David Miller: Toronto's future rides on commitment to transit

[Fresh Start]

25 years where the plans went all but unfunded. The plans were clearly never going to get anywhere. Instead we have an affordable transit plan ... though about half the current funding for what ... 75 km or transit or so, goes to the 12-km subway-like piece of Eglinton.

And as for pulling it out of his rear end ... that's a very naive description, given it was his election platform. He had an election platform, he was elected, he carried through. Isn't this what politicians are supposed to do?

Because Toronto is not an entity in isolation and needs the political will of the provincial and federal gov't to back it with funding. And you might want to recheck your history. Much of the slated RTP projects have gone through (NYCC Stn, Downsview extension, TYSSE, Sheppard Line). It don't matter how many kilometres of light-rail through subrubia are built if they'll be underused. I personally would not use the FWLRT to go to Humber College, for instance, I'd stick to the subway + 191. Many people will continue to think like that if, as I figure, the tramways won't live up to speed/time expectations.

If it cons like a fox, it's a fox. Miller proposed Transit City in a bid to win over inner-suburbanites fed up with being ignored by City Hall. This had nothing whatsoever to do with improving commuter travel times across the 416. How can people not realize this? If he wanted a legacy to truly be proud of he would have, instead of a $6 billion light-rail plan to every ward, ran on the campaign platform of building a $6 billion DRL with improved bus services in the 'burbs. That is precisely how nepotism can get in the way of sound transit decision-making. We'll see just how much of that "affordable" 120 kil... er, 75 kilometres of LRT he promised Torontonians will actually come to fruition.

 

[nfitz]

Ask them if they'd want to pay higher fares or taxes to actually have the line on Bloor or Danforth. Even though we are a democracy, I don't think public policy decisions should be based on the public's ignorance.

Fair enough for Bloor and Danforth ... but in this case we were talking about spending more money, to not have the stations actually on Eglinton. I'm advocating the cheaper approach!

 

[nfitz]

If the LRT is built as planned, then Eglinton loses 2 lanes (1 in each direction) on both the east and the west sides of the tunnel.

Looking at the report, Exhibit 108 on page 81 shows 2 lanes each direction remaining from East Mall to Jane, with Exhibit 111 showing a third lane on the short bit from Martin Grove towards the 401. As far as I know there is only 2 lanes currently from East Mall to Jane, with the third lane on the short bit from Martin Grove towards the 401. In other words, I'm not seeing where there is loss of lanes in the Richview section.

 

[valkoholic]

Not sure if this is new but the TTC's automated subway anouncements have been replaced with a plea from Miller to save transit city. It's kind of pathetic. Althought I have to admit it's a nice change from the announcements about escalator safety (I didn't think the TTC had a functioning escalator) or the automtaed announcement announcing that station stops will now be announced automatically.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Fair enough for Bloor and Danforth ... but in this case we were talking about spending more money, to not have the stations actually on Eglinton. I'm advocating the cheaper approach!

Oh my god! So now you'll have to take 10 steps to reach the intersection, even though there will be nothing whether you have a subway or LRT!

I just can't imagine how people living on the B-D can survive the hardship they do, waking up each day knowing they'll have to take an extra quarter of a minute to get to a subway. I'm sure that many (at least the ones on the southern side of the road,) would much, much rather be in severely overcrowded LRTs that take an extra 10-15 minutes to work. Anything to avoid walking a few extra meters! (Or a few less to those living on the northern side.)

 

[saiho]

Not sure if this is new but the TTC's automated subway anouncements have been replaced with a plea from Miller to save transit city. It's kind of pathetic. Althought I have to admit it's a nice change from the announcements about escalator safety (I didn't think the TTC had a functioning escalator) or the automtaed announcement announcing that station stops will now be announced automatically.

i heard of that too, Well at least the mayor actually (or attempts to) gave a crap about transit and is trying to get the money back though public support.

 

[Ansem]

i heard of that too, Well at least the mayor actually (or attempts to) gave a crap about transit and is trying to get the money back though public support.

gave a crap sbout transit for the wrong reasons...

