unimaginative2
Senior Member
They could add a GO transfer station at Gerrard and Dundas too.
Agreed. With real regional rail, that would make an ideal stop for both.
They could add a GO transfer station at Gerrard and Dundas too.
It's not me coming up with this idea--it's the TTC's planners. Again and again in the DRL report, they said that a priority had to be making the DRL route quick to make it competitive with the Yonge/Bloor route. I disagreed with them in favour of more stations (Gerrard, Cherry, Jarvis/Sherbourne) but they do still have a point and stop spacing should be reasonable.
TTC would have to give a rider on Bloor an incentive to get off before Yonge and transfer onto the DRL. The only way a rider does that is if he/she knows they will a)find a seat and b) have a quicker more comfortable ride to their destination.
I think all of the above is true with the exception of "quicker". First off, not having to let full trains pass will produce quicker travel times for all concerned. Second, a rider may well choose to take a more comfortable ride, even if it is not faster. I often take the King and Dundas streetcars from Broadview Station to downtown, even though the subway is probably faster, because the ride is more pleasant. Third, for many riders the DRL will mean avoiding a transfer on their ride, most likely at the zoo that is Bloor-Yonge Station. That means a more reliable trip, and a much less hectic one.
In any case, I very much doubt that even with local station spacing, a DRL would be slower to downtown than BD to YUS. The spacing on BD from Pape to Yonge is fairly close, and of course the spacing of the downtown portion of the Yonge line is very close. The distance a DRL would have to cover would not be longer than the combined length of these stretches, and would have the advantage of not requiring a transfer. I can't imagine any reasonable scenario where a trip via the DRL to a Yonge station would take significantly more time than a trip via BD and YUS.
Well yes and no. If the idea is to get riders off of Bloor/Danforth before they reach Yonge than we must assume they have boarded the B/D train well before the planned transfer point (say Pape). Yes it's mere existence will generate ridership outside of this ridership group, but I think it will be more of riders of the King and Queen streetcars.
That said there are 10 station between Pape and King (including the two) meaning that we could theoretically squeeze 6 - 8 stations between the two along a DRL routing and coupled with avoiding the Yonge/Bloor station it would still be faster or at worse as fast as the current route.
I think the ttc planners are more concerned with suburban travellers and with saving costs on stations.. If a DRL ever got built I am sure some downtown neighbourhoods would demand stops and they would be listened to since they have a dang good case (SOOO MANY PEOPLE).
It's not me coming up with this idea--it's the TTC's planners. Again and again in the DRL report, they said that a priority had to be making the DRL route quick to make it competitive with the Yonge/Bloor route. I disagreed with them in favour of more stations (Gerrard, Cherry, Jarvis/Sherbourne) but they do still have a point and stop spacing should be reasonable.
I'd add one between Sherbourne and Broadview. That's pretty dense area, and getting increasingly so - and 1.7 km between stations is a bit far.Maybe just 3 in between. Gerrard Square, Richmond GO connection at Broadview and Queen, and Sherbourne.
That wouldn't be at Broadview though ... or did you mean Bayview.To have it connect with the GO line that goes to Oriole station on Queen.