SmartTrack (Proposed)

[Midtown Urbanist]

A detailed I picked up from the new documents is that it is confirming some road extensions(Keele and Davenport) in the Stockyards area.

I bumped an old thread for that discussion here, for those who find that bit interesting.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Only did a brief skim of the Gerrard and East Harbour stations. But for the Gerrard station something stood out. A map with a note about a potential two platform streetcar stop above the RL station NE of the intersection. But farther down a note saying "determine feasibility of a future 505 streetcar extension and termination loop on the current LCBO site". That seems pretty out there and big-ish news for the legacy network. I guess there could be greater benefit in moving Dundas' eastern terminus from Broadview to this RL-RER station.

This is a big deal.

Also on Gerrard Station, a quick skim shows that the station designs are, well, not what I had expected.

The Initial Business Case shows a station that is extending from nearly Logan and Dundas to Gerrard and Carlaw:

While a refined look at the station moves it further northeast to straddling the section between Carlaw and Pape.

Which was then further refined to this concept which includes the Relief Line station box in relation to the SmartTrack Station, as well as potential Bus/Streetcar Stop:

Which leads us to the final map, showing similar things:

So personally, I find all this very interesting and also a bit of a revelation as I had always imagined both Subway and SmartTrack station being further northeast at the Gerrard Square mall complex.

 

[nfitz]

So, lets say Smart Track is built and I am on a station that is served by it and GO. How will I know who I am riding with?

Probably the same way you do know. Look at them, and see who they are. Normally works.

Though I do see the occasional drunk or stoned person, who seems to think they know you already ... but might not be a particularly problem with SmartTrack.

 

[robmausser]

So, lets say Smart Track is built and I am on a station that is served by it and GO. How will I know who I am riding with?

There won't be a difference. It will be the same service, all the trains will be GO RER trains operated by GO Transit. Smarrtrack is just a mandate for stations, service levels and fare structure in the Toronto city proper.

If you tap on with PRESTO onto a GO-RER train, at say, Liberty Village station, and get off at St.Clair station, you tap off and you are charged the fare that was determined by Smarrtrack and city council. "Hopefully" a transferable fare that is equal in price to TTC.

If you were to take the same train from Liberty Village and stay on it to Bramalea station, which is in Peel Region, and tap off there, you would be charged a GO transit fare based upon the fare zone structure they implement. Most likely a fare that is similar to GO transit today.

 

[micheal_can]

There won't be a difference. It will be the same service, all the trains will be GO RER trains operated by GO Transit. Smarrtrack is just a mandate for stations, service levels and fare structure in the Toronto city proper.

If you tap on with PRESTO onto a GO-RER train, at say, Liberty Village station, and get off at St.Clair station, you tap off and you are charged the fare that was determined by Smarrtrack and city council. "Hopefully" a transferable fare that is equal in price to TTC.

If you were to take the same train from Liberty Village and stay on it to Bramalea station, which is in Peel Region, and tap off there, you would be charged a GO transit fare based upon the fare zone structure they implement. Most likely a fare that is similar to GO transit today.

So, Smart Track in not TTC, not painted to look like TTC. The trains are GO?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

So, Smart Track in not TTC, not painted to look like TTC. The trains are GO?

Yes.

 

[Ahmet Kul]

SmartTrack will provide near-term solutions to increase transit options in Toronto by making better use of the existing GO corridors, while we plan additional, longer term investments to increase transit capacity across the city. I think it's a promising project and it will change the transportation and traffic systems in Toronto. The City is working with transportation engineers to resolve the traffic congestion. Hope SmartTrack system turns out to be great.

 

[Leo_Chan]

SmartTrack will provide near-term solutions to increase transit options in Toronto by making better use of the existing GO corridors, while we plan additional, longer term investments to increase transit capacity across the city. I think it's a promising project and it will change the transportation and traffic systems in Toronto. The City is working with transportation engineers to resolve the traffic congestion. Hope SmartTrack system turns out to be great.

