SmartTrack (Proposed)

[ottbike]

$3.5B over the GO RER cost for 5 minute peak frequencies through the central section? Deal! Lets get this thing tendered by the end of 2017.

Construction underway before the next election would be a big plus.

The revised plan as reported in the Globe and Mail seems like a pretty good compromise. Will be interesting to see what happens at Union Station however. Possibly a fly-under for just Smarttrack? It might make some sense to have one area for quick "TTC" transfers (Smarttrack/Line 1) and then another area, i.e. the current trainshed and platforms just for Metrolinx RER/GO. Perhaps this is what some of the projected $ would be for.

 

[Palma]

Looks like the sensible plan is what city staff will be recommending to council.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...onto-getting-smaller-cheaper/article28208774/

I wonder where those 4-5 new stations will be.

 

[salsa]

"With ridership modelling showing that the initial proposal to run trains every 15 minutes would not attract a sufficient number of passengers, officials are looking at running trains at least every 10 minutes, and as often as nearly every five minutes in some areas, during peak periods."

But will more frequent trains attract enough ridership to fill them up with passengers?

 

[salsa]

Looks like the sensible plan is what city staff will be recommending to council.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...onto-getting-smaller-cheaper/article28208774/

Looks like Smart Track as originally proposed is pretty much dead at this point. The mayor has his work cut out for him.

 

[salsa]

Looks like the sensible plan is what city staff will be recommending to council.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...onto-getting-smaller-cheaper/article28208774/

One of the hacks who works for the Smart Track lobby group (FAST) wrote another lame editorial just before this huge Globe and Mail article came out. "Time to build SmartTrack", said the headline. Yeah, great timing you fool. I can't wait to see what they will say tomorrow.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/01/14/time-to-build-smarttrack

 

[ssiguy2]

This is great news and I am not surprised.

As I have stated many times, Tory is a pragmatist and not ideological unlike Ford's "subways or nothing" or Miller's "LRT or nothing" . He actually uses feedback and doesn't consider compromise as a character flaw. He, unlike Ford or Miller, knows that transit is not a "one size fits all" game. This logical plan has Tory written all over it and that's a good thing.

Where the stations go is up for debate but I think Corktown and Liberty Village areas are a given and probably Pape to serve the Don Mills buses so with it's higher frequency it can be a realistic Relief line serving those areas and relieve the congestion of Bloor & Yonge. The other 3 I think will probably be Main/St.Clair/Queen East and then maybe CityPlace.

This is also great news right now due to the sections being proposed are already along operating GO lines so it won't need endless community consultation and environmental reviews which could delay the project too far into the future and there fore not be eligible for the big federal infrastructure funds that are about to be dolled out.

Trudeau will not wait for Toronto to get it's act together and will only fund projects that can get real shovels in the ground as fast as possible to reinvigorate the local economies and win electoral support. Tory & Wynne are the same and they will not want this project done on "Toronto time" as they will want to enjoy the political benefits of the construction before the voters have to go to the polls.

 

[jcam]

They've already built the extra platforms up at Weston. I imagine if they add a Woodbine station, they might extend it north to there. I'd love 5 minute service at Weston, but I might be stuck with RER's 15 minutes (still a HUGE improvement over now).

I wonder how they'd hit 5 minutes? 2 smaller trainsets interspersed between the 15 min frequency RER trains?

 

[Palma]

They've already built the extra platforms up at Weston. I imagine if they add a Woodbine station, they might extend it north to there. I'd love 5 minute service at Weston, but I might be stuck with RER's 15 minutes (still a HUGE improvement over now).

I wonder how they'd hit 5 minutes? 2 smaller trainsets interspersed between the 15 min frequency RER trains?

An extra platforms at Weston! The SmartTrack will run west on Eglinton, so the train will not make it to the Weston GO station at Lawrence. Perhaps I read the article incorrect.

 

[Jonny5]

This is great news and I am not surprised.

As I have stated many times, Tory is a pragmatist and not ideological unlike Ford's "subways or nothing" or Miller's "LRT or nothing" . He actually uses feedback and doesn't consider compromise as a character flaw. He, unlike Ford or Miller, knows that transit is not a "one size fits all" game. This logical plan has Tory written all over it and that's a good thing.

Meanwhile, back in reality where David Miller was an explicit pro-subway voter on council his whole career, and campaigned "subways first" in his first election win, and then explicitly compromised with Transit City, which stands now as Toronto's only compromise transit plan for 75 years; John Tory to this day continues to state his original - and physically impossible - Dumb Track plan is flawless, and "fully funded", both of which are transparently, and well documented, as complete fiction.

John Tory is demonstrating what Ontario voters discovered on his many failed runs for office: he is leader in taking his farcical gaffes to his political grave.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Interesting the piece is an "exclusive" from the Globe - sounds like the mayor's office is trying to sell this "diminished" plan in a friendly paper.

AoD

 

[canarob]

This is a very good compromise and it's one that many people here have been asking for. I'm glad they put the Markham line into Phase 2, also known as let's defer it indefinitely until everyone forgets it was part of the plan.

This also gives Toronto and Metrolinx time to negotiate funding from York Region for the section north of Steeles.

As a GO rider, I'm glad that they moved away from adding too many stations along our lines.

 

[ShonTron]

Interesting the piece is an "exclusive" from the Globe - sounds like the mayor's office is trying to sell this "diminished" plan in a friendly paper.

AoD

Except that Oliver Moore is a very good reporter. I'm more inclined to think that he put the pieces together and confirmed enough information to go with it. Most people following this closely have heard the rumours that this would happen, but this is the first time we've seen it in a news story.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Except that Oliver Moore is a very good reporter. I'm more inclined to think that he put the pieces together and confirmed enough information to go with it. Most people following this closely have heard the rumours that this would happen, but this is the first time we've seen it in a news story.

That maybe the case, but I am always leery of co-incidences - there is a vested interest for their story to appear in a friendly outlet in any case, and the confirmation could very well be enabling.

AoD

 

[crs1026]

They did a good job of packaging this thing in a way that might actually fly. I'm pleased.

Who would the dissenting voices on Council be? I'm thinking the cry will be, it doesn't do enough for Scarboro, in that it doesn't get shovels in the ground on either Line 2 or Sheppard. I can see some councillors wanting assurances on that score in exchange for their support.

The Globe article mentions the Relief Line, which makes me think the planners have laid groundwork for or against it. It will be interesting to see the details.

- Paul

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

They did a good job of packaging this thing in a way that might actually fly. I'm pleased.

Who would the dissenting voices on Council be? I'm thinking the cry will be, it doesn't do enough for Scarboro, in that it doesn't get shovels in the ground on either Line 2 or Sheppard. I can see some councillors wanting assurances on that score in exchange for their support.

The Globe article mentions the Relief Line, which makes me think the planners have laid groundwork for or against it. It will be interesting to see the details.

- Paul

It will be hard to dissent when the lower cost provides council with an out (Fed/Prov contributions basically more than covered it).

AoD