DRL routing. Where would you put it?

[spider]

It doesn't have to follow a street - doesn't mean it shouldn't try to connect with nodes. The idea of collecting as much of the riders from said bus lines is a sound one, but the hydro corridor you've indicated is way too close to the Eglinton line to such an extent that you might very well be duplicating the effect.

Or negate the need for an Eglinton LRT.
Pretend you live in Scarborough between Victoria Park and Kennedy Road and you are commuting downtown would you take a bus north or south to the DRL and ride all the way downtown or would you take that bus to the LRT, transfer to the Yonge subway and arrive downtown a lot later. No contest for me.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

spider:

Well, the Eglinton LRT has already left the station so the what if is academic in that regard. Besides if you are building the DRL - it would hit Eglinton and heading downtown would mean 1 transfer, which will probably translate into a minimal increase in travel time.

Hydro corridors are underutilized, unfortunately - but good luck trying to get Hydro to let anyone use them.

AoD

 

[Silence&Motion]

I think it's important that we try to avoid another Allen Expressway-type subway extension. As some have said, if that extension had been routed along Jane Street instead of the Allen, Jane would likely be a thriving main street by now. I think Victoria Park has the same potential as Jane.

For the purpose of simply getting people downtown as fast as possible, it would be better to improve GO lines, which do run between disconnected nodes. Subways are ideally supposed to run through dense urbanized areas.

 

[Neil]

I voted for King St in the poll. And I'm on side with a Pape, Thorncliffe Park, Don Mills alignment. I used to think that then the line should join with the Sheppard line for an ultimate connection to the Wilson carhouse. Now I think the DRL should go N of Lawrence and then transfer to the Richmond Hill GO line which it would replace. At this point the line would switch from 3rd rail to pantograph operation thus: http://youtu.be/7S5GkD1VswI
Why?
- it would allow for a carhouse to be built more cheaply up around Richmond Hill
- by replacing the Richmond Go line, it would offload congestion at Union station
- it would relieve the Yonge line for the full height of the city, and function as a backup when the Yonge line was down
- The Oriole station could be moved to Sheppard
- It could intercept the Finch line at Old Cummer
- And most importantly, it could be built, run and ticketed as a Metrolinx/GO line and thus be funded solely as a provincial project

 

[kEiThZ]

Since we don't care about city building and network building considerations don't count, and it's all apparently to be solely determined by ridership levels, then my vote is to put it wherever it gets the most riders. Who cares about the downtowners anyway? Since the bulk of the ridership will be those vast unwashed masses from Scarborough, situate the alignment to get them to their offices faster. If the logic works on Sheppard, it should work downtown.

 

[Neil]

If ridership levels are the only metric, may I suggest a kick-ass ferris wheel.

 

[dunkalunk]

I voted for King St in the poll. And I'm on side with a Pape, Thorncliffe Park, Don Mills alignment. I used to think that then the line should join with the Sheppard line for an ultimate connection to the Wilson carhouse. Now I think the DRL should go N of Lawrence and then transfer to the Richmond Hill GO line which it would replace. At this point the line would switch from 3rd rail to pantograph operation thus: http://youtu.be/7S5GkD1VswI
Why?
- it would allow for a carhouse to be built more cheaply up around Richmond Hill
- by replacing the Richmond Go line, it would offload congestion at Union station
- it would relieve the Yonge line for the full height of the city, and function as a backup when the Yonge line was down
- The Oriole station could be moved to Sheppard
- It could intercept the Finch line at Old Cummer
- And most importantly, it could be built, run and ticketed as a Metrolinx/GO line and thus be funded solely as a provincial project

I like the thinking, although I would opt to also have the line run in the Georgetown/ARL corridor past Bloor/Dundas West, supplementing the express/commuter train corridor with rapid transit service to the airport. Here's what it could look like: http://g.co/maps/8zt6b

 

[rbt]

Since the bulk of the ridership will be those vast unwashed masses from Scarborough, situate the alignment to get them to their offices faster. If the logic works on Sheppard, it should work downtown.

