innsertnamehere
Superstar
It doesn't make sense, all the rail corridor space in the east is needed for GO operations. It's only wide enough for 4 tracks and there are 3 already there..
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2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Transit Plans
- Thread starter denfromoakvillemilton
- Start date
andrewpmk
Senior Member
Looks like the GO Stouffville line and part of the GO Georgetown line plus something weird at the western end.
As usual, this is more lines drawn on a map and this plan was not thought through at all. You need to upgrade all the GO lines, not just a few of them. A plan that ignores Lakeshore and Milton and the western part of Georgetown is not credible.
As usual, this is more lines drawn on a map and this plan was not thought through at all. You need to upgrade all the GO lines, not just a few of them. A plan that ignores Lakeshore and Milton and the western part of Georgetown is not credible.
TOareaFan
Superstar
The myth that square one is where it is because the highway is there has to die. Square One opened its first phase in 1973.....the current route of the 403 is dramatically different than the routes talked about in the 50's and 60's and was only created in the late 70's. if anything, the location of the highway was influenced by the location of the mall.
ShonTron
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The myth that square one is where it is because the highway is there has to die. Square One opened its first phase in 1973.....the current route of the 403 is dramatically different than the routes talked about in the 50's and 60's and was only created in the late 70's. if anything, the location of the highway was influenced by the location of the mall.
Not quite true. The 403 was planned to run east-west through Toronto Township. It did have a different alignment east of Cawthra Road, where it would have run straight across to the 401/427 interchange and continue eastward as the Richview Expressway where Eglinton Avenue is now in Etobicoke. The mall developers would have known (and banked on) the plans for the "Hamilton Highway" to locate the mall.
So yes, "current route of the 403 is dramatically different" but only where it now bends north to meet the 401 (and later the 410).
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ShonTron
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Bingo.
Bang on. If you look at the map I posted in the fantasy thread, there are 3 GO REX routes running north from Kennedy: One to Lincolnville, one to Unionville, and one branching off at the current SRT branch-off, running along the SRT ROW until Malvern, and then using the CP ROW to Seaton. The cost of doing the spur to Malvern would be less than the Scarborough Subway, and do a hell of a lot more for Scarborough.
Johnny Au
Senior Member
John Tory didn't do the research. He used the wrong street suffix for 14th Avenue.
quicksilver
Active Member
The Bloor/Danforth subway extension is far better for Scarborough, especially if it can be extended up to Finch. Even if the SELRT is not built, you will have Sheppard and Finch buses (on both sides of McCowan) flowing into the line, relieving congestion.
The Tory plan for what essentially looks like a GO-electrification project appears completely different than what was imagined as a DRL
- The line passes through Union...not King or Queen
- The line does not serve King West as the DRL would have, nor the area around Roncesvalles
- There's no connection south between the Bloor line East and Queen East, nor a conceived extension between Bloor and Eglinton
- Will real integration between GO and TTC ever happen?
There's already lots of Lakeshore trains. The DRL was going to serve the region between Lakeshore and Bloor, and that area will still be under-served if this becomes "the solution." And no offense to Markham/Unionville, but Tory is running for mayor of Toronto, No?
rbt
Senior Member
Which is exactly why he shouldn't be bringing it up. Mayor of Toronto has zero authority over most of that corridor and no where close to the resources to buy it/take it over.
It's nice that he wants to propose things to Metrolinx (or the MTO) but it's not really anything he could actually bring to fruition. He still seems to want to be Premier for the province but forgets he's running for Mayor of Toronto; constantly brings things up that are well outside of the abilities of the Mayor.
I put it in the same category as Miller promising to ask the Federal Government for money. Technically he did ask; it made zero difference.
A generic promise to not get in the way and work on a integrated fare solution would be much better.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
John Tory transit plan
Mayoral candidate John Tory has released his plan to get you moving in the city and beyond with his "One Toronto Transit Plan."
Tory is hopping onto a plan already announced by the province that would bring in Regional Express Rail, an all-day, two-way surface subway service that would run on existing GO track lines with new higher-speed vehicles.
