ehlow
Senior Member
Maybe there should be an LRT running from wherever the subway ends to the end of Yonge street in Barrie. It'll be like the old interurban trains http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4132.shtml
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TTC: The Yonge Subway Line turns 60 years old
- Thread starter M II A II R II K
- Start date
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
2035 isn't that far away.
Edward
Senior Member
20 years isn't a lot of time, especially considering the amount of effort it takes to get anything done politically.
MrsNesbitt
Active Member
We could also avoid that cost and avoid duplicating service by upgrading the GO Barrie Line.
Though a Yonge North LRT into York Region might not be a bad idea. Certainly cheaper and better suited to the urban environment there than extending the subway ad infinitum!
W. K. Lis
Superstar
The first proposal for an underground electric railway (using streetcars) under Yonge Street was presented in 1911. It took until 1946, or 35 years before a heavy rail subway was finally accepted and construction actually started. Twenty years is shorter than thirty-five.
ehlow
Senior Member
I was mainly kidding
. It's kind of cool that in the past we had small electric trains going up to Barrie and places like Guelph, and now we don't and want to eventually do that again.
ehlow
Senior Member
Yeah and with both Yonge and Bloor they flooded both streets with streetcars to serve people and build ridership until the subways started construction. They didn't build subways in the middle of nowhere hoping that development and ridership would follow the subway, they built the subways where they were actually needed, where the streetcars couldn't handle the huge amount of people anymore.
If we followed that principle today, the obvious candidate would be an east west line near King or Queen street.
MrsNesbitt
Active Member
I was mainly kidding
Aha yeah I getcha. It's true though. Back in the days when we didn't need gargantuan highways to get everywhere /nostalgia
innsertnamehere
Superstar
and the trip took 4+ hours.
I'll take my 400 thank you very much. even in the worst traffic it takes 2 hours TOPS to get there.
I'll take my 400 thank you very much. even in the worst traffic it takes 2 hours TOPS to get there.
MrsNesbitt
Active Member
Well of course that's your electric interurban trains of decades ago modern, upgraded GO service could be far quicker than 4 hours, potentially competitive even with said 400.
modern, upgraded GO service could be far quicker than 4 hours, potentially competitive even with said 400.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
its plenty of time to get the DRL built.
My point is that the DRL isn't as urgent as many think. It should still be priorty #1 for the TTC, but its not like we needed it yesterday.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
The Toronto By-Pass or Highway 401 was completed from Highway 27 (now 427) to West Hill in the mid-1950s. It was two lanes in each direction. It was widened to six lanes in each direction during the 1960s and early 1970s, between from Islington Avenue to Neilson Road.
Building the Yonge Relief Line (aka DRL) would be like widening the 1 Yonge line. Only it would be more than 70 years (allowing for the EA, design, and actual construction) to do so. Unlike the ten years it took before widening the 401. Of course, they didn't have to do a EA to build or widen the 401.
(Using information from this link.)
ehlow
Senior Member
I'm worried it will never get done unless the case is made that it is urgent and needs to be started soon.
NorthYorkEd
Active Member
Just curious for those who know the history -- why is there such a gap between Eglinton > Lawrence > York Mills stations on the Yonge line? It seems there could have been stations in between each of those stops. I assume it was due to population density or structural/geographical constraints, but just interested in how this played out during the design and construction phases.
ehlow
Senior Member
Here's the history:
http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5105.shtml
North York Centre station wasn't there originally either, it was added later.
Personally I think a station between Lawrence and Eglinton could be justified, however, the people of North York who commute downtown wouldn't like it since it would make their commute longer.