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Transit City Comeback?

So then we get get the eglinton extended to the airport and Malvern town centre?

I'd be pretty happy with that, at least as a short-term plan. Both extensions have already been studied and designed (some sections in more detail than others though), so those could potentially be pretty straightforward "under construction within 1 term" type of jobs, especially because neither of those extensions require tunnelling.
 
I'd be pretty happy with that, at least as a short-term plan. Both extensions have already been studied and designed (some sections in more detail than others though), so those could potentially be pretty straightforward "under construction within 1 term" type of jobs, especially because neither of those extensions require tunnelling.

That plus a DRL Plus Finch west could all be done by 2020 IMO.
 
That plus a DRL Plus Finch west could all be done by 2020 IMO.

None of those projects at this point can be done by 2020. Eglinton won't be done until 2019, and work on that was started back in 2006. The DRL is at the same stage now that Eglinton was back in 2006 (ie a line on a map). If the new mayor starts work on the DRL right after entering office, it'll be done by 2027. Finch West and the Eglinton extensions have a shot to reach 2020 if they're fast-tracked, but even that isn't very realistic.
 
None of those projects at this point can be done by 2020. Eglinton won't be done until 2019, and work on that was started back in 2006. The DRL is at the same stage now that Eglinton was back in 2006 (ie a line on a map). If the new mayor starts work on the DRL right after entering office, it'll be done by 2027. Finch West and the Eglinton extensions have a shot to reach 2020 if they're fast-tracked, but even that isn't very realistic.

Depends on the mayor, but I tend to agree. Finch West in its OG Transit City Format can be built fast and cheap.
 
Building the Eglinton Line at-grade in the west can possibly be the dumbest thing to do, when the rest of the line is below grade. If you're going to extend Eglinton, do it right. Don't do the penny pinching and do a half-baked job. It should be completed either above grade, below grade, or full segregated.

The only benefit of putting Eglinton at-grade in the west, would be for other LRT lines to intertwine with it and continue east down the tunnel, otherwsie you're just creating reduced capacity int he west, and potentially decreasing the efficiency of the whole line. And before you jump on me screaming about "signal priority", just remember alot of the crossing streets in the west are very busy, stopping traffic with signal priority would only create more problems to congestion and traffic as time goes on.
 
Building the Eglinton Line at-grade in the west can possibly be the dumbest thing to do, when the rest of the line is below grade. If you're going to extend Eglinton, do it right. Don't do the penny pinching and do a half-baked job. It should be completed either above grade, below grade, or full segregated.

The only benefit of putting Eglinton at-grade in the west, would be for other LRT lines to intertwine with it and continue east down the tunnel, otherwsie you're just creating reduced capacity int he west, and potentially decreasing the efficiency of the whole line. And before you jump on me screaming about "signal priority", just remember alot of the crossing streets in the west are very busy, stopping traffic with signal priority would only create more problems to congestion and traffic as time goes on.

Agree completely. The Richview corridor is there for a reason, use it. Even if you build it at-grade between stops and then have it dip under major intersections, it would still be an improvement over in-median. But we've had this debate ad nauseum.
 
Agree completely. The Richview corridor is there for a reason, use it. Even if you build it at-grade between stops and then have it dip under major intersections, it would still be an improvement over in-median. But we've had this debate ad nauseum.

Agreed. If the Mississauga BRT can do it, the Eglinton line can do it.
 
The city could have a DRL by 2020 is it really wanted to and could have a metro/DMU to Humber within 5 years. They already will have the Pearson rail by 2015. After that they could convert it to electrical trains, put in more metro type station distances {eg average one station per km} and then once it hits the Etiboko North station it could split with everyother train going to Pearson and the other going north up to Woodbine & Humber via elevation. It could be then just part of the standard Toronto subway system with probably a small extra fee for getting to the airport which is standard throughout the world.
It would effectively just be a metro line but actually useful for Torontonians and be a DRL West line with eventually being extended east and north to Pape or whatever.
 
While building a subway on Sheppard is ridiculous right now, Transit City would have entrenched the notion of mediocrity for at least a generation, and that would have been devastating for our rapidly growing city.

Oh puleeze! Check out www.lightrail.com for an extensive list of North American cities which have light rail. Salt Lake City just opened 2 new lines last week. Another useful site is www.lrta.org, which focuses on European cities.

