Chaplinurbex
New Member
32 Eglinton bus driver was talking over the PA this morning. Said that chatter among the staff is a Feb 8 opening. No confirmation, but if that's what people in the TTC are starting to talk about, I think that is promising.
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hw621
Senior Member
Guys, get those slow speed complaints ready!
urbanclient
Active Member
My money is on them not being able to solve the slow speeds within 53 days:
They are going to just chalk it up to "the ramp up stage". Like they did with Line 6: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mich...n-just-over-activity-7415416927319257088-GxR8
I can see the headline now: Toronto's new-ish LRTs, still in soft opening after 2 years. January 2028
Urban Toronto's best friend, Premier Doug Ford is also going to waddle out and comment after Line 5's slow speeds are revealed:
"To wait 15 years since the Liberals started this project and to have speeds this slow is unacceptable. We gotta get people to where they need to go quickly and on time. I know Metrolinx is working with Mayor Chow and the City to get faster speeds on this line already, and I'm impatient as anyone else, but those things take time... As my brother once said—God rest his soul: "'subways, subways, subways!' The Liberals should've made the whole thing a subway, or at least tunnelled the whole darn thing. But the time to make that choice has passed. We gotta do the best with what we have. Thank you, no further comments"
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duffo
Active Member
I do NOT want to re-litigate the Sunnybrook / Leslie at-grade intersection discussion.. But I'm curious about a possible solution to provide for a full "isolated" segment between the future Renforth and Don Valley stations.
Could they not just ban SB and EB left turns at the intersection and remove any allowable movements through the intersection?
I know there are a high volume of left turning vehicles EB at Eglinton... but if this was really a serious concern, I am confident that you would see left-turning traffic over time re-distribute to Don Mills and Bayview, both of which have the LRT stations underground. There really isn't a whole happening on Leslie between Eglinton and Lawrence other than some industrial and the condos right on the corner. Without any possible conflicts, the LRT could run at a much faster speed.
In general, this forum has been very focused on LRT infrastructure modifications, I wonder if new roadway infrastructure could resolve this issue at a lower cost and much less disruption to the LRT service. A possible fix could be conversion of Overland Dr. to a full signalized connection between Leslie St. and Barber Greene Rd.
Could they not just ban SB and EB left turns at the intersection and remove any allowable movements through the intersection?
I know there are a high volume of left turning vehicles EB at Eglinton... but if this was really a serious concern, I am confident that you would see left-turning traffic over time re-distribute to Don Mills and Bayview, both of which have the LRT stations underground. There really isn't a whole happening on Leslie between Eglinton and Lawrence other than some industrial and the condos right on the corner. Without any possible conflicts, the LRT could run at a much faster speed.
In general, this forum has been very focused on LRT infrastructure modifications, I wonder if new roadway infrastructure could resolve this issue at a lower cost and much less disruption to the LRT service. A possible fix could be conversion of Overland Dr. to a full signalized connection between Leslie St. and Barber Greene Rd.
ARG1
Senior Member
You still have to deal with pedestrian conflicts with people crossing the street in order to reach the station or just... well... crossing the street. There is also the issue of the lack of turn back facilities at Science Centre meaning that even with a simple grade separations you can't have your core "subway section" running all the way to Don Mills to meet the Ontario Line. This is a solution that will alleviate some of the issue, but it's a half measure at most.
duffo
Active Member
Makes sense. I have no solution to the weird decisions around pocket track and crossover locations, but at the very least a signalized crosswalk to access the platform could allow for much shorter cycles (20 seconds to get halfway across the intersection, as the platform makes it functionally two-stage?) versus a full 4-way signalized intersection (several minutes, when factoring in long leading lefts?).
hw621
Senior Member
Typical political stalling BS
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ThenWhat
Active Member
The left turns could be replaced by "Michigan turns". There is enough space for two U-turns, half way up to Brentcliffe and at Palmateer Rd. And there is really no need for the crosswalk at the west side of the intersection. So from engineering point of view, significant improvements are possible. From political point of view, I am not so sure.
urbanclient
Active Member
Let's be realistic here, if international subject matter experts were asked to polish this turd of a line to a mirror shine in 53 days, I doubt they'd pull it off, much less City of Toronto Transportation Services and the TTC. The former is notoriously carbrained and the latter was revealed to not even have deigned to learn from ION a mere hour's drive away*:
*in the Dec 10 TTC board meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Xz9HS6ank
Not to mention the fact that many employees were on vacation over the holidays. I doubt the allegedly planned educational trips to Waterloo, let alone Europe were approved yet. I'd give it a full year before the professional finger twiddlers effect any noticeable change.
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Northern Light
Superstar
You have a bus route m
You have a bus route that will make a turn movement that's been prohibited in your proposal. So that problem would require a resolution. Leslie buses will go down Laird to Donlands Stn and vice versa.
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There is also an extremely high volume of traffic making that turn currently. While you can move those turns elsewhere, you'll have to be able to accommodate the turning volume at Don Mills or Bayview etc.
So that solution is 'challenged' (though there are ways to make it work)
I outlined, in response to an earlier post that it remains feasible to shift the LRT to the south side here, its just expensive, and disruptive. There are complicated issues about how to work eglinton traffic lanes around the LRT portals where they are, or you're into shifting the portals; suffice to say, not happening in the near or likely medium terms.
You have a bus route that will make a turn movement that's been prohibited in your proposal. So that problem would require a resolution. Leslie buses will go down Laird to Donlands Stn and vice versa.
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There is also an extremely high volume of traffic making that turn currently. While you can move those turns elsewhere, you'll have to be able to accommodate the turning volume at Don Mills or Bayview etc.
So that solution is 'challenged' (though there are ways to make it work)
I outlined, in response to an earlier post that it remains feasible to shift the LRT to the south side here, its just expensive, and disruptive. There are complicated issues about how to work eglinton traffic lanes around the LRT portals where they are, or you're into shifting the portals; suffice to say, not happening in the near or likely medium terms.
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Voltz
Senior Member
I would suggest raising the eastbound lanes above the intersection, with a bridge reaching across the LRT and westbound lanes to Leslie.
Monarch Butterfly
Superstar
This problem of track switches was mentioned in Line 6. Could Line 5 experience the same problems as with Ottawa's LRT and Line 6?
See https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/finch-west-line-6-lrt.11783/post-2336737
See https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/finch-west-line-6-lrt.11783/post-2336737
duffo
Active Member
Back to my point of avoiding impacts to the LRT - a small bus loop could be built in the patch of grass at the NE corner of Leslie and Eglinton to allow the Leslie bus to connect to the LRT and turn around without crossing Eglinton.
nfitz
Superstar
Of you eliminate south to east movements (which could easily enough by drivers at Lawrence), it's not that difficult to have the east to north lane cross the tracks, just WEST of the portal, and then. Yes you'd have to further widen the northside part of Eglinton and the bridge again. You could do the east side similarly perhaps when there's opportunity when they add tracks to the CP Main Line during HFR and/or Richmond Hill construction in a decade or two.
PL1
Senior Member
I don't think there's room to widen the north half