Toronto Crosstown LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[crs1026]

If the loudest voice was on the government side - and didn't get any traction - then wouldn't you say that the MPP must have been ineffective.

I’d say that the last government had little or no interest in the project, period.... and the local MPP was just allowed to make ineffective noise to appease constituents, yes.

Do we think the new pro-Ford MPP will do better? I don’t. The province. would have to offer up money to impose new direction on the project. As is, the city pays 100%.

The question now is whether the city sees this as a priority when Doug backtracks and removes funding from things that Wynne promised. People seem to have forgotten that Eglinton West is part of Smarttrack. I bet Tory will let this fade away, protecting his reputation by marshalling the city’s limited remaining funds towards the heavy rail component of Smarttrack. That’s the part of ST people remember.

So, yeah, Eglinton West could be shelved, but not by Ford. If it survives, it’s because Tory doesn’t want to give Etobicoke Councillors a victory by taking credit for killing it. None of them want it, remember.... and they would love to say that they achieved economies at the city level.

- Paul

 

[OneCity]

You can keep saying the majority of people support this and that as many times as you want, it does not make it true.

And you can continue to be in denial of the support yet poorly grade seperated transit is never coming back. All modes of travel as well as integration will be respected better in the design of any line moving forward. These recent LRT lines were overturned on support of those impacted the most. Its never going back, there is not enough support from the people who live and travel within these areas for such narrow planning

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Build it like an LRT, run it like a streetcar .....(TTC Management)

I hope not. This line needs to set the bar high in order to sell other LRT lines.

 

[BurlOak]

The new government hasn't been sworn in yet, but the lying and aggressive misrepresentation of facts has already begin. This is what we can look forward to over the next 4 years.

View attachment 147266

Regarding the central portion of Eglinton - I presume this is an off the cuff statement by Kinga. "Entire line above ground" - this was never the plan under Mayor Ford. I was not paying enough attention in the 00's - maybe at one point in time there was consideration for fully on street.
If this comment were to come from a minister, or if the caucus was already more organized, I would say it's an indication that Ford will not change the current Eglinton line. Ford can take credit for the Black Creek drive area (connection to train yard) being made grade-separated - the best Rob could do fighting against Council and the provincial Liberals. As others have said, it is likely very difficult at this stage to fix the errors of Eglinton center-east (Leslie to Kennedy), Ford might figure it is not worth the fight (i.e. hassles, costs, delays, etc.) to fix this.

 

[TransitBart]

Let's also remember where the Eglinton West extension runs through... the heart of Ford country. Premier Doug won't just forsake his own people. If any rapid transit is tackled during this term, this one will be a prime candidate.

Finch West runs through the same Ford Nation territory several km to the north. Why then are people questioning whether it will remain on plan?

 

[BurlOak]

Finch West runs through the same Ford Nation territory several km to the north. Why then are people questioning whether it will remain on plan?

Because Eglinton West would be a subway (i.e. grade-separated) and Finch would be a streetcar (i.e. LRT).
At least one Councillor is vehemently opposed to the on-street LRT.

 

[crs1026]

Finch is funded by the province. So Doug could cut that funding.

Eglinton West is not funded by the Province. Doug has little or no control over whether Toronto funds it.

- Paul

 

[TransitBart]

At least one Councillor is vehemently opposed to the on-street LRT.

Yes. One who could be the most opportunistic wingnut in public life in this province.

 

[OneCity]

Finch is funded by the province. So Doug could cut that funding.

Eglinton West is not funded by the Province. Doug has little or no control over whether Toronto funds it.

- Paul

Tory needs Fords support for funding. Ford needs Torys support for absolutely nothing and he will have a lot of leverage when they work out their deal for the City. There no certainty aside from the fact non grade separated LRT wont survive unless there is no reasonable way out. Even then

 

[Leo_Chan]

Tory needs Fords support for funding. Ford needs Torys support for absolutely nothing and he will have a lot of leverage when they work out their deal for the City. There no certainty aside from the fact non grade separated LRT wont survive unless there is no reasonable way out. Even then

We don’t need a US vs Canada Trade War.

 

[OneCity]

We don’t need a US vs Canada Trade War.

Really has zero to do with Ontarios transit? There is no possible war when the Conservative have a majority and Tory is a centrist Mayors. These two will talk and barter like any other Mayor and Premier and these two are not far off on Transit. Tory just needs Smarttrack (RER) and to see projects moving forward and really wont be an obstructionist to Fords mandate for subways. It will be interesting to see what they agree upon as there is a lot up in the air, including part of this line and the extensions.

 

[Hopkins123]

Finch West runs through the same Ford Nation territory several km to the north. Why then are people questioning whether it will remain on plan?

Finch West LRT has long been criticized by the local Ward Councillors Mammoliti and Crisanti, both staunch Ford loyalists. It's as if the LRT's being shoved down their constituents' throats by downtown elitists whom randomly selected Finch as a virtue signalling exercise towards throwing the poor out in Jane-Finch and Rexdale a bone.

By the TTC's own projections, Finch West doesn't warrant LRT, the ridership's too low.

But alternatives like using the hydro corridor as right-of-way or even an express limited stop bus right across Finch West has never been fully explored. Mississauga's Transitway uses buses and it's far removed from population centres yet it's highly popular and well used. Toronto would be wise to borrow ideas from other jurisdictions before throwing $1.5 billion down the drain on a gold-plated LRT line to nowhere.

 

[Streety McCarface]

By the TTC's own projections, Finch West doesn't warrant LRT, the ridership's too low.

And this is why the TTC and Metrolinx' capacity requirements for LRT and subway technology are total bullsh!t. When you have a line serving 40K+ passengers a day over 10 km, something is already fairly high, but when you factor in the fact that the corridor sees a bus less than every 2 minutes at peak hours, traffic problems are horrendous.

 

[TransitBart]

I’ll go with @Streety McCarface on this one. I don’t much like Finch for getting around. It’s pretty busy. I find it quite packed.

 

[Hopkins123]

And this is why the TTC and Metrolinx' capacity requirements for LRT and subway technology are total bullsh!t. When you have a line serving 40K+ passengers a day over 10 km, something is already fairly high, but when you factor in the fact that the corridor sees a bus less than every 2 minutes at peak hours, traffic problems are horrendous.

Dufferin has similar ridership numbers as Finch West; and Finch East exceeds Finch West in terms of ridership. Where's those corridors gold-plated superfluous LRT lines?

And what impact has the newly opened Finch West subway station had on crosstown travel across Finch West from Humberwood to Yonge? It's probably too soon to assume it hasn't had a positive effect, especially now that the route is deliberately split at Keele now into separate branches.

My point is, nothing other than the David Miller era LRT line has been pursued all this time, close to a decade, as a way out for Finch West commuters, when a world of other alternatives could have been at least given some consideration. This has been more about social engineering than actually helping commuters. For instance, right now, today the 199 could extend right across to Humberwood but yet it doesn't. Ponder on that!