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Toronto Crosstown LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

BurlOak said:
I would say politics. Rob Ford wanted the LRT grade-separated, so Council demanded it be built on-street. This decision was in that short time when Council wanted LRT on-street on Eglinton and the transfer LRT for the SRT. Shortly thereafter, they voted for the SSE and cancelled the transfer SLRT. Ford was out of the picture (not officially, but in reality), and council didn't think about revisiting the ECLRT decision, or more realistically, didn't want to give Ford any type of small victory...
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The problem was that we had Rob Ford as mayor. Someone who had very little knowledge, repeat knowledge, about transit. He wouldn't bother looking over the options. He just looked at the cheapest option for a stop and we got it for the Sunnybrook Park stop.
 
44 North said:
My view is that between Laird and Leslie all options of in-median, south-side, and underground were the wrong approach. I think there was a unstudied option of a separate bridge structure south of Eglinton. Very similar to the Black Creek crossing approaching Mt Dennis. This unstudied Leslie station would be 100% grade-separated, but not deep bore. It would straddle the east valley above the existing parking lot and be on a viaduct structure - perhaps with the eastern end into the portal. I don't see why such a thing couldn't have worked, and certainly scratch my head at Metrolinx's polarized options of 100% deep bore under a river or 100% in median: the two absolute extremes.
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I think this is what is meant by "south-side". The portal would be on the south side, roughly in the same east-west location it is now. It would cross on its own bridge immdedialy south of the current roadway bridge (maybe a bit higher elevation). The Leslie Station would be immediately south of Leslie/Eglinton intersection. The line would either sneak under the end span of the railway bridge, or twin tunnels would be punched through the embankment.
W. K. Lis said:
The problem was that we had Rob Ford as mayor. Someone who had very little knowledge, repeat knowledge, about transit. He wouldn't bother looking over the options. He just looked at the cheapest option for a stop and we got it for the Sunnybrook Park stop.
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We all remember that Council proudly announced that they were taking the transit file away from Ford in February 2012. This decision was made a year later. Agree that Ford wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. He wanted grade-separated transit, with no idea how to achieve it. There were many ways that Ford could have been accommodated, but it was more important to oppose Ford than to build the proper transit system.
 
It is too bad that the LRT was not built on the south side of Eglinton. I wonder if the Eglinton underpass on the east side of the tracks and into Celestica complicated matters?

I think the Sunnybrook Park stop was mandatory. It is a connection to the largest contiguous park area in Toronto that without the stop would be difficult to access by public transit. It will get more people out to enjoy the river, paths and hills through the park.
 
The On The Park project, see link, at the northeast corner may help with the Sunnybrook Park stop get use out of it.

15183-100052.jpeg

Would have been better if the buildings (up to 45 stories) were closer to the stop to provide a shorter walk.
 
jaybe said:
It is too bad that the LRT was not built on the south side of Eglinton. I wonder if the Eglinton underpass on the east side of the tracks and into Celestica complicated matters?
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They just didn't even want to consider south side.
That interchange could have easily been converted to a Diamond interchange to reduce its footprint.
 
Some events are scheduled from March 10th to April 18th. See link.

Of special note, from March 10 to 12:

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT team and light rail vehicle will be headed to the Ontario Science Centre this March Break! From March 10-12, come out and chat with the Crosstown team, earn some swag, and step inside a light rail vehicle. We look forward to seeing you there!
​
The "light rail vehicle" mentioned, is it a real one, or the mock-up? Hopefully, the real one.
 
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BurlOak said:
They just didn't even want to consider south side.
That interchange could have easily been converted to a Diamond interchange to reduce its footprint.
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I'm guessing it's going to be brought to grade eventually. The new Celestica development didn't propose this, but it seems logical considering we're doing the same elsewhere. Even if it remained as-is I think it could still work with your proposed south-side alignment @ Leslie and diving below this interchange. Have about 400m between Leslie and the ramp underpass, grades don't seem too extreme, and obviously LRVs are capable of steeper gradients.
 
W. K. Lis said:
Some events are scheduled from March 10th to April 18th. See link.

Of special note, from March 10 to 12:

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT team and light rail vehicle will be headed to the Ontario Science Centre this March Break! From March 10-12, come out and chat with the Crosstown team, earn some swag, and step inside a light rail vehicle. We look forward to seeing you there!
​
The "light rail vehicle" mentioned, is it a real one, or the mock-up? Hopefully, the real one.
Click to expand...

From this tweet, at this link:

It'll be a life-size mock up.​
 
Work on the east aboveground portion about to start in earnest. Kennedy portal now starting.

http://thecrosstown.ca/TheNextPhaseBegins

While much of the work on the Eglinton Crosstown to this point has been building tunnels and stations for the underground portion, there is another nine kilometre stretch to the east that is about to start taking shape. Early work began in 2017, but now’s the time for this part of the project to come to life.

for_article_feb_2_at-grade_median_removal.jpg
Across much of Eglinton from Victoria Park to Ionview, medians have been removed to make way for the Eglinton Crosstown

Major work is set to begin on the surface portion of the line. Starting in March, work will begin on the Kennedy Portal – the tunnel for trains entering/exiting the underground Kennedy Station to and from the surface.

for_article_feb_2_kennedy_portal_resize.jpg
The Kennedy Portal is the last of five portals to begin construction for the Eglinton Crosstown

For this work, Eglinton will be split down the middle between Ionview Road and Kennedy Road while crews work to excavate. A similar set-up can be seen currently on Eglinton Avenue, east and west of Don Mills Road. When complete, trains will begin their descent at Ionview Road, and will disappear underground just before the Eglinton and Kennedy intersection. Customers travelling to Kennedy will be able to connect to Lines 2 and 3 without having to leave the station.

for_article_feb_2_science_centre_staging_resize.jpg


The traffic setup for the Kennedy portal will be similar to the setup pictured for Science Centre Station, but on a smaller scale.

Work for the 10 surface stops is slated to begin later this year. This will involve a massive, coordinated operation down the centre of Eglinton to start preparing the space where the tracks will eventually go. Despite having to work within a restricted space, traffic engineers are confident in their ability to maintain traffic flow.

“Despite the massive amount of concurrent work required to construct the surface section, we’re remaining strong in our commitment to keep everyone moving as we build the Crosstown,” said Winson Chan, Traffic and Transit Engineer. “For example, with set-ups requiring us to block off apartment driveways between Rosemount Drive and Ionview Road, we’ve made plans to build an entirely new access road for residents that bypasses the work zone.”

When complete, the surface section of the Eglinton Crosstown will bring nine kilometres of fast, reliable, and modern transit to Eglinton Avenue East, transforming the neighbourhoods it intersects and better connecting residents and businesses to the rest of the city.
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Are there any updated renders of the surface "stops" that show them being more complete, or are they still tiny structures that are less effective than regular shelters at bus stops?
 
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