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

[Amare]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1158757628505481216

I realize that construction work on this project has to get done, but it's amazing how bad crosslinx can be at coordinating major works at intersections. I wonder who's bright idea it was to simultaneously close all North-South roads along Eglinton between Kennedy and Lebovic (with the exception of Thermos/Sinnott which dont even intersect) for 1 month. I really dont know how they expect anyone to travel north/south of Eglinton, especially TTC riders where there are 2 major routes which are now giving passengers the grand tour of Scarborough while detouring.

Have they seriously not thought of alternating intersection closures so that every other intersection has a full closure, instead of you know, every single one? It doesnt take a rocket scientist to plan these things.

For perspective, here's what i'm talking about:

 

[Richard White]

I really dont know how they expect anyone to travel north/south of Eglinton, especially TTC riders where there are 2 major routes which are now giving passengers the grand tour of Scarborough while detouring.

Truthfully, I live just off Birchmount just north of St Clair. When driving, I just avoid the area. It is alot easier to go down St Clair to Kennedy, Brimley or Midland than it is to go North.

As someone who lives in the area, I won't even go anywhere near that section of Eglinton and if I have to, I go up Pharmacy. I feel for the businesses along that stretch. The road closures are so bad that nobody is heading there. Even Walmart which is usually a zoo on the weekends is quiet.

Even when I take the TTC to work, I just walk down to St Clair rather than wait for the 17 Birchmount which is frequently delayed.

 

[Amare]

^The area is just a pure disaster, I wouldnt touch that area of Eglinton with a 10 foot pole if I had the option. Unfortunately I have no choice but to travel through either Birchmount or Warden almost daily.

I've witnessesd my fair share of construction over the years, and this is probably some of the worst coordination i've ever seen. No doubt there's going to be a good handful of businesses that close up because of all this, at this point it's inevitable.

 

[H4F33Z]

Anyone else saw the station entrance being worked on at science centre. Don't have a picture but I did see the main frame is basically done. Preety cool!

 

[BurlOak]

^The area is just a pure disaster, I wouldnt touch that area of Eglinton with a 10 foot pole if I had the option. Unfortunately I have no choice but to travel through either Birchmount or Warden almost daily.

I've witnessesd my fair share of construction over the years, and this is probably some of the worst coordination i've ever seen. No doubt there's going to be a good handful of businesses that close up because of all this, at this point it's inevitable.

This will likely help promote elevated transit - by far the least disruptive of on-street, buried and elevated.

 

[Richard White]

This will likely help promote elevated transit - by far the least disruptive of on-street, buried and elevated.

Nothing will ever convince anyone to do elevated transit in Toronto again. Chicago did it and it was visually invasive.

It has high maintenance costs, it is gaudy and it is loud. Look at the elevated section just outside Keele to see how many complaints they got. Hoggs Hollow was the same way when they built York Mills Station. They were originally going to run a bridge across the valley but the locals did not want the noise.

 

[nfitz]

Nothing will ever convince anyone to do elevated transit in Toronto again. Chicago did it and it was visually invasive.

Surely there's newer examples than elevated transit Chicago - they started the El the century before last century, using steam engines!

There's newer examples, such as bits of the much-lauded London Overground - which is surely more comparable to recent proposals, such as the Ontari-ari-ari-o Line.

 

[BurlOak]

Nothing will ever convince anyone to do elevated transit in Toronto again. Chicago did it and it was visually invasive.

It has high maintenance costs, it is gaudy and it is loud. Look at the elevated section just outside Keele to see how many complaints they got. Hoggs Hollow was the same way when they built York Mills Station. They were originally going to run a bridge across the valley but the locals did not want the noise.

Vancouver did elevated transit in the mid 1980's and after that first attempt, people protested so much that nothing else was built elevated. NOT.

 

[JSF-1]

Nothing will ever convince anyone to do elevated transit in Toronto again. Chicago did it and it was visually invasive.

It has high maintenance costs, it is gaudy and it is loud. Look at the elevated section just outside Keele to see how many complaints they got. Hoggs Hollow was the same way when they built York Mills Station. They were originally going to run a bridge across the valley but the locals did not want the noise.

Why do people always bring up Chicago? NOBODY BUILDS ELEVATED LINES LIKE THAT ANYMORE. As well how do you not know about the SRT and the fact the line between Ellesmere and McCowan is elevated and has been since the line opened in 1985. Guess what it's not built in the Chicago style but in the modern minimal concrete style. If you're going to advocate against Elevated that's fine, but for the love of god stop using Chicago or New York as examples because that style hasn't been in use since WWII.

 

[BurlOak]

Why do people always bring up Chicago? NOBODY BUILDS ELEVATED LINES LIKE THAT ANYMORE. As well how do you not know about the SRT and the fact the line between Ellesmere and McCowan is elevated and has been since the line opened in 1985. Guess what it's not built in the Chicago style but in the modern minimal concrete style. If you're going to advocate against Elevated that's fine, but for the love of god stop using Chicago or New York as examples because that style hasn't been in use since WWII.