The first project would be the SmartTrack line which would run from the Airport Corporate Centre near Matheson Boulevard, down to Union Station and back up to Markham in the East.
The SmartTrack line is 53 kilometres long and would include 22 new stops and 4 interchanges with the TTC Rapid Transit Network.
Tory is promising the new line within 7 years and would include full fare coordination with the TTC system.
The total cost of the SmartTrack line is $8-billion.
The city's one-third share of the cost would be financed using Tax Increment Financing, which would dedicate a portion of increased tax revenue from development along the line to fund construction.
John Tory reiterated his promise to immediately start building a Scarborough Subway extension as well as his pledge to provide new express bus services for areas like Don Mills Road, Liberty Village, and Dufferin Street.
Tory says the new SmartTrack line would generate relief by reducing passenger use of the Yonge-University-Spadina line as well as reducing car congestion in the areas serviced by the new line. - See more at: http://www.newstalk1010.com/news/20...n-for-transit-in-toronto#sthash.YmjqTwtv.dpuf
Nice blue napkin.
Wouldn't Union Station and its vicinity just get even more crowded with this "expansion" of its use?
diminutive
Active Member
I mean, the basic reality is that Toronto can't fund anything but minor capital projects on its own.
To a limited extent, that doesn't mean it's ridiculous for the Mayor or candidates for Mayor to propose things which would require federal or provincial cooperation. We should be skeptical if someone's strategy relies on unrealistic contributions from senior levels of government.
As far as Tory's proposal goes, we'll have to see how it evolves. It would be easy to argue that this idea is complementary to proposed GO improvements. Something along the lines of if the Province takes the lead on frequency improvements, the City will work on fare and service integration with the TTC and building local stations. I guess something like the current improvements to Union Station, though perhaps that's not the best example of project management at the moment.
Besides, even if the Province is constitutionally superior to the City, it doesn't necessarily play out that way in everyday politics. Just look at the saga of LRT in Toronto. Miller & Giambrone championed it, so the Province tried to jump on that band wagon. When Ford got elected and spiked the concept of LRT, the province shifted again. The Mayor directly represents ~2,500,000 people, which is more than any other politician in Canada, even the PM. Even if he/she isn't legally co-equal to Queen's Park, they still have a fairly strong voice.
Plus, at the theoretical level, I suspect the Mayor has great influence on the opportunity structures the Premier operates in. Assuming Queen's Park is largely disinterested in the specifics of transit infrastructure, and just wants to be seen to be proactive in combating gridlock or whatever, they'll just stick with municipal priorities. To date, most 'transit plans' put forward by the Province have just been grab-bags of local pet projects, which would support my view.
diminutive
Active Member
I don't think there as different as you think.
- The line does pass through Union, but so did the original DRL plan. Everything has pros and cons, but serving Union isn't unprecedented.
- The line could serve King West... Presumably the 'Liberty Village' station would be on King West.
- The proposal is pretty explicit about fare and service integration. While still very preliminary, it's at least being mentioned up front as a prerequisite.
West End Boy
Active Member
I'm not aware of this project and can't seem to find any info. How would they get the trains into MCC, tunnel?
nfitz
Superstar
Presumably.
It's listed in the post-25 year section of the original 2008 Big Move document, along with the 2013 update. We've discussed it in this forum more than once since 2008.
BurlOak
Senior Member
This is essentially a GO transit line. Three things I get from this proposal.
- How much better the SRT alignment is than the B-D subway extension. I understand there is room in the corridor for both GO and SRT. There could be a common station at Kennedy (no GO stations needed at Lawrence and Ellesmere). The Sheppard Station would be at Markham Road - about 4.5km away and not 2km. And of course we all know that SRT will only work if it is connected to the ECLRT so there are no forced transfers.
- How important it is for GO to better serve Toronto.
- The 12km along Eglinton to the airport seems exceedingly expensive and following the GO to Malton would make much more sense.