2018 Provincial Election Transit Promises

[kEiThZ]

Disagree. What KW needs is regular Go Transit or VIA service that leaves Union and KW throughout the day starting at 6:30am. 200 kph rail or faster isn’t needed, just get regular rail service in place.

I think people forget that HSR would come AFTER GO RER. So at the point at which HSR is being implemented, regular GO service will be in place:

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/regionalplanning/rer/rer_kitchener.aspx

But this does nothing for London and does not address the tech community's concerns about connectivity. If there's any case for HSR in the country, this corridor is it. Connecting the country's largest tech hub, largest international airport and the nation's financial hub. I can't think of a better case. In effect, the HSR at this point becomes a limited stop express RER train. And it's absolutely needed. Waterloo is at a substantial disadvantage to other tech hubs being so far away from Pearson and Toronto. Tech team wants to meet your finance and marketing guys in Toronto? Might as well plan a whole day off because of GTA traffic, or set aside 3 hrs for GO travel....with GO RER. You have to set aside 4 hrs today. It's bad enough that Waterloo has flight service to the Island. That really should not be necessary. And if you're traveling to Pearson? Transit is not even really an option. Nor is a reasonable travel time. I don't see how this setup is great for the regional and national economy.

The only question for me, is the financial case for London. It should be noted too that the original estimate of $5 billion was for Toronto-Kitchener-London. I am willing to bet that $1-$2 billion would fall off that price tag if the line terminated in Kitchener. But to effectively make London a Toronto exurb, you need 200+ kph service. That allows Toronto-London to get to a travel time under 90 mins, arguably the threshold for regular commuters. It also makes London-Waterloo very commutable, allowing London to tie in there. London doesn't have to be a priority, but I think projects like this need to be considered. If places like London don't start getting an economic lifeline, this province will be in trouble. We can't have all economic activity simply concentrated in the GTA while the rest of Southern Ontario withers away.

Do you believe this to be the case even if the Liberals are campaigning on the Relief Line North, as I mentioned in my post?

Yes. I can practically see the attack ads. "Wynne ignored you in Scarborough for 15 years. Now she wants to build a subway for downtown elites."

People just don't understand how angry the suburbs really are. And Ford connects with them like nobody else. That's not a good thing. But it is a thing.

 

[ssiguy2]

Agree, except HSR is a money wasting joke. GO to London makes more sense.

Which sounds great from a Toronto-centered perspective but there is one little problem with that...........Londoners don't want GO. GO would be no better than VIA is now and much slower than taking the Greyhound. This of course is to say nothing of Windsorites and an eventual connection to Detroit and Amtrak.

I'm also not at all surprised that he said he wouldn't cancel HSR. He may not like the idea but the Tories got no seats in Guelph, Windsor, London, and only one in KWC. Those cities fully expect Queen's Park to keep their HSR promise for their economic well being as well as to let them know that they are not totally ignored by a Toronto centered government. The Tories also didn't get a seat in Hamilton and did poorly in Ottawa. You cannot win an election and particularly a majority without many seats from those key urban ridings.

 

[Sandpit]

HSR is a money wasting joke. GO to London makes more sense.

From a transport perspective, yes. But HSR to London is really meant to be a economic stimulus project. London's population is expected to plateau by 2030, at which point it risks going through a long period of economic stagnation/decline much like the Rust Belt cities in Ohio across the lake (in fact, some say that Southwestern Ontario is already the Canadian Rust Belt, with its decline in manufacturing). The idea is to "save" London by essentially turning it into a suburb of Toronto with the HSR line. The line is supposed to be completed sometime around 2030 and hopefully make London a more attractive place to live.

 

[crs1026]

I can see how Doug would accept HSR. It’s one thing to be autocentric as a municipal Councillor, it’s another thing to be accountable for paying for new highways as Premier. How do you squeeze the Highways network to extract gravy? Answer: don’t expand the highways network.

Besides, we aren’t truly talking HSR. We are talking about a fairly conventional railway with non-exotic top speeds.

- Paul

 

[rbt]

If places like London don't start getting an economic lifeline, this province will be in trouble. We can't have all economic activity simply concentrated in the GTA while the rest of Southern Ontario withers away.

In general I agree that significantly improved connectivity between Ontario cities would be great for our overall economic health.

That said, London is doing very well at the moment. Incomes are way up (largely due to minimum wage boost) and unemployment is better than it's been in ~15 years.

 

[innsertnamehere]

All of southern Ontario is doing well. Job growth in southern ontario is actually generally stronger than in Toronto in a % term.

Guelph IIRC has had some of the highest job growth in the country.

Windsor has a lower unemployment rate than Toronto.

Of course the big difference is that most of the job growth in Toronto is in the educated, high income job market, while much of it in southern ontario is lower wage.

 

[BurlOak]

^I really do think it is important the line gets renamed, not just from a political standpoint but from just a basic understanding perspective. Naming it something like "Don Mills-Queen Subway" or something of that nature is far more descriptive and helpful to the average person. The term DRL is a very vague one that doesn't really say much. Names like Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRT are perfect because they tell you what they are, where they are, and what they do.

But planners completely ignored looking at reducing costs, there are not plans to come anywhere close to Don Mills.

 

[BurlOak]

In general I agree that significantly improved connectivity between Ontario cities would be great for our overall economic health.

That said, London is doing very well at the moment. Incomes are way up (largely due to minimum wage boost) and unemployment is better than it's been in ~15 years.

So you are saying that London was doing terrible just 3 months ago.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The only difficult part of the DRL to build will be the downtown loop - once you get it to bloor, any extensions past that will be "suburban" extensions, creating more positive reception. The later phases can easily just be called the Don Mills subway as well.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

But planners completely ignored looking at reducing costs, there are not plans to come anywhere close to Don Mills.

The DRL north is under study at Metrolinx and the broad alignment include Don Mills in the long run - all the way to Don Mills station.

https://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Co.../Reports/13_Advance_Planning_Presentation.pdf

AoD

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

What I want to see from Wynne
- Continuation of current policies, sped up
- Sheppard LRT
- Waterfront West LRT
- East Bayfront LRT/Parliament Streetcar
- DRL Long
- Yonge North
- Push YRT to expand local service
- Suburban LRT's

What I want to see from Ford
- All day service to Milton
- All day service to Richmond Hill
- Sheppard Subway to McCowan or STC
- Evening and Weekend Service to Mount Pleasant
- DRL from Keele or Dundas West to Don Mills
- Push YRT to expand local service
- Finish all day service to Hamilton and Niagara.

 

[hw621]

What I want to see from Wynne
- Continuation of current policies, sped up
- Sheppard LRT
- Waterfront West LRT
- East Bayfront LRT/Parliament Streetcar
- DRL Long
- Yonge North
- Push YRT to expand local service
- Suburban LRT's

What I want to see from Ford
- All day service to Milton
- All day service to Richmond Hill
- Sheppard Subway to McCowan or STC
- Evening and Weekend Service to Mount Pleasant
- DRL from Keele or Dundas West to Don Mills
- Push YRT to expand local service
- Finish all day service to Hamilton and Niagara.

then maybe some drug scandal and nothing will get built?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

then maybe some drug scandal and nothing will get built?

He ain't his brother.

AoD

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

He ain't his brother.

AoD

then maybe some drug scandal and nothing will get built?

Well I hope not!

 

[hw621]

He ain't his brother.

AoD

Well I hope not!

Rumor has it his brother was greatly influenced by him...

I hope not either but the stake of the whole province is just too high to ignore...