And interestingly, this is the most built up portion of the SRT - and all that development occurred after the line was up.
I also point out the small part of ECLRT near Black Creek Drive where local pushed to have it elevated vs. on-street.

 

[EYorker]

I realize that construction work on this project has to get done, but it's amazing how bad crosslinx can be at coordinating major works at intersections. I wonder who's bright idea it was to simultaneously close all North-South roads along Eglinton between Kennedy and Lebovic (with the exception of Thermos/Sinnott which dont even intersect) for 1 month. I really dont know how they expect anyone to travel north/south of Eglinton, especially TTC riders where there are 2 major routes which are now giving passengers the grand tour of Scarborough while detouring.

Have they seriously not thought of alternating intersection closures so that every other intersection has a full closure, instead of you know, every single one? It doesnt take a rocket scientist to plan these things.

I emailed the Crosstown team a few weeks ago asking about why the Warden closure was moved up in the schedule and got a pretty standard non-answer from them.

Our constructor, Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS) is committed to ensuring adjacent intersection don’t have partial or full closures/restrictions concurrently.

There will be an approximately two (2) week overlap between the guideway works ongoing at Birchmount Rd., and the guideway works that will be commencing at Warden Avenue as early as July 29th, 2019.

The Warden Avenue guideway works will not commence until the work at Hakimi/Lebovic is completed, and the through traffic movement has been re-instated. After the guideway is finished at Hakimi-Lebovic, all left, right and through movements should be restored at the intersection. Pharmacy Avenue has all turns restored, however, the WB left may be restricted at some point as per permanent design.

Thermos and Sinnott works are also completed.

I also pointed out to them that the schedule originally posted as part of the Eastern Works Open House has the Warden closure starting in September. But that didn't even get mentioned by them in their reply.

 

[Amare]

I emailed the Crosstown team a few weeks ago asking about why the Warden closure was moved up in the schedule and got a pretty standard non-answer from them.



I also pointed out to them that the schedule originally posted as part of the Eastern Works Open House has the Warden closure starting in September. But that didn't even get mentioned by them in their reply.

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The fact they are just changing the construction schedule whenever they feel like it is absolutely ridiculous. It's cute to to see that they think the Hakimi/Lebovic and Thermos/Sinnott intersections can handle all the overflow traffic from both Birchmount and Warden but that's fish brain thinking.

I've e-mailed a couple news outlets to see if this can get picked up. I doubt it will, but you never know.

 

[Richard White]

The fact they are just changing the construction schedule whenever they feel like it is absolutely ridiculous. It's cute to to see that they think the Hakimi/Lebovic and Thermos/Sinnott intersections can handle all the overflow traffic from both Birchmount and Warden but that's fish brain thinking.

I've e-mailed a couple news outlets to see if this can get picked up. I doubt it will, but you never know.

Hakimi and Lebovic were built to handle through traffic while Sinnott and Thermos were not. Sinnott and Thermos were built as industrial access roads while Hakimi and Lebovic were designed for access to the local smart center

 

[crs1026]

Out of curiosity, I rode the bus from Royal York all the way to Kennedy Station this week, to see first hand just how bad things are. The old saying about the darkest hour being just before the dawn certainly came to mind.

I saw a number of places (mostly to the west) where I wondered if construction had reached the point where crews should feel more pressure to remove the pylons and get things back to normal. Certainly, in the middle, those deep holes are going to be there for some time. Hopefully the publicity tweets are truthful, and some locations are getting close to ceiling pours, which will lead to finally filling in the excavations.

My biggest surprise was in the east, where in the above ground zone there seemed to be no order or logic to which sections were barely started, versus had the base layer poured, versus had track laid or in progress. I appreciate that preliminary work needs will vary by location.... all the same it seemed like the strategy was, tear up everywhere and leave it all a mess until each small bit is completed. I had expected more of a start at one end and gradually move along, leaving completed track and road as the work zone moved along.

I do hope there is a lot of reflection at the technical level when this project is done. One wonders why we would ever deep-tunnel again, instead of a rolling shallow cut and cover project that attacks from one end and creeps block by block, minimising the time that any one block or section is badly impacted. The whole street has been a war zone for a long time now.

- Paul

 

[Amare]

I do hope there is a lot of reflection at the technical level when this project is done. One wonders why we would ever deep-tunnel again, instead of a rolling shallow cut and cover project that attacks from one end and creeps block by block, minimising the time that any one block or section is badly impacted. The whole street has been a war zone for a long time now.

- Paul

A rolling cut and cover project would be even worse in terms of impacting traffic. Just imagine scenes of Bathurst and Eglinton, or Leslie and Eglinton. Then multiply that 100 times over the entire stretch of Eglinton and that's what we'd be seeing right now.

Add Crosslinx' inability to coordinate closures properly and the end result would be just nightmarish.