Ontario Line Extension West of Ontario Place (Speculation)

[Ward8]

Having the Ontario line go so far south into exhibition makes a northward extension a bit awkward, but not out of the question. In a perfect world, it would probably have made the most sense to have the Ontario line stay on Queen before turning north, and have Exhibition served by a separate rapid transit line.

It would make the most sense to me to have the Junction, Stockyards and Mt Dennis as targets rather than a westward expansion.

 

[Tuck]

Just something I posted in the main thread that I saw in the last hour on a Metrolinx ad... can anyone make sense of whatever this is? Seems to be a more lateral west extension than I thought, but all of the other lines here are what's confusing me.
.View attachment 375759

Looks like they blew up their not to scale future transit map and overlaid it on a very much to scale 3D rendering of the city.

Which is pretty funny.

Wouldn't read too much into it.

 

[TRONto]

Theoretically, Dufferin doesn't make sense to me much at all, given it's proximity to the Allen, but it does make sense when considering that Dufferin and Pape were the two stations that got overhauled on line two.

Dufferin gets consideration due to ridership. Consider route ridership in addition to location for rapid transit.

 

[Mrgeosim]

Going north on Keele/Parkside would be a terrible waste. The 2km stretch between Lakeshore Blvd and Bloor is made up of High Park on the west side and 1km of big single family houses to the east. IOW, you waste 2km of the line on land that can't be developed for more density.

Personally, I think Dufferin makes the most sense. It is fairly close to Line 1 but Dufferin is getting so much density that the current bus route will not be able to service it. Already there are 2 mega developments planned, one on Bloor and the other on Dupont. The Roncy option would make for the best integration if it connected with Dundas West/Bloor but that section is already well services by the GO lines and the GO expansion project.

 

[sixrings]

Going north on Keele/Parkside would be a terrible waste. The 2km stretch between Lakeshore Blvd and Bloor is made up of High Park on the west side and 1km of big single family houses to the east. IOW, you waste 2km of the line on land that can't be developed for more density.

Personally, I think Dufferin makes the most sense. It is fairly close to Line 1 but Dufferin is getting so much density that the current bus route will not be able to service it. Already there are 2 mega developments planned, one on Bloor and the other on Dupont. The Roncy option would make for the best integration if it connected with Dundas West/Bloor but that section is already well services by the GO lines and the GO expansion project.

I know Toronto doesn’t do it (Calgary does)but there’s no reason a branch couldn’t happen at dufferin to go north while the other fork in the road heads west towards Sherway.

 

[TRONto]

I know Toronto doesn’t do it (Calgary does)but there’s no reason a branch couldn’t happen at dufferin to go north while the other fork in the road heads west towards Sherway.

There is a protected path for Line 2 to go to Sherway. We wouldn't need two lines to go to Sherway.

 

[TRONto]

Doug Ford is likely winning the next election and then planning for the extension will then focus on heading westward into Etobicoke.

With all of the GO/SmartTrack stations built out, it's hard to see a business case for OL to go up Dufferin.

Likely will run in the rail corridor to Park Lawn, I could see it connecting up with Kipling and continuing up the 427 to Line 5/Pearson while Line 2 extends to Sherway. The Queensway also has a ton of density coming and pretty awful transit service.

On what basis? The new GO stations will at best marginally affect Dufferin bus ridership. At Eglinton, Dufferin is already close to the subway. Between Eglinton and Bloor there will be no GO stations. The only one coming is at Queen which if anything increases Dufferin ridership.

 

[TRONto]

Fast, all day 2-way frequent service connecting Downsview Park (Line 1) , Caledonia/Eglinton to(Line 5), Lansdowne (Line 2), and Liberty Village (504 streetcar). Same story on the Kitchener line connecting Mount Dennis (Line 5), Stockyards (512 streetcar), Dundas GO (Line 2). People won't be using the 29 bus to get downtown/to Liberty Village once these improvements happen. The bus will probably be used mainly for those living along Dufferin to reach higher order transit, but a lot of the demand will have shifted elsewhere on the network.

That's my point. People aren't going to get off the Dufferin bus to go on another bus to go to a GO station. They aren't doing that to go to Line 1 today, why would they go over to a Train station to wait for a train?

 

[junctionist]

A subway to Humber Bay Shores would be a game changer for the area. The Ontario Line could be extended there.

Yes, they're getting a GO station with all day service, but having the superior local network connectivity of the subway would make living there a lot more attractive. Not everyone needs to get to Union for work and play, but you have to go through Union if you're reliant on GO.

 

[W. K. Lis]

A subway to Humber Bay Shores would be a game changer for the area. The Ontario Line could be extended there.

Yes, they're getting a GO station with all day service, but having the superior local network connectivity of the subway would make living there a lot more attractive. Not everyone needs to get to Union for work and play, but you have to go through Union if you're reliant on GO.

