Roads: Fantasy Proposals

[Rainforest]

View attachment 215540

Basically, when Downsview Airport is decommissioned, the land has to be put to good use. I think the best way to do this is to expand off of the existing streets and private roads, as well as the Ancaster neighbourhood, to preserve some of the history of the site. Dufferin Street, Downsview Park Boulevard, Chesswood Drive, and much of Ancaster's grid layout are extended into the airport lands. I think this new neighbourhood would be a good testing ground for implementing gentle density between Bombardier/Beffort and Dufferin, considering its proximity to Line 1. The larger lots south of Katherine Road and west of Allen Road would be ideal for high density, and one could even be host to a sports or cultural venue supported by the adjacency to the subway.

However, please reserve some space for the Wilson Yard expansion, whether it would be used for the conventional subway trains, for Sheppard LRT vehicles, or for Sheppard OL-type vehicles. If this space is gone, it won't be easy to find an alternative location.

 

[JasonParis]

Also, would it not be a good idea to connect the two Dufferins at Sheppard? I know there's a bit of Allen Road north of Sheppard, but it could be renamed Dufferin too.

 

[north-of-anything]

Dufferin already exists as a local road north of Sheppard - it's the one immediately east of Allen Road. Reconfiguring that would probably require reconfiguring the whole intersection, which is why I didn't actually label the street as Dufferin north of Downsview Park Blvd.

Wilson Yard could theoretically be expanded north, if Downsview Park Blvd is bridged over the yard instead of at grade.

I might do an alternate version when I get access to my laptop.

 

[north-of-anything]

Improved! Also prettier!

I have no idea what would happen to the old Sheppard West so I called it "Armoury Parkway" to describe roughly what it is. I took some inspiration from the Six Points for putting together a new Sheppard-Dufferin intersection.

 

[Neutrino]

Nice, but I don't think having three major roads coming together at one intersection is a good idea. Too many lights and left turns in my view. Allen is the odd one out. I don't think Six Points should have been reconfigured that way either - Dundas screws everything up.

Can you make a map of the broader area with Allen removed entirely?

 

[north-of-anything]

Nice, but I don't think having three major roads coming together at one intersection is a good idea. Too many lights and left turns in my view. Allen is the odd one out. I don't think Six Points should have been reconfigured that way either - Dundas screws everything up.

Can you make a map of the broader area with Allen removed entirely?

Allen Road removed entirely? The broader area? I don't get what you mean.

I don't really see that much of an issue with the number of intersections, since most drivers will have to make only one turn at most. There should actually be more space in between the intersections as there is in the Six Points area. If the short distance between Allen/Armoury and Dufferin is an issue, then they can just extend Line 4 westwards. It also doesn't really solve the problem of what would happen with the existing Sheppard Avenue West by removing Allen Road.

 

[north-of-anything]

Presenting another idea for a new street grid over parking lots: "Oakville Midtown", which redevelops most of the property to the northwest of Oakville GO, and helps turn Trafalgar Road into more than just a connector between two (planned) dense areas.

The blue zones are the mixed-use, fairly high density buildings that would help create an Oakville skyline. The green are lower-density residential zones (think Cornell in Markham, or row houses), the pink zone is large-format retail, and the red zone is for a school. Light brown roads are less important than the dark brown roads. This arrangement preserves a fair bit of parking, owing to the largely suburban nature of Oakville, but I wanted to try for a balance between serving existing commuters and encouraging new transit-oriented growth.

(Edit: Tagging @t54zhao since they mentioned Oakville GO as one site of "wasted potential" among others.)

 

[drum118]

View attachment 216095

Improved! Also prettier!

I have no idea what would happen to the old Sheppard West so I called it "Armoury Parkway" to describe roughly what it is. I took some inspiration from the Six Points for putting together a new Sheppard-Dufferin intersection.

I would remove the Allen Connection to Dufferin that currently there and have only one connection in place of 2. Not sure how much traffic use Armoury Parkway and having another intersection close to Dufferin is going to slow traffic down. Rethink that connection.

The number of streets connecting to the new Dufferin St could have an impact on the flow of traffic on it. The speed needs to be 40-50km on the new Dufferin.

Also, allow more land for TTC to expand the current yard

What would be nice to see is a rail spur to Wilson Yard to allow new cars to be ship there by rail in place of trucks.

Need green space there as well.

 

[Northern Light]

I didn't know this thread existed, but this is an idea I had for a reconstruction of a neighbourhood at Lawrence and Warden Avenues.

View attachment 196689

I made the land in the northwest corner of Warden/Lawrence more suitable for midrise development, and also removed some of the more awkward intersections and curves.

