Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Not just Eglinton, basically every single side street approaching Eglinton north and south has been ripped up multiple times over the past decade for utility movement.
|
|
|
Northern Light
Superstar
I don't think there's any chance of that happening.
There will be reconstruction where there was in-road excavation (cut and cover); the rest will either be resurfaced or milled, I expect.
I could be wrong, but total reconstruction (meaning new road base, new concrete, new curbs, new asphalt) would be hideously expensive across 19km.
Hopkins123
Senior Member
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
- Frederick Douglass, 1857
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Sorry, when I said reconstruction I really meant resurfacing.
I suspect [hope] the City will use the resurfacing as an opportunity to implement Eglinton Connects though
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Honestly, I thought that the re-pavement of Eglinton was part of the deal with the Crosstown, and many residents in my neighbourhood seem to believe it too.
I don't know how Eglinton Connects is supposed to be realized either without significant reconstruction. Many things such as sidewalk widenings and street landscaping will require extensive reconstruction. Plus Eglinton is kinda a hellscape right now for drivers too, even away from the intersections where the station construction is taking place.
Also what is the point of building a brand new LRT line if Eglinton is left ugly as sin at the surface? I would rather the money that was going to the Gardiner be directed to getting Eglinton done right, along the entire 19km.
Northern Light
Superstar
I don't disagree on the importance of 'Eglinton Connects'.
But its very clear that the improvements are funded by the City and not Metrolinx; and as yet, the construction portion is not budgeted.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Listen Eglinton, I love you, but you kind of suck.
Outside of the small area around Yonge Eglinton and Oakwood/Eglinton, the street is totally void of street life. You'd think that with so many shops and density around, the street would be bustling with pedestrians, much like St Clair or Bloor Street, but for whatever reason Eglinton has always struggled to attract pedestrian traffic. Notice how pedestrian traffic drops precipitously once you travel one block west of Yonge. It desperately needs a St Clair style revitalization to inject some life into the area. The fact that this street, with all its destinations and all its density, struggles to attract pedestrians, tells me that there is something very wrong with its design.
There's no reason for the central section of Eglinton to have five lanes of traffic. I say this as someone that drives down Eglinton daily. Knock it down to four lanes (two through traffic + two parking), or even three lanes in areas, and widen the sidewalks. I don't care if it takes me longer to get to work. I'd also make the individual lanes narrower as well, to slow down traffic a bit. People (myself included) drive way faster on Eglinton than on St Clair or Bloor, which I suspect is part of the reason why it has such a tough time attracting pedestrian traffic. I swear typical driving speeds on the central section of Eglinton, outside of rush hour, are around 60 km/h, and you'll see drivers going as fast as 80 km/h. Drivers aren't going to slow down unless the street design forces them. Crossing Eglinton as a pedestrian, even before the crosstown, has always felt like a risky move. The road is designed as a suburban thoroughfare, even though it exists in an urban core.
The streetscape as it exists is barren and doesn't invite pedestrians to linger. If I'm walking on Eglinton, it's because I have a specific destination in mind; if I'm walking on Bloor or St Clair, it's probably because I'm going on an evening stroll. Street trees would definitely make the street feel more inviting for pedestrians. The lack of tree shadowing also makes Eglinton really annoying to walk along during the summer, with the sun blaring on pedestrians with absolutely no refuge. I'll typically walk on the southside of Eglinton on hot days to avoid the sun. The trees should be fairly large as well, to account for the relatively wide width of the street.
Also, nighttime lighting needs to be worked on. Large sections of the sidewalk get pretty damn dark at night. It doesn't exactly evoke a sense of safety.
The Crosstown is a once in a generation opportunity to redesign one of Toronto's major thoroughfares from the ground up. Eglinton can be a model of how all urban streets in Toronto should be built. Lets not drop the ball on this one
Outside of the small area around Yonge Eglinton and Oakwood/Eglinton, the street is totally void of street life. You'd think that with so many shops and density around, the street would be bustling with pedestrians, much like St Clair or Bloor Street, but for whatever reason Eglinton has always struggled to attract pedestrian traffic. Notice how pedestrian traffic drops precipitously once you travel one block west of Yonge. It desperately needs a St Clair style revitalization to inject some life into the area. The fact that this street, with all its destinations and all its density, struggles to attract pedestrians, tells me that there is something very wrong with its design.
