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Monorail for Toronto

kettal said:
Ever wonder why this guy's criticisms are so generic and pointless?

Perhaps a bit of disclosure here. ssiguy2 has never lived in Toronto, or even Ontario. He is from B.C., and he loves to whine about whatever the TTC (which he has used less than twice in his life) does. He read a pamphlet about Toronto at the airport, so he is basically an expert on this city.

But don't worry, that won't stop him from throwing out blanket statements about the decline of a great city, and vague allusions to city hall, which he knows nothing about. And here he goes on about how aesthetically superior giant concrete columns are compared to those unsightly streetcar wires!!
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Just because I don't live in a city doesn't mean I don't care about it and it's future. I hope I never see you ever post a comment on a city you have never lived in including nearby cities.
I greatly resent being told that I don't know what I'm talking abott because I have never lived there.........................ops, did I say that? Maybe instead of you making ill informed statements you should ask some questions first because I am an ex-Ontarian. I was born and bred in the great South West, the beautiful city of London specifically. I left fo BC when I finished high school..................ops, did I say that? I lived in Ottawa for 3 years while going to Carleton. Ok, maybe i didn't live in Toronto itself but.............................ops, did I say that? Turns out I finished my degree at U. of T. and took some classes at York so I know the horror it is to get there and lived in Toronto for 3 years. It's true i haven't been there for a long time but...........................ops, did I say that? I just remmebered that I was there in Sept and went to the new AGO, and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls at the new ROM.
Until I get an apology.............for the rest of you let me state I do not agree with elevated systems thru the inner city but can be far superior to suburban streetcars like Finch, Sheppard, Kingston, Jane, Don Mills and to Malvern.
They are not as bulky as people think and also contrary to what many think Monorail can easily have at-grade stations very similar to the TC stations at grade but due to their ability to handle extreme grades they can be elevated before the actually hit the intersection. Think of the TC system where the stations are at grade. You can simply move each station on the opposing side of the street back maybe 50 metres but due to their ability to incline quickly, they could go over the intersection as opposed to where the streetcar would have to stop for light.
Monorails are great for rail ROW, and ugly suburban streets where the most you can do is block the view of the Walmart, McDonalds, gas station, and strip malls.
Also guys, if you have comments good or bad great but the Simpsons comparison is wearing thin.
 
The dramatic pauses are.......................................................... ops, used to great effect! I don't know why these other guys can't see that a monorail is the transit messiah.
 
Sheppard should continue its eastward expansion to STC and hopefully west to Spadina. It when then become a true mass/rapid transit line as opposed to the stubway it is. Spadina is funded so it, of course should ge ahead.
DRL could also be Monorail but only if it tunnels under Queen from the DVP to Dundas Railway and then could head far nothe up to Finch using the rail ROW. Hopefully Toronto will redue the SRT and convert overf to Monorail {which would be very easy as the ROW is there already and wouldn't even require the riping up of the SRT line and could be reconfigured to accomodate Monorail at SRT stations and could close some of the useless ones like Midland & Ellesmere. It would simply be extended noth to Malvern and continue further south/west using the existing GO ROW all the wasy to Woodbine where it could head south to Queen and then head across the DVP to the Queen street tunnel to the Dundas /GO railway.
In other words a huge U-shape N/E to Malvern and N/W to Islington/Finch area connected by a downtown Queen Street tunnel. It could be built very fast and very affordable and have high capacity as almost all Monorail can run at 90 second intervals. It would also solve two main issdues with Toronto's transit woes..............a DRL and a point to point travel system which litteraly millions need. One of the major problems with getting around Toronto is that it is set up as a grid. Transit can take longer than neccesary in Toronto becausxe everything {including transit routes} are at right angels. The fastest way to two points is a direct line but no system in Toronto at all provides that kind of service. This is ideal due to still being able to use the B/D line on East or West ends to travel directly to B/Y. By improving the Danforth/STC mess of a connection it could also ditch the semi-propriety system of ICTS.
Its just to damn easy and affordable for words.
 
Monorails.... oopss....... worthless...... ooppps did I say that?


Well I have to admit Monorail are a great addition to any Lego City:

monorail.jpg
 
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The time has come to look at building elevated systems vs. subway.

It cost haft the cost as well take haft the time to build it.

It can be LRT, Subway, ALRT, Monorail, EMU's, etc:

I have stated in the past my views of elevated system and my view still have not change.

Time to look at them now.
 
drum118 said:
The time has come to look at building elevated systems vs. subway.

It cost haft the cost as well take haft the time to build it.

It can be LRT, Subway, ALRT, Monorail, EMU's, etc:

I have stated in the past my views of elevated system and my view still have not change.

Time to look at them now.
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I think it'd be worthwhile to explore elevated LRT on suburban routes to avoid intersections, but I feel like the NIMBYism backlash would be even worse from residents.
 
I really don't think Nimbyism would be a problem even in Toronto. As I stated the Monorail line could use the existing rail ROW and replace the semi-proprietary ICTS. ICTS is no longer proprietary as Hitahci and Kawasaki heavy industries now also manufacture them due to the ICTS systems in Japan and China but they are still not ideal for Toronto's climate and is expensive to have a different technology for just 6km and seeing much of the current route is going to have to be upgradied anyway due to the Kennedy station connection and to acomodate the new MK11 cars it makes sense to just close it down.
Much to many thinking I hate TC that is not true. Much of the idea of TC is a good one but one thing it doesn't do is create true rapid/mass transit especially for people in Toronto wanting to get to the BD line or downtown in a fast reliable way. Due to it's grid pattern it will actually increase capacity on the existing B/D and Yonge which is the last thing Toronto needs.
I think Monorail is the way to go but if others disagree it is imperative that Toronto start elevating its systems outside the inner city if it wants to improve it's rapid transit system. For some reason it still hasn't crossed, or taken seriously, by the TTC yet it is the norm not the exception in most parts of the world. Elevated subway would due but I STRONGLY disagree with elevated LRT as it is much more costly to build, is slower, and cannot be automated.
 
GraphicMatt said:
The angels are the biggest problem with Toronto's transit system.................. absolutely. I hate how they're always right!!!!!
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I agree totally. Right angels are so self-righteous! My left angel is definitely my better angel.
 
ssiguy2 said:
I really don't think Nimbyism would be a problem even in Toronto. As I stated the Monorail line could use the existing rail ROW and replace the semi-proprietary ICTS. ICTS is no longer proprietary as Hitahci and Kawasaki heavy industries now also manufacture them due to the ICTS systems in Japan and China but they are still not ideal for Toronto's climate and is expensive to have a different technology for just 6km and seeing much of the current route is going to have to be upgradied anyway due to the Kennedy station connection and to acomodate the new MK11 cars it makes sense to just close it down.
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I wasn't going to reply to this thread because both sides were getting so ridiculous. But this is just crazy. What Japanese ICTS system? What Hitachi and Kawasaki? Japan has various other LIM-operated metros, but none of them run the Bombardier-owned ICTS/ART technology. The Beijing system is contracted out to CRC, but that's a far cry from being "no longer proprietary".

And as much as I disagree with the derision of monorail as some sort of mickey-mouse theme park ride (it is used successfully as legitimate urban rail in many Japanese systems), it's equally foolish to pretend monorail is a magical solution to rapid transit needs. For starters, every monorail implementation is just as proprietary as the ART.
 
I don't know what you guys are talking about, a monorail is a perfectly cromulent transportation system that will embiggen our transit network.
Ehh, I guess this great idea isn't for Toronto, it's really more of a Montreal idea.
 
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Serious question, to those that have experience with monorails:

Is there a chance the track could bend?
 
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