- The incredibly disjointed section of Boem Avenue west of Warden has been replaced with an extension of Brian Avenue.
- Honey Drive and Colony Road have been adjusted to be parallel with Lawrence, allowing for rectangular lots.
- Manhattan Drive has been truncated. It now begins at the Brian Avenue extension instead of forking off from Tower Drive.

The road layout in the area east of Warden has been altered as well.

- Roselm Road, which once connected to Lawrence, has been turned into a crescent, and Ellington Drive now begins at Guild Hall Drive at the east intersection with Roselm.
- The far curve of Twin Pauls Crescent has been removed, allowing Taylor-Massey Creek to return to the surface.
- Tweed Crescent, now Tweed Road, parallels the creek. A new road connects the south end of Tweed to Compton Drive.

Unfortunately, this kind of redesign will involve several address changes, as most of the altered areas and lengths lie at the beginning of the address scheme for that road (for example, 1 Tweed Crescent is at the fork with Compton Drive).

I like your idea for the Warden/Lawrence area; but it dos have a problem.

I can tell you that you need a larger set-aside for the Creek to be on the surface. Merely for regulatory flood purposes you would need no less than 30M either side of the creek.

Besides, if you wanted to bring back a natural green system on the surface, you want room for trees and a bike path on at least one side of the road.

To recover the cost of bringing back, lets say, a 70M wide corridor for the creek, and to be ecologically useful, getting the creek down to Lawrence Avenue.........

You would have to remove Roselm Rd. entirely; then to keep a road connection to Lawrence, and not go through the heritage church/cemetery..........

You would have to extend Ellington on an angle, and then have it meet Crawford at a set of lights; Ellington would have to bridge the creek.

I would be inclined to punch Bayard out to Warden just to get more dense developable space, as well.

 

[innsertnamehere]

View attachment 216113

Presenting another idea for a new street grid over parking lots: "Oakville Midtown", which redevelops most of the property to the northwest of Oakville GO, and helps turn Trafalgar Road into more than just a connector between two (planned) dense areas.

The blue zones are the mixed-use, fairly high density buildings that would help create an Oakville skyline. The green are lower-density residential zones (think Cornell in Markham, or row houses), the pink zone is large-format retail, and the red zone is for a school. Light brown roads are less important than the dark brown roads. This arrangement preserves a fair bit of parking, owing to the largely suburban nature of Oakville, but I wanted to try for a balance between serving existing commuters and encouraging new transit-oriented growth.

(Edit: Tagging @t54zhao since they mentioned Oakville GO as one site of "wasted potential" among others.)

Midtown Oakville Class Environmental Assessment

Midtown Oakville Class Environmental Assessment

www.oakville.ca

Oakville is essentially already planning this. The densities they are planning are much higher than what you are thinking of though.

Your grid plans are quite good ideas in base form, but you make them too small. That size of block wouldn't work, the Right of Ways are too small and the block sizes too small to efficiently fit underground parking. Your high density zones along Cross are like 20m deep - that is not even enough to fit a tower floorplate, yet alone setback, podiums, loading, retail, lobbies, a parking ramp, and an efficient underground garage!

Also res typically needs 30m or so deep lots to function properly, again, not going to work. Plus you need Right of Way widths atop that which are not insignificant.

 

[Northern Light]

For myself, I would tend to prioritize 2 types of road investments; though these rank much lower in priority to me that investing in key transit priorities.

1) Connecting the Grid wherever practical
2) Introducing new, continuous streets to the grid where there is an excessive gap (typically larger than 1km) between grid streets.

Within the above, prioritization goes to roads where there is a benefit to transit (shorter, straighter route, reduced run time, shorter commutes), a material benefit to drivers, reducings traffic congestion on parallel roads and/or
introduces new intensification opportunities.

The above is then off-set by considering destruction of or relocation/mitigation associated w/heritage properties, natural areas, as well as extraordinary costs/complexity.

1) Connect Don Mills to Coxwell via large viaduct.

Benefits:

Currently no continuous N-S road between Bayview and Victoria Park Avenue; creates new connection for cars and transit, less so for pedestrians/cyclists though that would be accommodated.

Allows for a much shorter route for the Don Mills Bus and a much more efficient connection for transit users who need to end up in Don Mills coming from the South-East, where they must now travel west to Pape Stn.

Allows for the removal of the existing Don Mills/DVP connection and 'old' Don Mills Road south of Overlea, including all embankments, this would allow significant improvements to natural heritage areas.

Costs:

Expensive, large, bridge.

Destruction of residential area north of O'Connor

Some adverse environmental effects to Taylor Creek Park/East Don River Valley; but should be fully offset by new natural areas created/recreated by removal of 'old' Don Mills Road.

