Toronto Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown West Extension | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

Has it been determined if this extension will go to both terminals or just to the new Union West wherever they place it.
The line is intended to terminate at the transit hub at Pearson Airport. (Union Station West) However it looks like progress on the transit hub have slowed / stalled thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. So a terminus at Renforth looks likely for the time being.
 
I agree that we can do a lot more with signal priority to make surface LRT faster and more reliable. One would be to use refuge islands to allow shorter countdowns for pedestrians. And smarter signals for the intersections. For the billions spent on tunnels, we could probably bring over better intersection control technology and update regulations to enable them. The money saved can definitely be used to improve the surface platforms!

Might be reaching the point where this belongs in another thread....but.....here we are wasting a billion dollars to bury an LRT so that autos retain priority over transit vehicles..... and now we are discussing needing another tranche of infrastructure so that cyclists get priority over both of these - at added cost. Is there nothing wrong with this picture? A nice flat intersection with transit priority and the right amenities for cyclists facing red lights will speed transit and give cyclists all the green lights they need.

While I totally support making cycling safer and easier, I lose my empathy when cyclists expect to get all the breaks.

Cycling and stop signs can coexist. Just stick out your damn leg when you stop. And don’t bury LRT’s needlessly.

- Paul
Agreed don't want to derail the thread. Just want to point out that what I'm talking about doesn't have to cost a lot. It's just updating standards and pretty standard speed tables. It's not just for cyclists, either, it protects pedestrians at the same time.
 
Eg West might just be better grade separated. I remember the intersection at Islington/Eg gives priority to fire trucks for the fire station just south of there which holds the light green for northbound direction for an extensive period of time. No LRT trains are gonna pass if there's an emergency. The EMS station is also just station north of Martin Grove/Eg. No transit priority would win against emergency vehicle priority.
 
Still think a rebuilt Airport Link train connecting the terminals, various hotels & ancillary airport things with Renforth and (the new) Woodbine GO would be a better solution than an extension of the LRT, given the odd traffic flows of Airport staff/passengers etc. (Also, getting the GTAA to pay for it would be a good idea!)

Apropos of nothing, I think "Renforth" really sucks as a station name given the key location at the transfer point between the busway and the LRT. I came up with "Mississauga Gateway" as a name that implies a connection to the neighbouring city, while still giving the area a distinctive name. Any other suggestions?
 
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Still think a rebuilt Airport Link train connecting the terminals, various hotels & ancillary airport things with Renforth and (the new) Woodbine GO would be a better solution than an extension of the LRT, given the odd traffic flows of Airport staff/passengers etc. (Also, getting the GTAA to pay for it would be a good idea!)

Apropos of nothing, I think "Renforth" really sucks as a station name given the key location at the transfer point between the busway and the LRT. I came up with "Mississauga Gateway" as a name that implies a connection to the neighbouring city, while still giving the area a distinctive name. Any other suggestions?

With planning for a development for Centennial Park (see link), the filling of parking lots north of Eglinton Avenue (Mississauga) with commerce development, I can see Renforth Station becoming a BIG destination.

The cul-de-sacs south of Eglinton Avenue (Etobicoke) and west of 427 require the need for a parking garage for bicycles, there would be no need for automobile park-n-ride, but maybe an automobile kiss-n-ride. The cul-de-sac designs of the roadways would discourage pedestrians from walking to and from the station.

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From link.
 
Burying the LRT has nothing to do with Cars (or well maybe it does, but its not the most important thing), and has actually more to do with making the LRT better. At Grade LRTs are simply so much less reliable than grade separated LRTs ever will be. Because the tracks are at grade, they are more prone to interference from external sources, people walking on the tracks, cars stalling in the middle of an intersection, the fact that all of these interferences exist also means that not only is the speed of the trains significantly slower in these median sections, but you can't run ATC and have the trains run at higher frequencies. Signal Priority also isn't perfect, and even in clear conditions, you will have LRTs occasionally stall behind traffic lights. Its also important to note that the Eglinton West extension will be reaching not only the airport - the largest employment center in the region, but a completely grade separated busway to Square One as well, making it likely to be a highly used transit corridor. Simply put, having Eglinton West be in the median of the roadway makes absolutely 0 sense.

You must have forgotten elevating the route - oh wait, that wasn't even considered. I mean an org that came up with elevating other routes for cost reasons somehow couldn't come up with that here. :rolleyes: Positioning this as burying vs. at grade on median is binary BS.

AoD
 
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You must have forgotten elevating the route - oh wait, that wasn't even considered. I mean an org that came up with elevating other routes for cost reasons somehow couldn't come up with that here. :rolleyes: Positioning this as burying vs. at grade on median is binary BS.

AoD
I absolutely agree with you. In an ideal world, Eglinton West would be elevated until Renforth Gateway, and I would back that option over an underground option any day of the week. My response was to a comment that was specifically about how Eglinton West should be at grade, and that burying it made no sense, and my response focused mostly on how having transit is significantly worse for everyone involved, transit users and car users than a grade separated option. Do note that at no point did I ever mention burying EWest, I only talked about Grade Separation, which can either mean Underground or Elevated. But yes, between underground or in the median, I would choose underground any day of the week.
 
The stations at the main intersections will still be cut and cover. That is why they should reconfigure those intersections into roundabouts and create a bicycle highway while they do so.
Dead wrong, with single bore they just need to cut a few meter of the station from the top to lower the equipment and everything can be done underground. No need to cut the intersection at all. It's similar to the mined stations at Laird and Oakwood which they didn't even touch the intersection. The entire platform can fit inside the tunnel unlike the crosstown where they have to destroy the bored tunnel liners. The few meters they cut would become the entrances to the station.

It is especially important to keep intersections like Eg/Martin Grove flowing or traffic will back up onto the 401/427.
 
Dead wrong, with single bore they just need to cut a few meter of the station from the top to lower the equipment and everything can be done underground. No need to cut the intersection at all. It's similar to the mined stations at Laird and Oakwood which they didn't even touch the intersection. The entire platform can fit inside the tunnel unlike the crosstown where they have to destroy the bored tunnel liners. The few meters they cut would become the entrances to the station.

That's only capable if the bore is large enough to allow for platforms as well - the best example of this is Barcelona's lines 9 and 10.

In most cases however, the bore isn't large enough to do that, and so alternate measures must be taken to build the stations. Sometimes, it is cut-and-cover. Other times, the ground conditions are such that they can excavate the platforms.

It is especially important to keep intersections like Eg/Martin Grove flowing or traffic will back up onto the 401/427.

If you look at Metrolinx's plans, you'll see that they've carefully planned to have all of the stations away from the intersections because of this.

Dan
 

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