What a textbook answer

 

[44 North]

This is a big deal.

Also on Gerrard Station, a quick skim shows that the station designs are, well, not what I had expected.

The Initial Business Case shows a station that is extending from nearly Logan and Dundas to Gerrard and Carlaw:

While a refined look at the station moves it further northeast to straddling the section between Carlaw and Pape.


Which was then further refined to this concept which includes the Relief Line station box in relation to the SmartTrack Station, as well as potential Bus/Streetcar Stop:

Which leads us to the final map, showing similar things:

So personally, I find all this very interesting and also a bit of a revelation as I had always imagined both Subway and SmartTrack station being further northeast at the Gerrard Square mall complex.

Yeah I see what you meant about the NE shifting. I think for the most part it makes sense to be based mostly at Carlaw just because there's not really any N/S surface transit at Gerrard Sq, and it's sort of central to RL.

Seeing all the things listed in the images brings it home how large a task it is to build a new inline station. Personally wondering if maybe it's a bit overkill, or rather we're getting ahead of ourselves. It's nice to know they're planning a hub, even potentially bringing in the 505. But we'll have an even bigger streetcar-subway-GO hub 1200m away. Wouldn't be at all fazed if we delayed the Gerrard GO station indefinitely and use whatever savings to try and expedite or lengthen the RL.

So, Smart Track in not TTC, not painted to look like TTC. The trains are GO?

Granted I haven't been following too close, but I still think that the "SmartTrack" service could have a different colour scheme. Maybe even different interior details or layout. And if it is in fact a standard flat TTC fare it might be purposefully less plush than GO service (e.g easier to hose down).

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Seeing all the things listed in the images brings it home how large a task it is to build a new inline station. Personally wondering if maybe it's a bit overkill, or rather we're getting ahead of ourselves. It's nice to know they're planning a hub, even potentially bringing in the 505. But we'll have an even bigger streetcar-subway-GO hub 1200m away. Wouldn't be at all fazed if we delayed the Gerrard GO station indefinitely and use whatever savings to try and expedite or lengthen the RL.

Yah, in many ways it feels like Gerrard GO will be redundant with the RL in place, if you ask me.

Unless, reverse commuting really takes off, and then I can see the need for people to commute from Gerrard to Markham for example.

 

[ndawgg]

SmartTrack will provide near-term solutions to increase transit options in Toronto by making better use of the existing GO corridors, while we plan additional, longer term investments to increase transit capacity across the city. I think it's a promising project and it will change the transportation and traffic systems in Toronto. The City is working with transportation engineers to resolve the traffic congestion. Hope SmartTrack system turns out to be great.

John Tory...is that you?

 

[robmausser]

Yah, in many ways it feels like Gerrard GO will be redundant with the RL in place, if you ask me.

Unless, reverse commuting really takes off, and then I can see the need for people to commute from Gerrard to Markham for example.

It will ease pressure on Union station.

Currently people take the GO to Union and then feed out on the subway to where their place of employment is.

This way they can get off at Gerrard, Liberty, etc etc and already be in their neighborhood where their office is.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

It will ease pressure on Union station.

Currently people take the GO to Union and then feed out on the subway to where their place of employment is.

This way they can get off at Gerrard, Liberty, etc etc and already be in their neighborhood where their office is.

Yes, but they can also do that at East Harbour.

 

[ssiguy2]

What I don't understand about ST is why it stops at Eglinton. Why not just extend the service further north to at least Etobicoke North or even Pearson and just make the entire UPX line as part of ST. There would be, at present, no more stations to add and seeing QP is paying for electrification, it seems really short sighted to stop at Eglinton and not serve the hundreds of thousands North/West to say nothing of Pearson.

 

[Tuck]

Actually I too have wondered why they don't mesh UPX and Smarttrack into one "Toronto GO" line (half of which has already been built for them...!), but I guess we're getting the Eglinton West LRT out of it so whatever.