$1B moved into Metrolinx could make for a very good Kennedy to Union link ($250M to improve Union capacity, $250M to improve the GO connection at Kennedy (subway station to straddle GO line similar to Sheppard West), $250M for track work/electrify/buy rolling stock, and $250M to subsidize operations of 7 minute frequencies from 6am to 1am (capacity equal to Yonge subway) under the TTC banner (accepts all TTC fares).

Capital cost is roughly the same as Sheppard subway extension from Don Mills to Vic Park.

 

[Neil]

I like the thinking, although I would opt to also have the line run in the Georgetown/ARL corridor past Bloor/Dundas West, supplementing the express/commuter train corridor with rapid transit service to the airport. Here's what it could look like: http://g.co/maps/8zt6b

Yes, but I think you could emerge to the surface on the Georgetown line between King and Queen instead of tunneling all the way to Dundas W. Just an extra span required at the Dufferin jog and then dive under the Barrie line. Then you're good to go to the airport.

 

[spider]

Hydro corridors are underutilized, unfortunately - but good luck trying to get Hydro to let anyone use them.

Bike lanes, Community gardens, Parking lots are all situated on Hydro ROWs now.

 

[dunkalunk]

Yes, but I think you could emerge to the surface on the Georgetown line between King and Queen instead of tunneling all the way to Dundas W. Just an extra span required at the Dufferin jog and then dive under the Barrie line. Then you're good to go to the airport.

You're definitely right that you could do it, but I personally think that the possible inter-modal connections to GO and the streetcars in addition to the development potential of the Roncesvalles streetcar yard are too valuable.

 

[Neil]

You're definitely right that you could do it, but I personally think that the possible inter-modal connections to GO and the streetcars in addition to the development potential of the Roncesvalles streetcar yard are too valuable.

But the only GO line you would intercept there is Lakeshore W. Most of those people are destined for the CBD and are more likely to continue to Union rather than transfer to a DRL at Roncesvalles. 504 Streetcar users could transfer to a DRL at Shaw on your map. It would also be at Shaw where I would have the current King street car move S to Wellington.

 

[urbandreamer]

One proposal: DRL would be LRT (above & below ground) and parts would run under the Gardiner row. Here's how I'd pay for it:

Yes that's an LRT running under the elevated highway.

 

[gweed123]

So I decided to do a more detailed version of the transit map that I posted in the Fantasy Maps thread. Specifically, the downtown area.

Key Elements:

1) Decoupling of the Yonge and University-Spadina Subways, as has been mentioned before (and what my regional map showed).

2) The partial wye at Yonge & Front would be complex, but I think it would be doable. The existing east to north/south to west option would be retained. Immediately south of King Station, a set of tracks would veer off on the outside of the existing tracks, and drop below the current turn into Union. It would continue south-southwest into a new Union platform underneath the current bus terminal and tracks.

The Downtowner would use the current Union platforms, and where the tracks currently veer north, they would continue east along Front St (but still leaving switches there for trains to go north).

3) After passing Yonge, the tunnel would veer slightly to the south, and go underneath the Esplanade parkland until Parliament, where it would switch to a rail corridor alignment.

4) The Yonge line would terminate at a new Southcore Station, either underneath or directly beside Lakeshore, under the Gardiner. I included this in Phase 1 because it would be easier to put in crossovers leading into Southcore Station than it would be into the new Union. Southcore will also desperately need a subway station when completed.

5) The Yonge line can be pushed as far west as needed, or as funding warrants. It would continue under Lakeshore, and then go through the Ex, veer north, and go up Dufferin to Bloor. This would provide interchanges to every western GO line.

6) DRL East up the usual alignment east of the Don, and up to Eglinton & Don Mills (future extension north of Bloor).

 

[Dan416]

I like how your map looks.