Sheppard Line 4 Subway Extension (Proposed)

[nfitz]

Boy I can't wait for the NIMBY's to begin demanding the line be tunnelled under Earl Bales Park because "they deserve an underground subway" and anything else would be second class. You know this is exactly what's going to happen.

Will most even notice? I swear that the majority of people where Line 4 crosses the East Don, don't even realize that it's a bridge, and not a tunnel?

I haven't even heard concerns about where the Eglinton Line where it crosses Black Creek; I don't think people are really that concerned when the bridge is alongside a road, and not elevated above the road.

 

[JSF-1]

Will most even notice? I swear that the majority of people where Line 4 crosses the East Don, don't even realize that it's a bridge, and not a tunnel?

I haven't even heard concerns about where the Eglinton Line where it crosses Black Creek; I don't think people are really that concerned when the bridge is alongside a road, and not elevated above the road.

Well that's probably because the bridge over the Don by Leslie is relatively short and enclosed. Depending on the depth of the Sheppard West Extension I imagine the bridge over Earl Bales will be much longer and more noticeable.

 

[nfitz]

Well that's probably because the bridge over the Don by Leslie is relatively short and enclosed.

It's shorter, the Sheppard Avenue bridge is over 100 metres long - closer to 125 metres. It's a bit misleading, because most of the Leslie/Sheppard intersection is on the bridge ... which is quite invisible when driving.

 

[picard102]

While I don't doubt people will complain about something, the bridge over the North End of EB Park isn't going to be a stand out.

 

[Allandale25]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1549836745864368129

 

[nfitz]

Pasternak's Sheppard West motion passed 12 to 7. Tory and his inner circle voted in support.

 

[JasonParis]

Pasternak is like Toronto Council's York Region. He will eventually get what he wants.

 

[nfitz]

Pasternak is like Toronto Council's York Region. He will eventually get what he wants.

Which isn't the worst thing in the world, for that relatively short piece (3.5 km) piece of subway, given the network connectivity it provides, and the redevelopment potential.

 

[JasonParis]

I agree. I have little issue with this happening. I just think it is interesting how squeaky wheels are generally successful in attaining transit expansion in these parts.

 

[11th]

Wasn't that the plan in the 1990s?


View attachment 414689

The tail tracks already extend to the station box for Senlac, just west of Welbeck Road. With the design to build a bridge over the West Don, I'd assume that the approaches to the bridge between Senlac station and "Bathurst North" station would be cut-and cover. Which only leaves 2 km of tunnel between "Bathurst North" station and Sheppard West station. I wonder if there's an option of doing elevated between the West Don and Sheppard West - the ROW there is huge.

View attachment 414690

Probably easier to do cut and cover than elevated, given "Bathurst North" and Sheppard West line 4 platforms will most likely be underground. The transition from underground to elevated will take up couple hundred metres between the two stations.

 

[Bureaucromancer]

I agree. I have little issue with this happening. I just think it is interesting how squeaky wheels are generally successful in attaining transit expansion in these parts.

Honestly, it’s just the way things work.

The 90s were lost by dint of larger political winds, but I am well convinced that we could have got more built, and sooner, if there had not been an explicit policy of the city not planning or asking for things it didn’t expect to get late in the Harris, Eves and early McGuinty eras.

David Gunn ranting about not wanting to even have an intended set of expansions until state of good repair was reached has stuck with me.

 

[turini2]

Any extension of Sheppard eastwards will require some level of stabling/train maintenance facilities, so a westward extension would be pretty useful with a connection to Wilson Yard. Would free up Davisville Yard for development, too.

But yes, this should not be the City's #1 ask for transit dollars - Eglinton East, Finch West LRT to the Airport and a variety of Waterfront streetcar extensions first please!

 

[innsertnamehere]

Finch West to the airport is pretty useless tbh, as is Eglinton East.. Waterfront does need to be the first priority though, yes.

 

[Northern Light]

Finch West to the airport is pretty useless tbh,

Why do you feel this is the case?

The airport and district is among the very largest employers/employment clusters in the City.

Finch West LRT serves some of the densest population nodes in the City.

Seems to me, superficially at least, there's a case to be made for connecting those.

 

[innsertnamehere]

airports are smaller passenger drivers than you may think, particularly for local transit lines like the Finch West LRT.

Obviously it wouldn't be completely useless, but it would cost billions to extend, would serve nothing but a near-abandoned mall, casino, and the airport with basically no additional walk-on traffic beyond those three, and would be fairly winding of a route without being particularly fast, depending on exact alignment, and would only really be useful for those who live directly along the line. Those living south of the line will be better off taking the Eglinton Crosstown which will be far faster, and those who live north will be better off taking Highway 407 bus service (i.e. coming from VMC). It's basically useless for more regional passenger traffic from the airport, which is most of the airport traffic.

Eglinton East is a good route and will be busy, but it doesn't save any travel time over existing bus service and those billions would be better invested in dedicated bus lanes throughout Scarborough IMO, or a Sheppard Subway extension to UTSC.