News   Mar 28, 2024
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GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

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Red: Missing links
Green: Existing Sidewalk

Rutherford GO do not need a giant parking garage, it needs better pedestrian access and local transit options.
The project includes a new pedestrian & bicycle bridge across Rutherford on the east side of the tracks.
Knipsel2.JPG

It will connect to the existing multi-use path you can see in the aerial view along the east side of the railway. The plans don't show a shortcut being built along the west side of the stormwater management pond, bringing the path straight down to the station along the east side of the tracks, but it's possible that the City of Vaughan will do that separately from the Metrolinx project.

There is a townhouse development being planned in the field northeast of the station, and the conceptual site plan does include two easments connecting the neighbourhood to the existing multi-use path.

Existing path in green, new easements in blue:
Knipsel.PNG

However, being a conceptual site plan, there's still plenty of opportunity for these connections to be deleted. The City of Vaughan has approved plenty of developments recently which omit critical pedestrian links, and even some which eliminate existing well-used pedestrian routes.

The Metrolinx project also includes a multi-use path along the south side of Rutherford from the south terminus of the bridge (i.e. the station's bike parking) into the neighbourhood immediately east of the station. I'm not sure if there's any planned connection to the neighbourhood to the southeast.

The main problem I have is here that the paths being built at part of the project are multi-use paths rather than separate bike paths and sidewalks. Even today (well, pre-pandemic) whenever a train pulls in there is a considerable flow of pedestrians into the neighbourhood to the east - enough to fully occupy a multi-use trail and create serious conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists.

A bigger pedestrian/bicycle connectivity problem is that this same path is not being connected to Maple station via a similar bridge over Major Mackenzie Drive.
 
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I'm a little doubtful that two ~50 metre stretches of asphalt will remove the need for 1,000 parking spaces, but ok..

Like most things, the need is likely both.
Furthermore, it looks like the remaining surface parking lot on the northwest quadrant of the site is designed to be easily severed and redeveloped:

InkedKnipsel_LI.jpg

Old site plan, but I think that northwest quadrant is still accurate to what they're building.

Once GO starts running frequent all-day service, the demand for that site will probably increase even further, so it's possible that Metrolinx is just sitting on it until they can flip it for a good price. The overflow lot on the north side of Sheppard across from Rouge Hill station also comes to mind as a good proposition for Metrolinx to sell off for redevelopment.
 
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Most likely just like the one for Bramalea GO station and waiting for the rest of the parking lot to be built before it can be open. Then it may have to wait to open until the station is hand over to ML. Since ridership is way down at this time, there is enough parking for the areas that still has parking on it. The structure may open or just the surface section when it come time to finish rebuilding the last remaining area of parking.

Only have to look at Cooksville structure to say it is a parking palace structure and show how much money is wasted on cars, not the riders. ML have the largest parking lot system in NA and keep growing with these structures as they are built.



From what I have seen of other stations being rebuilt, all existing track on ML lines are seeing concrete ties in place of wooden one and no reason it will not happen here. If you are see concrete ties now along with wood, its a sure sign the wooden ones will be replace with concrete.
That garage at Cooksville is certainly the most prominent building in the neighbourhood, especially at night.
Friend of mine thought it was some mega shopping centre/entertainment complex.
 
The pedestrian tunnel - as with the one at Maple - was installed 3 years ago. You can see the tunnel accesses quite clearly from the train, they are about 100+ feet north of the pedestrian bridge.

None of the various designs shown indicated direct pedestrian access to the platforms from Rutherford Rd., and I would be very surprised to see it done here.

Dan
Side note, but where is the pedestrian tunnel in Maple? I have looked around there and the only thing even resembling a tunnel entrance is some portable building 50 or so meters east of the main station building. There is absolutely nothing on the west side
 
Side note, but where is the pedestrian tunnel in Maple? I have looked around there and the only thing even resembling a tunnel entrance is some portable building 50 or so meters east of the main station building. There is absolutely nothing on the west side
They didn't build any entrances. They just buried the tunnel segment itself.

You can see where it was buried based on the fresh pavement and little posts sticking out of the ground in my May 2017 update on the Barrie line construction.
 
rearrangement of the GO tracks starting in september wonder if theyre going to do the 4th track in theese 3 years

I assume they will also be doing the small shifting of tracks just west of the Don River. Source:

Lower Don Bridge and Don Yard Early Works Components



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No mention of constructing the Scarborough Junction grade separation? Or was that actually cancelled like was rumored a while ago?

I think it was more than a rumour. The CEO confirmed it in a video interview with @Reecemartin
 
No mention of constructing the Scarborough Junction grade separation? Or was that actually cancelled like was rumored a while ago?

It was semi-officially canned, but I can’t recall where I saw the quote from (iirc) Phil Verster.

- Paul
 
They really need to proofread their materials - F. G. Garinder Expressway?

AoD
Maybe there’s a super secret Garinder Expressway in the sky we don’t know about?
 

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