Someone who gives a crap about transit doesn't put SELRT above the DRL on a priority list...
It's more about his legacy and winning support in the suburbs...That's what transit city was all about.

If he really cared about transit RTES and DRL should have been push, but like every politicians...why would he push Lastman's Legacy? Better to kill his vision and put glorified streetcars on Sheppard and Eglinton and ignore completely STC and DRL

 

[valkoholic]

My beef with the annoucements isn't the transit city part (although I agree it's all about his legacy, I think having the biggest LRT system made Miller feel like a big man at his monthly mayors conferences in Europe), I just don't like hearing political announcements when I'm trying to take the subway. Too big brotherish for me. I'd rather listen to the silence in my mind.

 

[Hipster Duck]

^Wow! Since I no longer live in Toronto, I'm glad I'm not exposed to agitprop like that. And over a subway loudspeaker too!

Since Miller-biased magazines like Spacing are responsible for reporting on the state of Toronto's built realm, you get articles that decry the incursion of corporate and private advertising into public spaces, but when the mayor says a political message over a loudspeaker in the publicly-owned subway system,and disguises it as a PSA it doesn't get talked about.

 

[Fresh Start]

Not sure if this is new but the TTC's automated subway anouncements have been replaced with a plea from Miller to save transit city. It's kind of pathetic. Althought I have to admit it's a nice change from the announcements about escalator safety (I didn't think the TTC had a functioning escalator) or the automtaed announcement announcing that station stops will now be announced automatically.

LOL! The chickens are coming home to roost.

 

[nfitz]

Oh my god! So now you'll have to take 10 steps to reach the intersection, even though there will be nothing whether you have a subway or LRT!

I just can't imagine how people living on the B-D can survive the hardship they do, waking up each day knowing they'll have to take an extra quarter of a minute to get to a subway. I'm sure that many (at least the ones on the southern side of the road,) would much, much rather be in severely overcrowded LRTs that take an extra 10-15 minutes to work. Anything to avoid walking a few extra meters! (Or a few less to those living on the northern side.)

What on earth are you blabbering about? I've been advocating the cheaper approaches.

Someone had posted that " In terms of aesthetics, the passengers doesn't care about how the station, stop or road view looks like." and I simply gave an example that shows that they do. Attacking them for caring doesn't make the previous poster point any less incorrect.

 

[nfitz]

LOL! The chickens are coming home to roost.

That's a very NIMBY view. There's nothing in the Transit City delay that gives any evidence to other things being built instead. That seems to be clearly evidenced by Metrolinx going ahead with the tender for the new LRT vehicles.

 

[The Mad Navigator]

You know you wanna!

Hey SOSers, you know you want to support this, even if it's just a little bit.

 

[Ansem]

Negociating LRT vehicules with no guarantees for LRT tracks....that's smart....

 

[ssiguy2]

Miller has no concept of transit. His was his streetcar or nothing expecting long suffering Torontonians to have wet dreams about a soon to come 17km/hour streetcar system at just $9 billion and counting. That's just 2 hours and 3 transfers to cross the city from Manlvern to Humber college..............count me in. I, like Miller, am having wet dreams about how Toronto's Walmart, McDonals'd, strip mall, gas station suburban streets are going to be turning into a European bohemian nirvnana.
SOS is hardly much better. For them it's subway or nothing regardless of the fact that it would means more stubways across the city. I agree with extending the current subways but there should be no new subways for Toronto.
The extensions are logical and usually cost effective unless of course Toronto mandarines continue to tunnel in the burbs unlikie every other city on the planet.
A once great and enviable transit system just 30 years ago has turned into an also-ran and will continue to lose ground compared to almost any other city on the planet including one's that are significantly smaller.
Its time Toronto started being the once progressive and visionary city it once was by getting a grasp on reality and begin to look at affordable and alternative mass transit with more creating financing if it wishes to become the once great system it was.