******

2) Complete Keele Street in the area north of St. Clair as a continuous Road; with a similar modification north of Eglinton removing the conflation with Trethewey/Yore.

As part of this change, re-align Trethewey to become an E-W Road linking to Beechborough/Castlefield. That really improves the connectivity the area.

Benefits:

Streamlines the Keele bus service significantly, removing turns, shortening commute times and allowing greater efficiency.

Improves efficient traffic flow.

Reduces excess traffic on Eglinton and St. Clair

Costs:

Removes several single family homes

Large $$$

Street renaming/renumbering required

*****

3) Complete Pharmacy across the 401

No interchange w/highway

Benefits:

Serves to create a more efficient alignment for bus service

Alleviates congested areas of VP and Warden

More direct route for motorists

Connects pedestrians/cyclists efficiently to shopping/employment/transit

Costs:

Low, if the road is maintained at one-way, each-way through the Ellesmere to Sheppard section; which I would advocate for, based on introducing bike lanes to Pharmacy.

Downside, somewhat less intensification opportunities.


****

4) Create new E-W Road mid-way between Eglinton and Lawrence, from VP to Danforth Rd. in the East.

Use alignment of Surrey from VP.

Benefits:

Creates roughly 1km grid, may be usable for new transit route, new E-W cycling connection, shortens walking connections.

Creates substantial intensification opportunities at major intersections, with stacked townhome level intensification in between in existing residential areas.

Costs:

Significant expropriate of single family homes, disrupts some industrial properties .

****

5) Extend Bermondsey/Sloane to Lawrence Avenue in the north, and St. Clair in the south.

Benefit: Removes absurd route pattern for TTC service through low-density residential area. alleviates heavy choke point at VP/Lawrence for transit and cars.

Cost: Low, expropriation of relatively narrow corridor (one way each way), through relatively low-cost area.

****

6) Merge/Re-align Martin Grove to meet Shaver/Shorncliffe and Thirteenth.

Benefit: Creates a continuous road/route from Lakeshore all the way to Langstaff in Vaughan.

Cost: Mostly moderate, relative to size/benefit.

But would have a very expensive overpass/underpass at the Gardiner; and would disrupt a local park/residential area.

****

There are lot of others, but those seemed among the more beneficial to me.

I specifically ruled out:

Connecting the 2 sections of Lawrence Avenue East as the alignment would meet an existing bridge (Bayview), then have to travel through the heritage mix of buildings at Toronto French school; hideously expensive and complex.

Also, connecting Leslie south of Eglinton as this would very disruptive to environmentally sensitive lands w/no logical offsets and no great intensification opportunities, at least until you got closer to Danforth (assuming using an alignment to Donlands).

 

[salsa]

For myself, I would tend to prioritize 2 types of road investments; though these rank much lower in priority to me that investing in key transit priorities.

1) Connecting the Grid wherever practical
2) Introducing new, continuous streets to the grid where there is an excessive gap (typically larger than 1km) between grid streets.

Within the above, prioritization goes to roads where there is a benefit to transit (shorter, straighter route, reduced run time, shorter commutes), a material benefit to drivers, reducings traffic congestion on parallel roads and/or
introduces new intensification opportunities.

The above is then off-set by considering destruction of or relocation/mitigation associated w/heritage properties, natural areas, as well as extraordinary costs/complexity.

1) Connect Don Mills to Coxwell via large viaduct.

Benefits:

Currently no continuous N-S road between Bayview and Victoria Park Avenue; creates new connection for cars and transit, less so for pedestrians/cyclists though that would be accommodated.

Allows for a much shorter route for the Don Mills Bus and a much more efficient connection for transit users who need to end up in Don Mills coming from the South-East, where they must now travel west to Pape Stn.

Allows for the removal of the existing Don Mills/DVP connection and 'old' Don Mills Road south of Overlea, including all embankments, this would allow significant improvements to natural heritage areas.

Costs:

Expensive, large, bridge.

Destruction of residential area north of O'Connor

Some adverse environmental effects to Taylor Creek Park/East Don River Valley; but should be fully offset by new natural areas created/recreated by removal of 'old' Don Mills Road.

******

2) Complete Keele Street in the area north of St. Clair as a continuous Road; with a similar modification north of Eglinton removing the conflation with Trethewey/Yore.

As part of this change, re-align Trethewey to become an E-W Road linking to Beechborough/Castlefield. That really improves the connectivity the area.

Benefits:

Streamlines the Keele bus service significantly, removing turns, shortening commute times and allowing greater efficiency.

Improves efficient traffic flow.

