GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

[innsertnamehere]

no, there is an at grade intersection as soon as it leaves the lakeshore corridor at Danforth. North of Ellesmere its a mess of at grade crossings, too. There are 7 at grade road crossings and a pedestrian crossing from where the SRT leaves the corridor and Steeles.

Edit:

ah, no. Not all crossings are being eliminated. I believe BMO meant double tracking is occurring south of 7.


new grade separations haven't been formalized, but its looking like it will be Steeles, Finch, and McNicoll.

 

[BMO]

no, there is an at grade intersection as soon as it leaves the lakeshore corridor at Danforth. North of Ellesmere its a mess of at grade crossings, too. There are 7 at grade road crossings and a pedestrian crossing from where the SRT leaves the corridor and Steeles.

Edit:

ah, no. Not all crossings are being eliminated. I believe BMO meant double tracking is occurring south of 7.


new grade separations haven't been formalized, but its looking like it will be Steeles, Finch, and McNicoll.

I believe Hwy 7 is also slated for grade separation as well if I'm not mistaken.

 

[smallspy]

The only immediate crossing slated for grade separation is Steeles - and this is the second EA for it being done. Kennedy and Finch are supposed to follow, but neither has started the EA process, as far as I can tell.

Markham has long wanted to grade-separate Highway 7, but have they ever actually done the EA for it? I know that they've been talking about it for years.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[MafaldaBoy]

AFAIK grade separation for Highway 7 was rejected as part of the Main Street Unionville Master Plan:

The full set of documents are here, but basically they found that an underpass for Highway 7 would be incompatible with area's historic character.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

AFAIK grade separation for Highway 7 was rejected as part of the Main Street Unionville Master Plan:

The full set of documents are here, but basically they found that an underpass for Highway 7 would be incompatible with area's historic character.

Well there's a difference between what a municipality/community wishes, and what Metrolinx wants. See Davenport Diamond.

 

[MafaldaBoy]

Well there's a difference between what a municipality/community wishes, and what Metrolinx wants. See Davenport Diamond.

Yes, that's true; I was responding to smallspy's comment on Markham's position re: the grade separation. As for what Metrolinx wants, their preferred RER "optimized 10-year plan" (PDF) puts 4tph only as far as Unionville, with 1tph between Unionville and Mount Joy. A Highway 7 grade separation isn't really on their radar at this point. Finch, McNicoll and Steeles are the three that Metrolinx have lined up.

 

[smallspy]

Yes, that's true; I was responding to smallspy's comment on Markham's position re: the grade separation. As for what Metrolinx wants, their preferred RER "optimized 10-year plan" (PDF) puts 4tph only as far as Unionville, with 1tph between Unionville and Mount Joy. A Highway 7 grade separation isn't really on their radar at this point. Finch, McNicoll and Steeles are the three that Metrolinx have lined up.

As I said, it had been Markham's position that they wanted a grade separation there - and evidently, that's changed since I'd last heard anything from up there.

I wonder if that is also the reasoning behind cancelling the EA to lengthen the platforms at Markham Station/realign Snider Dr.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Here are pictures I took of Exhibition station from the Lakeshore West GO train heading west today. Looks like there is finally some moment on station construction. Poles have popped up in the last few days on the new westerly platforms. Pictures go east to west, looking north.

 

[Dan416]

Kinda sucks that there's 0 movement on improvements to the Milton line, which is the busiest line after Lakeshore.

I understand that they're constrained by CP, but you'd think they'd do something rather than sitting on their asses.

 

[drum118]

Kinda sucks that there's 0 movement on improvements to the Milton line, which is the busiest line after Lakeshore.

I understand that they're constrained by CP, but you'd think they'd do something rather than sitting on their asses.

Question is Why is the 3rd track not in place as plan for 2011 when parts of it is place and who stop the work???

 

[smallspy]

Kinda sucks that there's 0 movement on improvements to the Milton line, which is the busiest line after Lakeshore.

I understand that they're constrained by CP, but you'd think they'd do something rather than sitting on their asses.

Chalk up the lack of news to Metrolinx being Metrolinx. They're just about finished adding two more tracks to the Milton Layover, and will be adding an additional trainset to the schedule in September.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[ssiguy2]

Despite Metrolinx's many faults you should all be glad that it is Metrolinx that is in charge of this expansion and not the TTC or the City of Toronto. If Toronto was given the money to do these projects, none of them would ever get built.

Just look at the Scarborough subway as an example. The politicians refusing to d anything that endangers their re-elections means they create Royal Commissions on everything with endless community input so they can say to their constituents that they are actually doing something but not having take the political heat for paying for them or their inevitable effect on the communities.

There are pluses and minuses of having unelected officials running an organization like Metrolinx. They seem less accountable and more secretive but at he same time are not constrained by petty politics and ridiculous community demands which either kill projects or send the price soaring resulting in them never getting built. Sometimes you really do have to have an organization that takes the bull by the horn and just gets on with it. Yes they have to be sensitive to community concerns which I think they are and of course they have to abide by EAs but in the end they build the damn things unlike politicians who talk about building things.

Metrolinx may seem like a bit of a bully but in a city as politically stratified as Toronto sometimes that is exactly what is needed.

 

[mdrejhon]

Metrolinx a disaster?

Compared to the 3.2 billion dollar Scarborough stop that will have less riders than UPX that cost only one-eighth as much....

Huge mistakes were made, but itis rehabilitatable -- UPX ridership has gone up 3.5x and there are simpler construction to make it more popular (electrifying and lengthening to 4 coaches at 4 stations) whose budget has one zero removed versus the Scarborough stop...

 

[pstogios]

Here are pictures I took of Exhibition station from the Lakeshore West GO train heading west today. Looks like there is finally some moment on station construction. Poles have popped up in the last few days on the new westerly platforms. Pictures go east to west, looking north.

Sorry, can you elaborate - what exactly is being built here, and why? It's not like Exhibition Station is a new one - trains have been servicing it for years.

 

[drum118]

Sorry, can you elaborate - what exactly is being built here, and why? It's not like Exhibition Station is a new one - trains have been servicing it for years.

They are rebuilding the existing platforms and adding a 5th track. Adding a 5th track require a new underpass and elevator to get to the westbound platform that will now have 2 tracks as well getting to the eastbound and the CNE. The new platforms are to have snow melting system like the others.

The CNE retaining walls are being rebuilt with the TTC area having a 5' concrete sound wall in place of fencing