There's no reason for the central section of Eglinton to have five lanes of traffic. I say this as someone that drives down Eglinton daily. Knock it down to four lanes (two through traffic + two parking), or even three lanes in areas, and widen the sidewalks. I don't care if it takes me longer to get to work. I'd also make the individual lanes narrower as well, to slow down traffic a bit. People (myself included) drive way faster on Eglinton than on St Clair or Bloor, which I suspect is part of the reason why it has such a tough time attracting pedestrian traffic. I swear typical driving speeds on the central section of Eglinton, outside of rush hour, are around 60 km/h, and you'll see drivers going as fast as 80 km/h. Drivers aren't going to slow down unless the street design forces them. Crossing Eglinton as a pedestrian, even before the crosstown, has always felt like a risky move. The road is designed as a suburban thoroughfare, even though it exists in an urban core.
The streetscape as it exists is barren and doesn't invite pedestrians to linger. If I'm walking on Eglinton, it's because I have a specific destination in mind; if I'm walking on Bloor or St Clair, it's probably because I'm going on an evening stroll. Street trees would definitely make the street feel more inviting for pedestrians. The lack of tree shadowing also makes Eglinton really annoying to walk along during the summer, with the sun blaring on pedestrians with absolutely no refuge. I'll typically walk on the southside of Eglinton on hot days to avoid the sun. The trees should be fairly large as well, to account for the relatively wide width of the street.
Also, nighttime lighting needs to be worked on. Large sections of the sidewalk get pretty damn dark at night. It doesn't exactly evoke a sense of safety.
The Crosstown is a once in a generation opportunity to redesign one of Toronto's major thoroughfares from the ground up. Eglinton can be a model of how all urban streets in Toronto should be built. Lets not drop the ball on this one
Last edited:
KevinT
Active Member
So incredibly well said. (The whole thing of course, not just the intro I quoted.) Have you considered sending this to city council, or better yet The Star so everyone in the city can see and get behind it? I think you should.
crs1026
Superstar
I would say it even stronger. If we can't make Eglinton work, given it will be pretty much a "blank sheet" once Crosstown construction winds down, what hope is there for this city?
- Paul
PS - While I agree that some Eglinton are not pedestrian-friendly today, I'm not sure that is true throughout. But the mix of businesses is up for renewal, and things could change dramatically - need to nudge things in the right direction and not let things go the wrong way.
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
The proposed road diet on Eglinton won't even make traffic and movement worse off than today or pre-construction, for the simple reason that the buses will have been kicked off the road post-Crosstown.
The biggest delay and cause of traffic on Eglinton pre-construction were the myriad of buses constantly roaming and bypassing one another on Eglinton. With them largely gone thanks to the Crosstown, traffic will move much better on Eglinton, allowing for a reduction in lanes, expansion of sidewalk space, reintroduction of trees, and revitalization of the public realm.
Get this done correctly, Toronto.
The biggest delay and cause of traffic on Eglinton pre-construction were the myriad of buses constantly roaming and bypassing one another on Eglinton. With them largely gone thanks to the Crosstown, traffic will move much better on Eglinton, allowing for a reduction in lanes, expansion of sidewalk space, reintroduction of trees, and revitalization of the public realm.
Get this done correctly, Toronto.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
The plan is pretty good, they just gotta get the $$$ for it.
While the now approved city building fund can't solve all our capital funding problems, I do hope some of it is put forward here to implement this.
While the now approved city building fund can't solve all our capital funding problems, I do hope some of it is put forward here to implement this.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
I’m hoping a substantial portion of the funding could come from the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, or a similar program. The federal government has already invested $1.5 Million, matched by be city, to fund design work.
Perhaps funding could be generated from local BIA’s as well. Although don’t even know if BIAs have the capability of generating substantial funding
Allandale25
Senior Member
Richard White
Senior Member
I pass by here weekly and can say with certainty that the area is much less burdened by construction than it was this time last year. It is so much easier to drive down eglinton now but I shudder to think how it will end up when they repave the road.