Toronto Eglinton Line 5 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[nfitz]

Where the DRL was in the Big Move (lowest priority) was a reflection of the city's view of the DRL. I think the province was generally indifferent.

Wrong. When the city saw where it was in the Big Move, they passed a motion - under Miller, asking the province to increase the priority and have it completed by 2023. We did discuss that in the DRL thread at the time, I believe.

 

[GenerationW]

Wrong. When the city saw where it was in the Big Move, they passed a motion - under Miller, asking the province to increase the priority and have it completed by 2023. We did discuss that in the DRL thread at the time, I believe.

That was 2010, was it not? I'm talking before that.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

If the crosstown goes to the airport, there's no need

I';m hoping so, I've been pushing for it (as ehlow can tell you ) but it's not a metrolinx' prioirty right now. Someone called the UPX the UP yours express on Steve Munro's blog

The very fact that it didn't crop up in big move is a pretty clue that they didn't, from a political perspective.

AoD

Or maybe it's because we've been pushing for Transit City since the end of the last decade. The province didn't impose Transit City on us, it was chosen by the last administration and this current council. After Transit City and the "one time cheque" they were willing to hand to Toronto, there was no money left for just Toronto. Politically, they have to build elsewhere as well which is why they will go ahead with the GO RER and other regional projects. We'll be lucky if there's anything left for Toronto for another decade or 2

The DRL? It was in the original 2008 Big Move.

Or are we talking about something else.

The DRL was in the 25 year plan and got moved up. They were planning to build all of transit city first. Bad move now looking back.

I didn't assign blame to Miller for anything in my post. I blamed you for saying we never had money.

And no, I've never managed a chequebook with $8 billion in it. Must be nice.

Um, yes, that's exactly what it was. As long as council approved, the province repeateedly said we could spend it on transit however we wanted.

And that was not reality. We didn't have money on the DRL because we already committed to transit city.

Where the DRL was in the Big Move (lowest priority) was a reflection of the city's view of the DRL. I think the province was generally indifferent.

Wrong. When the city saw where it was in the Big Move, they passed a motion - under Miller, asking the province to increase the priority and have it completed by 2023. We did discuss that in the DRL thread at the time, I believe.

Find the link nfitz, because DRL only moved up from the 25 year layout to the 15 year(projects coming) recently.

 

[nfitz]

That was 2010, was it not? I'm talking before that.

It was on January 27, 2009. This was less than 2 months after the Ontario government announced it was in the 25-year plan. This was the very first opportunity for council to address the issue after it was released.

 

[nfitz]

The DRL was in the 25 year plan and got moved up. They were planning to build all of transit city first. Bad move now looking back.

Much of the 4 Transit City lines would have been completed by now if Premier McGuinty hadn't have deferred them because of the budget deficit in 2010.

Find the link nfitz, because DRL only moved up from the 25 year layout to the 15 year(projects coming) recently.

Uh ... is it that difficult to go to the very first Executive Committee meeting after the Big Move was approved in late November 2008 and read the Agenda?

Big Move went out on November 28, 2008. The first EC meeting afterwards was January 5, 2009. Here is the first thing on the agenda:

Yonge Subway Extension - Environmental Assessment Submission and Project Update Presentation Item

... Metrolinx be requested to prioritize the Downtown Relief Line within its 15-year plan ...

You'll notice that Council added this to the original motion. And that David Miller, Giambrone, Rob Ford, and Mammoliti all voted in favour. The list who voted against adding the DRL to the 15-year plan is a very odd list - Maria Augimeri, Janet Davis, A.A. Heaps, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Case Ootes, John Parker, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, and Michael Walker.

We did discuss this back in January 2009. A lot.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Much of the 4 Transit City lines would have been completed by now if Premier McGuinty hadn't have deferred them because of the budget deficit in 2010.

And Mcguinty has been gone for more than a year now. 2016 is way too late to start.

Uh ... is it that difficult to go to the very first Executive Committee meeting after the Big Move was approved in late November 2008 and read the Agenda?

Big Move went out on November 28, 2008. The first EC meeting afterwards was January 5, 2009. Oh, and look what is on the agenda

Yonge Subway Extension - Environmental Assessment Submission and Project Update Presentation Item

Metrolinx be requested to prioritize the Downtown Relief Line within its 15-year plan ...

We did discuss this back in January 2009. A lot.

So then the DRL stalling is on the back of the province then.

 

[nfitz]

So then the DRL stalling is on the back of the province then.

Well, and on the back of Stintz who was opposed to it, and did not push it at TTC until Byford set her straight years later.

 

[GenerationW]

It was on January 27, 2009. This was less than 2 months after the Ontario government announced it was in the 25-year plan. This was the very first opportunity for council to address the issue after it was released.

Which meant about as much as council calling the DRL the city's highest transit priority in 2012. Nice symbolism, but not much more.

And that was not reality. We didn't have money on the DRL because we already committed to transit city.

So what? Nothing was irreversible or set in stone in 2009.

 

[nfitz]

Which meant about as much as council calling the DRL the city's highest transit priority in 2012. Nice symbolism, but not much more.

City formally requested Province to reclassify it. The province in the very first review of the Big Move, did change it's priority. Do you see ANY other projects in the big move that had their priority increased? Here's the list of changes. The only other thing in the list of 60 or so projects that got promoted was the electrification of the UPX. Several got downgraded from the 15-year plan to the 25-year plan!

In the meantime, even Metrolinx had started studying the DRL.

So a lot more than symbolism. It was the first movement in what has since become a lot of pressure to proceed with the DRL sooner than later. It certainly makes it clear that the DRL was the city's next priority after the Transit City lines. Remember that at that time (late 2008) the province had promised to complete the Sheppard East LRT by 2014. Finch West by mid-2015. The Scarborough RT by mid-2015. And the Eglinton line by mid-2018 (along with VIVA by mid-2015 ... which then slipped to mid-2019 with the 2010 McGuinty cuts).

 

[GenerationW]

In the meantime, even Metrolinx had started studying the DRL.

So a lot more than symbolism.

We shall see. Less than ten years left to qualify for the 15-year plan.

 

[toraerach]

IIRC the DRL was barely on the radar before Byford started advocating publicly for it. Before that, the only people talking about it were transit nerds and a few planners. It certainly didn't come up often during the 2010 municipal campaign beyond brief mentions in some council candidates' platforms. The general public didn't really know or care about it all that much. The TTC seemed dead set against it until relatively recently, and I doubt council would've considered it had York region not been pushing so hard for the Yonge extension.

 

[GenerationW]

I doubt council would've considered it had York region not been pushing so hard for the Yonge extension.

Bingo!

 

[ehlow]

Eglinton Connects report was approved by city council.

 

[GenerationW]

Eglinton Connects report was approved by city council.

That's good news.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Well, and on the back of Stintz who was opposed to it, and did not push it at TTC until Byford set her straight years later.

The city could have done a lot more but the province was then one who buried the DRL.

Which meant about as much as council calling the DRL the city's highest transit priority in 2012. Nice symbolism, but not much more.

So what? Nothing was irreversible or set in stone in 2009.

Yeah, because Ford would not have canceled it along with Transit City...