Finch West Line 6 LRT

[KevinT]

That shelter probably holds electrical equipment, no other reason for it. A shelter can be built it in this space because the LRVs aren’t boarded by users here. If it were a standard stop on the line the vehicle wouldn’t be able to open all doors meaning longer waits at the stop.

Even worse performance if the platform is only safely accessible on one end (true for many of the stops), then people need to file through two extra doors if they’re at the end of the vehicle furthest from the platform access. In this case riders will tend to board only from one end of the train.

Incidentally, the photos in that .pdf have a lot more detail in them than you'd think. Copy and paste them into MS Paint (or whatever) and you'll discover that they're huge. Here's the picture in question from slide 15 in all its 7.3 megapixel glory:

 

[T3G]

Loving all that alleged sun protection.

 

[ViewerOfToronto]

 

[Mount Dennis Resident]

View attachment 525179

Out of service for maintenance. Normal future situation.

 

[EnviroTO]

Loving all that alleged sun protection.

Wind, rain, or shine, with those shelters your face will feel it.

 

[CapitalSeven]

Loving all that alleged sun protection.

View attachment 525163

Yes they really ought to build a vertical sunshade 6 meters high in the middle of an arterial road to protect riders enduring a 3 minute wait from dying of sunstroke in autumn when the sun is low on the horizon and temperatures soar into the teens

 

[T3G]

Yes they really ought to build a vertical sunshade 6 meters high in the middle of an arterial road to protect riders enduring a 3 minute wait from dying of sunstroke in autumn when the sun is low on the horizon and temperatures soar into the teens

I don't understand what you are saying. Tha the stop will evaporate out of existence in the summer, or that there will never be any sort of service gap on the line that causes people to have to wait more than 3 minutes?

 

[CapitalSeven]

We live half way between the equator and Santa in a continental climate. In the summer we want shade from the sun. In the winter we're cold and we want sun but shelter from the wind. In spring and fall the sun is neither up nor down and it rains a lot so we want something to stand under. Depending on the direction of travel, the shelter is north of you or south. There is no way for platform shelters like these to meet all desiderata all of the time.

We could build much more massive stations that the trams drive right into, I guess, with operable sunshades, but we can't afford that if we're talking about delaying or cancelling whole lines. Or we could build a subway on every arterial road. The Fords were sort of promising that years ago. Have you heard anything about it lately? Well Metrolinx wants to extend Sheppard, which more than 2 decades in has less than 3K ppdph at peak, so I guess that's a start.

I think on the other hand we are facing a huge economic shift brought on by demographics, climate, and resource issues. We're going to have to toughen up and accept compromises. Radical technological adaptations will be needed:

 

[T3G]

If you're really going to pull the financial savings card, think of how much money we could've saved by not having any shelters at all.

 

[crs1026]

Once they finish all the towers along Finch there won't be any problem finding shade.

As a less cheaper shot, the point is well made that these shelters are to provide some minimal level of shelter and safety for people standing for only a few minutes.. They are not dwellings or coffee shops.

They will protect well against spray from passing vehicles, and may offer a moderate relief from wind chill and rain depending on wind directions etc. And they do prevent people from crossing the roadway at the wrong points.

So I can live with the form. My biggest interest is whether the structures align well with where car doors will open, so that boarding and alighting is spread along the platform making it faster and making best use of the vehicles, especially if vehicle length increases (ie coup,ed LRVs some day.

- Paul

 

[Mount Dennis Resident]

Would be better if there were heated platforms. Only needs to be turned on during a snow fall.

Number of days it snowed in Toronto...

 

[reinventingthewheel]

Would be better if there were heated platforms. Only needs to be turned on during a snow fall.

Number of days it snowed in Toronto...
View attachment 525338

At those rates it would be cheaper to contract out shovelling and salting the platforms as opposed to installing heated platforms at all stops.

 

[Mount Dennis Resident]

At those rates it would be cheaper to contract out shovelling and salting the platforms as opposed to installing heated platforms at all stops.

We would still have to pay for humans to be on "stand by", ready to shovel and salt on the first snowflake coming down.

 

[cplchanb]

We would still have to pay for humans to be on "stand by", ready to shovel and salt on the first snowflake coming down.

Not to mention salt eats away at the concrete over time so it will expedite the need to repour concrete. That in itself would be more laborious than installing heating cables

 

[Mount Dennis Resident]

Not to mention salt eats away at the concrete over time so it will expedite the need to repour concrete. That in itself would be more laborious than installing heating cables

Probably too late for today on the Finch West LRT, but doable for installing heating cables on its extensions and other LRT projects.