Richmond Hill Yonge Line 1 North Subway Extension | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

[whydidimakethis]

The density justification for subways just isn't high enough in a lot of the suburbs. York Region already has the underserved VIVA system, which could use more frequent service (at least every 10 minutes all day). Even upgrading a few hourly services to every 30 minutes or less can make a huge difference, and bring thousands more to use transit. Invest in more proper BRT and LRT corridors, and York Region can have a very efficient transit system with not much infrastructure needed. Some TTC neighborhood routes come more frequently than Viva Orange for example. Toronto (even Brampton...) proves that suburbanites will use the bus if it's convenient.

 

[smallspy]

Side point but I think if you are going to push for a subway past 16th/ Major Mack it's probably more worthwhile to upgrade the RH line

Since it needs to be repeated....

The GO line isn't going to be of any help to someone heading to Finch. Or York Mills. Or Eglinton. Or St. Clair.

Dan

 

[JSF-1]

Since it needs to be repeated....

The GO line isn't going to be of any help to someone heading to Finch. Or York Mills. Or Eglinton. Or St. Clair.

Dan

Sure but the number of people going to those stations are far outweighed by the number of people heading into downtown Toronto. Downtown is still the primary destination of riders from around the GTA and that isn't going to be changing anytime soon.

 

[ARG1]

Sure but the number of people going to those stations are far outweighed by the number of people heading into downtown Toronto. Downtown is still the primary destination of riders from around the GTA and that isn't going to be changing anytime soon.

Its still important we consider regional impact and creating a proper regional system where people can go from any Point A to Point B conveniently. Sure most people are heading downtown, but we can't design a transit system based off that assumption, otherwise we just reinforce car dependency as the primary driver of our economy and transportation network.

What could work here, is maybe a local - express system. GO trains act as rush hour express trains with less frequent stops, with the Subway running more frequent stops. Think of what London does with the District Line and London, Tilbury & Southend railway, or maybe the Metropolitan Line and London - Aylesbury Line (in fact these 2 services share trackage).

 

[smallspy]

Sure but the number of people going to those stations are far outweighed by the number of people heading into downtown Toronto. Downtown is still the primary destination of riders from around the GTA and that isn't going to be changing anytime soon.

No one is arguing the bolded point.

But that's not the point here. The Yonge Subway sees a huge amount of "local" traffic going to intermediate points, and only a small portion of the people who get on at Finch from points north are headed downtown. They are more likely to be taking the train to one of the stops I listed than all the way downtown.

Dan

 

[lead82]

Except that RH GO line is anything but express in terms of travel time. It’s the slowest and most scenic route. It’s the main reason why YR was pushing for subway because the GO service is pretty useless unless someone is going right to Union and only during rush hours.

 

[whydidimakethis]

Ultimately I fail to see how an ultra frequent VIVA blue or even making it into an LRT wouldn't accomplish the same thing and as extending line 1 past Major Mack. If you are going to force people to make a linear transfer somewhere, might as well do it at the point the density starts to taper and doesn't really justify an entire subway line anymore. I believe MM is the absolute furthest north station unless there are huge developments planned (like the one at Bridge and Steeles), otherwise you are really just neck and neck with VIVA. Where do you draw the line between BRT and subway?

 

[lead82]

Ultimately I fail to see how an ultra frequent VIVA blue or even making it into an LRT wouldn't accomplish the same thing and as extending line 1 past Major Mack. If you are going to force people to make a linear transfer somewhere, might as well do it at the point the density starts to taper and doesn't really justify an entire subway line anymore. I believe MM is the absolute furthest north station unless there are huge developments planned (like the one at Bridge and Steeles), otherwise you are really just neck and neck with VIVA. Where do you draw the line between BRT and subway?

BRT was the original plan from Finch up. BRT didn’t make much sense as Finch is too far south into the city. I honestly think that Highway 7 as a terminus will be good for the next 30-40 years.

 

[WislaHD]

Sure but the number of people going to those stations are far outweighed by the number of people heading into downtown Toronto. Downtown is still the primary destination of riders from around the GTA and that isn't going to be changing anytime soon.

A significant portion of riders originating in York Region are heading to North York or Midtown though.

The Richmond Hill GO line is the most challenging and expensive line to upgrade to RER and has by far the lowest ridership. From a cost-benefit standpoint, dollars are better spent on the Yonge Line or even the VIVA system to improve the first/last mile portion of people's commutes.

 

[north-of-anything]

Making Langstaff/Bridge an easy and comfortable transfer should be much easier and more cost-effective for those who aren't going all the way downtown than upgrading Richmond Hill GO or extending past High Tech. The savings can be used to bolster York's feeder routes to make them a more appealing last-mile solution.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

The density justification for subways just isn't high enough in a lot of the suburbs. York Region already has the underserved VIVA system...

I mean, it's oniy been a month since they unveiled plans for literally the densest neighbourhoods in the region at Yonge and Highway 7...

 

[Leo_Chan]

Making Langstaff/Bridge an easy and comfortable transfer should be much easier and more cost-effective for those who aren't going all the way downtown than upgrading Richmond Hill GO or extending past High Tech. The savings can be used to bolster York's feeder routes to make them a more appealing last-mile solution.

A better interchange at Leslie/Oriole Station too. That is already planned to happen with moving Oriole GO north.

 

[lead82]

A better interchange at Leslie/Oriole Station too. That is already planned to happen with moving Oriole GO north.

They also need to fix Old Cummer station and connect it to the neighbouring Finch Hydro bike corridor. Right now there is no access to it from the west and it’s such a small fix to allow for quick and easy bike commute to the station and a safe rail crossing.

 

[H4F33Z]

Honestly, I'd love an extension from Vaughan Metropolitan to Vaughan Mills. Would def reduce the amount people who drive to the mall. Maybe we could have an extension to Wonderland?

 

[Northern Light]

Honestly, I'd love an extension from Vaughan Metropolitan to Vaughan Mills. Would def reduce the amount people who drive to the mall. Maybe we could have an extension to Wonderland?

Wonderland would perform well in the summer, but very poorly off-season; however, the north end of Wonderland is directly opposite a brand new, large hospital and healthcare campus which employs a large number of people (1,800 full-time staff)
The case could certainly be made for a station with the north end having an entrance on the north side of Major Mac, serving the hospital, and one off the extreme south side close to the existing principle entrance to CW.
That would place the south end of the platform ~500M from the main entrance to Wonderland. A bit closer would be ideal, but 2 stations here would very hard to justify and the hospital should be favoured.

Vaughan Mills generates a fair bit of traffic and would 2.1km south of a Major Mac Station (I'm placing it, in theory on the south side of the Jane/Rutherford intersection based on the Mall being the only significant draw in the area currently. Langstaff would then be another 1.85km south, followed by the existing VMC station ~2km south of that.

So 4 logical stations evenly spaced.

You could argue for omitting Langstaff in the midst of low density employment lands; but I think the 4km gap that would leave is excessive, I would just minimize the scale of the station to save costs if possible.