TTC really can take a page as well from the rest of the world. They continually advocate the message that tunneling is the best way to do things here and their stations must be gigantic mausolems (a la hwy 407 stn). Not to mention the management of their spadina extension is borderline criminal in terms of negligence and incompetence
It's highly disingenuous to blame the TTC for stations like HWY 407, especially since HWY 407 (along with Downsview Park) was required by Metrolinx for GO transit connections. 407 is as big as it is because Metrolinx (not the TTC) wanted it to serve like 15 GO bus routes and a future transitway. Stations like Finch West, Sheppard West, Don Mills, North York Centre, Pioneer Village, and York University, and I'd even argue Bayview are all right-sized for the tasks they are required for.
Well consider that the TTC's rapid transit playbook seems to consist of:
underground subways in the suburbs
That's a political issue, and also a Metrolinx issue too.
TTC is underground almost everywhere, which is much better than the backward ideology of underground in the suburbs and aboveground downtown
streetcars in the middle of the road that stop at red lights
Blame Toronto traffic, not the TTC for not allowing signal priority. Also, having streetcars in the middle of the road has been shown to be the better option
The entire subway network? The York U Busway? I'd say those are/were excellent rapid transit services
Seems to me that "the TTC doesn't know much about building rapid transit lines" is a pretty reasonable conclusion to come to. They're completely blind to the countless other solutions they could be using to build cheap and effective rapid transit.
Even though that, for a fact, is not true, I'm sure that the TTC knows a thing or two about running their own subway network, and how their lines interact with each other. I don't think Metrolinx gives a damn about fleet commonality, network integration, yard placement, optimal dispatching locations, union relations, subway operations in inclement weather, fleet constraints, station constraints, modernization efforts on the TTC network, maintenance schedules, city of Toronto imposed regulations etc etc etc.
Metrolinx doesn't even operate GO transit, how do you expect them to design the most difficult rapid transit line in Canada without a clear understanding of the TTC's operational constraints? Look at the crosstown, that project has been more botched (surface section at Leslie, lack of proper surface transit integration (see route 90), lack of coordinated openings (see Caledonia GO station), lack of signal priority on Eglinton East, and surface stops that have zero climate control) than the TYSSE and Sheppard subways combined, and that's just a light rail line.
I see your point about Chicago since most of its elevated lines don't look anything like a modern elevated rapid transit line. Vancouver, on the other hand, is perfectly relevant. While the Skytrain tends to be underground in older urban areas, they do have elevated lines in areas with
dense mixed use development and street-oriented retail. That's basically Vancouver's equivalent to downtown Vaughan or Scarborough, but with transit built above ground. And that pragmatic way of developing is exactly why the Skytrain is a longer system than Toronto's subway.
While I'd love to see more development like this (Scarborough, Eglinton West, Sheppard East, Bloor West would all be perfect candidates for this), there are immense challenges associated with elevating tracks in Toronto, including operational constraints (Toronto has a huge variety of weather patterns for instance), road salt damage (see the 401 viaducts on the Spadina line), overnight maintenance (there are insane noise and vibration restrictions that could inhibit night work on elevated structures in suburban areas), and noise restrictions.