If the powers-that-be really allowed for true transit priority on The Queensway for the 501 , they would get near rapid transit. The Lake Shore West LRT should be able to provide better local service.

From link.

From link.

 

[nfitz]

Most of the demand south of Bloor is people getting on the bus from the subway to get to Liberty Village. Once GO RER/fare integration is a thing everyone will just get off at Lansdowne and take the train to get there.

I doubt it. It will be a good walk from GO to Lansdowne station. I'm not sure a lot of people would go the extra stop to Lansdowne rather than getting off at Dufferin. With a much lower frequency on the GO than the bus, that isn't going to help trip times.

As we've discussed before in the Ontario line thread, it appears that the original thoughts of those behind the line was to go up Dufferin, based on the strange hook on the study area up Dufferin to Melbourne Avenue.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Going north on Keele/Parkside would be a terrible waste. The 2km stretch between Lakeshore Blvd and Bloor is made up of High Park on the west side and 1km of big single family houses to the east. IOW, you waste 2km of the line on land that can't be developed for more density.

Personally, I think Dufferin makes the most sense. It is fairly close to Line 1 but Dufferin is getting so much density that the current bus route will not be able to service it. Already there are 2 mega developments planned, one on Bloor and the other on Dupont. The Roncy option would make for the best integration if it connected with Dundas West/Bloor but that section is already well services by the GO lines and the GO expansion project.

Roncy is a better option especially since the subway can go up Dufferin to king or queen.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The northwest railway corridor will be getting busy. May not be a need for a northwest extension for the Ontario Line.

A brand new GTA GO train line is officially one step closer to reality​

From link.

The GTA may become home to a brand new GO train line in the future as the Province officially commits to moving the project forward.

Minister of Transportation of Ontario Caroline Mulroney has directed Metrolinx to advance the business case for a proposed Caledon-Vaughan GO line. The business case — a comprehensive collection of evidence and analysis for a potential transit investment — is used as part of the final decision making process.

“Our Government has prioritized the expansion of GO rail services throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe,” Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Dakota Brasier told Daily Hive. “Metrolinx will work with the Town of Caledon to monitor transit demand and advance the business case for passenger rail service.

This rail line has been a long-time hope for many, with Vaughan and the Town of Caledon advocating for more than a decade.

“As a municipality projected to grow by 300,000 people and 125,000 jobs by 2051, advancing GO train service to Caledon now is smart, forward-looking planning,” said Town of Caledon Mayor Allan Thompson. “It’s a critical option for reducing traffic congestion on our roads, preserving Caledon’s quality of life, and protecting our environment and green spaces. We thank the Province and Metrolinx for taking this important next step.”

According to a news release from the Town of Caledon, a Caledon-Vaughan GO line would serve approximately 1.3 million people from not just Caledon and Vaughan but Brampton and Toronto as well.

“The need for commuter rail service between Caledon, Vaughan, and Toronto’s Union Station has been identified and established through many studies, including the Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan (RTP-2008), MoveOntario 2020 and GO 2020 Strategic Plan as a desired service in the near-to-medium (15 years) timeline,” the release reads.

“In 2010, Metrolinx investigated and completed the Bolton (Caledon) Commuter Rail Service Feasibility Study, which reconfirmed the need for commuter GO rail service based on the growth in population and employment and high potential demand for rail ridership.”

From link.

They could add other GO stations south of Weston and Bloor that would serve the purpose as an Ontario Line northwest extension. Which they are already doing with Mt. Dennis, Stockyards, Calendonia, Bloor-Lansdowne, Liberty Village, Spadina-Front, and maybe others, using different GO Train lines along the same track corridor.

 

[Ciarlandini]

I doubt it. It will be a good walk from GO to Lansdowne station. I'm not sure a lot of people would go the extra stop to Lansdowne rather than getting off at Dufferin. With a much lower frequency on the GO than the bus, that isn't going to help trip times.

As we've discussed before in the Ontario line thread, it appears that the original thoughts of those behind the line was to go up Dufferin, based on the strange hook on the study area up Dufferin to Melbourne Avenue.

This could still resemble a creep westwards to Keele, just following Dufferin up to the tracks, with a similar situation to Gerrard and Leslieville stations.

 

[nfitz]

This could still resemble a creep westwards to Keele, just following Dufferin up to the tracks, with a similar situation to Gerrard and Leslieville stations.

Is there room for 2 more tracks along that alignment, with it already carrying the Milton, Kitchener, Barrie, UP lines - not to mention VIA and possibly the proposed GO Bolton service?

Though I scratch my head about using 2 of the 6 possible tracks on Lakeshore East for a short distance with a line that could be tunnelled; as it's looking like Lakeshore East, Stouffville, and both the VIA HFR and Kingston services are going to to on there; possibly GO Peterborough as well.