Eglinton-Crosstown Corridor Debate

[kettal]

Sorry you got confused. It seems everyone else understood it well enough.

One trip to midtown will save a commuter 10 minutes one way, by using Eglinton instead of Bloor. Hope that clears things up for you.

Most people return home at night. Sleeping under an office desk just isn't that comfortable, I guess.

 

[kettal]

Start your theoretical trip at McCowan & Ellesmere or Markham & Ellesmere (all travelling to the very popular trip generators at Bathurst & Eglinton) and we'll see what happens then.

What comparison would you like? Using Eglinton in this scenario compared to using Bloor subway?

 

[nfitz]

Kennedy to Leslie: 7 km in steet-median, 22 kph, 19 min. Leslie to Bathurst: 6 km underground, 30 kph, 12 min. Total: 31 min. Kettal's estimate is reasonable.

Didn't think they weren't ... I just wondered if there were estimates out.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Sorry you got confused. It seems everyone else understood it well enough.

One trip to midtown will save a commuter 10 minutes one way, by using Eglinton instead of Bloor. Hope that clears things up for you.

Most people return home at night. Sleeping under an office desk just isn't that comfortable, I guess.

You mentioned a commuter's total trip...that already implies both ways. Until a few minutes ago, I didn't read the posts where you/people estimated the one way trip to Bathurst from Kennedy, or I'd have reminded everyone that the subway's time is based on reality while the LRT's is based on an optimistic computer model - note that Sheppard's model still had it stopping at red lights even without bunch-inducingly bad TTC operations. I'd also note that Bathurst & Eglinton is walking distance from Eglinton West, especially if your destination is a block or two west of Bathurst. If I click reply and then go eat dinner and come back and send the post an hour later, who knows what silly posts have been posted since then.

It doesn't matter how long Kennedy to midtown trips take when you know perfectly well I'm not talking about trips from one point on Eglinton to another point on Eglinton (except east of Kennedy, where there'd be a pointless transfer). I'm talking about all the people coming from north and/or east of Kennedy, many transferring at least once before they even get to Kennedy station, that'll have a choice - take the subway or take something that might get bunched at red lights. Maybe there's a vast Malvern-Bathurst ridership base I'm not aware of, or a vast Martin Grove-Centennial College student base but if there isn't (and there isn't!) the only thing in the city that benefits from a combined Eglinton-RT corridor is the lucky line on the map that gets to connect a few dots together at an exorbitant cost.

 

[kettal]

It doesn't matter how long Kennedy to midtown trips take when you know perfectly well I'm not talking about trips from one point on Eglinton to another point on Eglinton (except east of Kennedy, where there'd be a pointless transfer). I'm talking about all the people coming from north and/or east of Kennedy, many transferring at least once before they even get to Kennedy station, that'll have a choice - take the subway or take something that might get bunched at red lights. Maybe there's a vast Malvern-Bathurst ridership base I'm not aware of, or a vast Martin Grove-Centennial College student base but if there isn't (and there isn't!) the only thing in the city that benefits from a combined Eglinton-RT corridor is the lucky line on the map that gets to connect a few dots together at an exorbitant cost.

Eglinton LRT will be of benefit to anyone who happens to find themselves on Eglinton, whether they got there on a GO train from Unionville, or on a bus, or they walked there, or on the Scarborough RT, or anything else.

If they are traveling to or from midtown, the Eglinton LRT will be of great benefit to them.

What's so hard about this to understand?

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Eglinton LRT will be of benefit to anyone who happens to find themselves on Eglinton, whether they got there on a GO train from Unionville, or on a bus, or they walked there, or on the Scarborough RT, or anything else.

If they are traveling to or from midtown, the Eglinton LRT will be of great benefit to them.

What's so hard about this to understand?

It's not true, not for people not already on Eglinton at or west of Kennedy, anyway. (edit - and going to a point along Eglinton, as well). No one is saying people along Eglinton won't use it, but people are saying that few, if anybody, will switch to Eglinton to go long distances, particularly those who're passing through Kennedy station where the subway's waiting for them, and because there isn't much along Eglinton that they'd be going to. Its regional value is very overrated and the estimated future ridership probably depends on substantial redevelopments, which may or may not ever happen.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

I find it bizarre that I hear one set of people screaming that Eglinton's demand is way too high to be served by an LRT, and then there's you saying Eglinton doesn't have enough potential riders to justify LRT.

I never said that...you don't need to make up stuff you think I said when you can just press 'quote.'

 

[CodeMonkey]

Anyone know if its officially a "LRT" or it still up in the air, on what technology their going to use?

 

[Second_in_pie]

Anyone know if its officially a "LRT" or it still up in the air, on what technology their going to use?

The TTC is still pressed on building it as LRT. The funding's already been given, so unless somebody such as metrolinx, the provincial government or our new Mayor (hoping) presses to change it, we'll be getting an Eglinton LRT.

So I'm guessing the province isn't going to get them to change, and Metrolinx seems to be fighting a loosing battle. I think it'll be up to electing a new mayor who will be up to changing Transit City, making it less political and instead using it to actually improve transit in Toronto.

 

[CodeMonkey]

The TTC is still pressed on building it as LRT. The funding's already been given, so unless somebody such as metrolinx, the provincial government or our new Mayor (hoping) presses to change it, we'll be getting an Eglinton LRT.

So I'm guessing the province isn't going to get them to change, and Metrolinx seems to be fighting a loosing battle. I think it'll be up to electing a new mayor who will be up to changing Transit City, making it less political and instead using it to actually improve transit in Toronto.

That may be true, but I still get this strong feeling that the Province or Metrolinx wants something else, and their going to push for it. I just hope its a real subway

 

[Second_in_pie]

That may be true, but I still get this strong feeling that the Province or Metrolinx wants something else, and their going to push for it. I just hope its a real subway

I know Metrolinx wants it, but I think if the province wanted a subway they would have just given funding for a subway. I'm not sure though. Anyways, the other pro to getting a Mayor who wants to rethink Transit City is we could rethink the priority of lines, such as lines that aren't needed (Jane and Scarborough-Malvern) and upgrade other lines (Kingston Road LRT or Islington LRT maybe?) It'd be interesting to see a totally politic-free Transit City. That's something I'll be looking for in a new mayor.

 

[kettal]

That may be true, but I still get this strong feeling that the Province or Metrolinx wants something else, and their going to push for it. I just hope its a real subway

If they decide to change it now, construction will be delayed much further, canceling the job growth we need in the short term.

In other words, the province won't do that.

 

[CodeMonkey]

If they decide to change it now, construction will be delayed much further, canceling the job growth we need in the short term.

In other words, the province won't do that.

You can't really have a delay when nothing is set in stone, all they have is some stations layout that may or may not change. If the TTC has already gone ahead with the details on planing a LRT without Metrolinx then the province may walk away. Just remember they walk away from the original Eglinton-Crosstown when they had everything ready to go. We can still be left with nothing in the end....again

 

[kettal]

Even McGuinty isn't dumb enough to cancel something like that before an election.

A subway takes much longer to plan and build, whereas much of Eglinton's construction can begin in less than a year.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Even McGuinty isn't dumb enough to cancel something like that before an election.

A subway takes much longer to plan and build, whereas much of Eglinton's construction can begin in less than a year.

True, but one of the plans called for the tunnel section of Eglinton line to be subway specs so it could be easier to upgrade in the future. So it could take more than a year if they go that way as well.