Light rail benefits the most people for the least cost, when buses can't handle the ridership. Compare 2,000 riders/hour for LRT to 20,000 riders/hour for subways. It makes no sense to impoverish public transit across the city to build very expensive subways which don't have the ridership to justify them.
 
Light rail benefits the most people for the least cost, when buses can't handle the ridership. Compare 2,000 riders/hour for LRT to 20,000 riders/hour for subways. It makes no sense to impoverish public transit across the city to build very expensive subways which don't have the ridership to justify them.

2,000 pphpd is right in the wheelhouse for BRT. In fact, with that level of ridership, BRT would be MORE cost-effective than LRT would be, because with LRT you would either have a) mostly empty trains, or b) rediculously low frequencies.
 
I’m am sure most people in Toronto would want to have a Heavy Rail Subway going under an arterial road near where you live, work, go to school, and shop.

Most people would also like to own a Rolls Royce and live in a McMasion on an acre of land as well. What you want and need are two different things, and what you can afford to get is what drives them.

With Transit City, we could afford to provide light rail rapid transit to most corners of Toronto, With Ford’s plan, only the very lucky will get anything that will serve them.

Personally, I would rather wait until I see the TTC's study into the Downtown Relief Line, before going ahead on any Heavy Rail Subway other than the current Spadina extension.
 
The idea of TC was a good one but couldn't have been more poorly executed if it tried.
No connection from Sheppard directly to STC, unneccesary transfers, made no use of existing rail ROW or Hydro corridors, twice as many stations as it should have had, stopping at every light waiting for left hand turns, served no one downtown, and would add even more traffic onto the current subway lines.
It could have worked but the city didn't have a basic concept of what exactly they wanted TC to do. They continually stated how it was rapid transit which it wasn't by any stretch of the imagination. You can't have local service and rapid transit on the same line.
If it would put a higher priority on speed with stations more like a km apart, more flyovers/unders, make use of existing rail and hydro corridors then it could have been a decent system but no such luck.
TC was touted as being rapid transit Toronto could both afford and build quickly but turned into nothing more than a bunch or disjointed streetcar routes.
 
No connection from Sheppard directly to STC
The plan included an extension of the SRT from Scarborough Centre to Sheppard.

TC was touted as being rapid transit Toronto could both afford and build quickly but turned into nothing more than a bunch or disjointed streetcar routes.
How can one possibly compare the Transit City LRT lines to downtown streetcar lines!?!? The sheer ignorance of that statement is amazing!
 
The plan included an extension of the SRT from Scarborough Centre to Sheppard.

I'd hardly call having to go 2 blocks past McCowan, transferring lines, and then backtracking 3 stops a "direct connection". That's like saying taking the eastbound Gardiner to the DVP and then getting off at Richmond St is a 'direct connection' downtown. A direct connection would have a branch of the SELRT to STC.

How can one possibly compare the Transit City LRT lines to downtown streetcar lines!?!? The sheer ignorance of that statement is amazing!

I agree with that. It's the same confusion that regular buses in mixed traffic = BRT.
 
I'd hardly call having to go 2 blocks past McCowan, transferring lines, and then backtracking 3 stops a "direct connection".
It depends which way is going, doesn't it. Why do we think there are all of these people south of the 401 at Scarborough Centre that want to head to downtown North York anyway? With the Eglinton line going completely underground, the travel time to Yonge/Eglinton from Scarborough Centre wiill be about the same as to Yonge/Sheppard.

Yet the poor folks in Malvern are still completely screwed ... being forced to take painfully slow buses over the 401 to get to Scarborough Centre ... to catch either the Sheppard or Eglinton lines. Or west on Sheppard to Kennedy/Agincourt to catch the subway there.

However ssiguys point was that Transit City contained "No connection from Sheppard directly to STC". Clearly this is 100% wrong.

That's like saying taking the eastbound Gardiner to the DVP and then getting off at Richmond St is a 'direct connection' downtown.
Given the 1-lane state of Jarvis street south of Queen these days (which BTW still doesn't have bike lanes) ... and that the eastbound Gardiner in AM rush from York to Richmond runs at full speed ... may actually be the fastest way!
 

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