Reduces excess traffic on Eglinton and St. Clair

Costs:

Removes several single family homes

Large $$$

Street renaming/renumbering required

*****

3) Complete Pharmacy across the 401

No interchange w/highway

Benefits:

Serves to create a more efficient alignment for bus service

Alleviates congested areas of VP and Warden

More direct route for motorists

Connects pedestrians/cyclists efficiently to shopping/employment/transit

Costs:

Low, if the road is maintained at one-way, each-way through the Ellesmere to Sheppard section; which I would advocate for, based on introducing bike lanes to Pharmacy.

Downside, somewhat less intensification opportunities.


****

4) Create new E-W Road mid-way between Eglinton and Lawrence, from VP to Danforth Rd. in the East.

Use alignment of Surrey from VP.

Benefits:

Creates roughly 1km grid, may be usable for new transit route, new E-W cycling connection, shortens walking connections.

Creates substantial intensification opportunities at major intersections, with stacked townhome level intensification in between in existing residential areas.

Costs:

Significant expropriate of single family homes, disrupts some industrial properties .

****

5) Extend Bermondsey/Sloane to Lawrence Avenue in the north, and St. Clair in the south.

Benefit: Removes absurd route pattern for TTC service through low-density residential area. alleviates heavy choke point at VP/Lawrence for transit and cars.

Cost: Low, expropriation of relatively narrow corridor (one way each way), through relatively low-cost area.

****

6) Merge/Re-align Martin Grove to meet Shaver/Shorncliffe and Thirteenth.

Benefit: Creates a continuous road/route from Lakeshore all the way to Langstaff in Vaughan.

Cost: Mostly moderate, relative to size/benefit.

But would have a very expensive overpass/underpass at the Gardiner; and would disrupt a local park/residential area.

****

There are lot of others, but those seemed among the more beneficial to me.

I specifically ruled out:

Connecting the 2 sections of Lawrence Avenue East as the alignment would meet an existing bridge (Bayview), then have to travel through the heritage mix of buildings at Toronto French school; hideously expensive and complex.

Also, connecting Leslie south of Eglinton as this would very disruptive to environmentally sensitive lands w/no logical offsets and no great intensification opportunities, at least until you got closer to Danforth (assuming using an alignment to Donlands).

If the city ever gets around to implementing their own long-standing existing plans that are badly needed, such as completing the ring road in North York Centre or the new street in Liberty Village, then perhaps some of your ideas might stand a change of seeing the light of day.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The Keele extension is more or less being addressed as a part of the St Clair West Transportation Master Plan works from my understanding, though it isn't planned to be a direct extension.

 

[north-of-anything]

5) Extend Bermondsey/Sloane to Lawrence Avenue in the north, and St. Clair in the south.

Benefit: Removes absurd route pattern for TTC service through low-density residential area. alleviates heavy choke point at VP/Lawrence for transit and cars.

Cost: Low, expropriation of relatively narrow corridor (one way each way), through relatively low-cost area.

Hmm...

Behold, the northern extension of Plaxton Drive. It cuts through a subdivision with a horribly ugly street layout, but preserves most of the streets while establishing a continuous corridor from Bermondsey Road to St Clair Avenue. The extension would be ideal for realigning bus routes, and other than the north frontage of St Clair Avenue East, I see no reason to increase the density in this district.

 

[ericmacm]

Here's a concept for a future upload and extension of Windsor's EC ROW, to a 400-series highway which would likely be called Highway 422. EC ROW currently ends at Banwell Road in Tecumseh, and continues at-grade as County Road 22. The road was intended to be extended in the past, but ultimately did not happen due to the Harris government download in the 90s.

The western extension (west of Huron Church) has recently been redone up to 400-series standards after a reconfiguring for the Herb Gray Parkway. The vast majority of the highway, as it sits today, is incredibly inconsistent with design, lacks adequate signage, and has a different layout for every interchange. I can imagine that these would be brought up to a higher standard if an upload was ever considered. My version of the eastern extension would follow the path of the existing CR 22, up until a roundabout at East Puce Road, where it turns south toward County Road 42 through currently existing farmland. It could potentially continue to follow CR 22, but this road gets reduced to 2 lanes and starts to become the main drag of some towns, so going south to get around this would be optimal. An even more eastward extension could be done along CR 42 to eventually meet up with Highway 401 at Tilbury. I have attached some quick mockups of new interchanges for the extension.

Upgrading this highway will be needed in the future, as the towns east of Windsor, such as Tecumseh and Belle River, keep growing in size at a faster rate than Windsor.

Banwell:

Manning:

Patillo:

East Puce:

CR 42 Terminus: