Yes, that article didn't really go into detail on anything, and the DRL was only very, very briefly mentioned.
 
A DRL up to Finch, or even Sheppard would take a ton of pressure off Yonge, and improvements on Yonge probably won't really be necessary for a while. The only reason that Yonge is crowded is because it's the only option. Give people more options, and congestion on Yonge will half, because all the passengers from the East will transfer to Don Mills/DRL instead of going all the way to the core.

I still think LRT-izing the RH GO line is the fastest and cheapest approach to offloading the north-of-Eg portion of the Yonge line.
 
I still think LRT-izing the RH GO line is the fastest and cheapest approach to offloading the north-of-Eg portion of the Yonge line.

Really, we won't be able to offload much of Yonge's ridership...no matter what lines we build or improve, Yonge ridership will quickly grow and the line will stay basically as full as it is now (but total ridership across the city will be able to go way up).
 
2011 EA done
2014 Queen/Pape to University to open (providing rapid downtown access to/from the Distillery District and West Don Lands and transfers from the Queen streetcar)

Sounds great if it could happen that quickly, but considering the Spadina ext isn't to open until 2015...
 
An email from Metrolinx

Metrolinx is working with a Community Advisory Committee to develop the Terms of Reference to study electrification of the GO rail system.

The Big Move, Metrolinx’s 25-year integrated regional transportation plan, identified both Express Rail, which would typically use electric motive power, and Regional Rail as part of our overall plan for faster, more frequent and reliable rapid transit expansion.

The study will consider options to conventional train technology, such as electrification, as well as other fuel technologies. It will examine the benefits, cost comparisons and provide recommendations.

Categories for consideration are:

· Technology
· Community and health impacts
· Capacities
· Land use planning
· System costs, funding, financing and delivery
· Ridership and usage of transit

As part of their work, the Community Advisory Committee is seeking public input on what questions should be addressed in the electrification study and how they should be evaluated. This input will be considered by the Community Advisory Committee in early September. Please submit your input before Thursday, September 3, 2009.

For input: Electrification public consultation form

For study updates, please visit our website at metrolinx.com
 
Explaining my writing...

I saw that article today. It wasn't really informative of anything, just a "The government's paying for a lot of transit and transit city's gonna be awesome."

That would include things like Kingston Road, McCowan, Lawrence and Islington right? Yes, that article didn't really go into detail on anything, and the DRL was only very, very briefly mentioned.

Don't forget the demographics of Metro. The column is aimed at people who are nowhere near as familiar with the status of transit projects as folks on this board. I try to fit a lot of info into 435 words, and trust it is of use to readers.

It would be great to go into detail on each project but there's only one column a week. I wanted to focus on the York U busway but could not ignore the larger network context, including the second proposed subway into York Region. The DRL reference may be too much context for some reading the article, but it's important to the Yonge extension, in my view.

"Transit City Bus Plan" goes to commission next week -- I couldn't resist mentioning it. TTC chose not to give me any details when I asked point blank. If they had provided a scoop, I might have devoted the whole column to that.

As for Transit City (LRT) I think there's one sentence about Finch and Sheppard and it's fairly neutral -- unless you dislike Transit City (which I do not).

Speaking of TC, How does advocacy for a full Sheppard subway (see other thread) affect the perceived money pot for other costly projects like DRL? My gut feeling is provincial funding for the next "tranche" of projects is very uncertain. I'd love to be proven wrong, but...
 
Realistically, if a fully built-out Sheppard subway were to be funded, I think it would likely steal potential money and momentum from the DRL movement.

I get the sense that those against the Sheppard LRT on this board aren't doing it because they necessarily want the Sheppard subway extended right away, but part of a longer-term plan and they don't want the LRT impeding that. For instance, they might be happy with bus-only lanes for the next 20 years until there's a better case for finishing the Sheppard subway.
 
How much would it cost to do a DRL, an Eglinton LRT/subway, finish the Sheppard line and eliminating all other Transit City LRTs?
 
Speaking of TC, How does advocacy for a full Sheppard subway (see other thread) affect the perceived money pot for other costly projects like DRL? My gut feeling is provincial funding for the next "tranche" of projects is very uncertain. I'd love to be proven wrong, but...

Agreed. Provincial funding looks like something to bootstrap the system and allow us to raise taxes.

People say you cannot charge for congestion without other pre-existing options. Those alternative options are about to be under construction; so now we can have congestion charges and toll roads to continue expansion.

Impatience with Metrolinx foot-dragging on the funding issues would confirm this line of thought.
 
Realistically, if a fully built-out Sheppard subway were to be funded, I think it would likely steal potential money and momentum from the DRL movement.

I get the sense that those against the Sheppard LRT on this board aren't doing it because they necessarily want the Sheppard subway extended right away, but part of a longer-term plan and they don't want the LRT impeding that. For instance, they might be happy with bus-only lanes for the next 20 years until there's a better case for finishing the Sheppard subway.

They're completely different projects, they don't overlap whatsoever. I think there's more than enough advocacy for more than just the DRL.

My primary concern is stopping the Sheppard East LRT in its tracks because I think it's the worst part of Transit City, the most egregiously anti-subway part of it. I fully believe in finishing the Sheppard Subway, but first thing's first, and that's cancelling Sheppard East LRT and the ridiculous connector to Finch West LRT.

I'd certainly put the DRL ahead of finishing Sheppard. But I'd put cancelling Sheppard East LRT before advocating the DRL because we can still build a DRL, but if the Sheppard East LRT gets built, the Sheppard Subway will NEVER be finished.
 

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