Toronto Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown West Extension | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

[Coolstar]

Nice. They have a plan now.

The Renforth Station connection (now underground/below grade) makes a lot more sense than the old on street connection. So it does look like it's a full subway between Renforth and Mt Dennis

Since Renforth station is pretty much trenched, could it allow for a future spur to Downtown Mississauga via the Transitway once there's the need?

 

[Haydenpoon]

Likely the term "BRT" is used to keep Doug Ford happy. Could be changed to "LRT" for Jane Street at some later date and administration. Hopefully, the designers will include knockout panels and provisions for a light rail connection along Jane Street at the Jane Station.

No knockout panels are needed at Jane station since it is above-ground. There is no soil behind the panels, just air.

Unless they decided to build the entire wall with concrete, instead of glass and columns.

 

[CapitalSeven]

I would assume marble, as the priority here appears to be to make this as expensive as possible.

 

[robmausser]

I would assume marble, as the priority here appears to be to make this as expensive as possible.

While I think the tunneling is excessive, you know what the real crime here is? Whoever the heck at city hall decided to sell portions of the richview expressway corridor to development?

When everyone lauded Mayor Tory's back-of-napkin plan to put Smarttrack in this corridor without realising that portions of it was sold off to development, everyone loved to hurl insults to the mayor. Why, was no one upset at the fact that WE SOLD OFF A PERFECTLY GOOD AND USEFUL CORRIDOR TO BUILD SOME MID-RISE HOUSING??

Here we have this perfect space to create an at-grade, fully separated LRT system for cheap, and some idiot goes and sells what is supposed to be a transit corridor (originally for a highway but designated to moving people nonetheless) to some developers so that more foreign investment can raise the cost of living in Toronto.

Really awesome, well done. Just what we need in Toronto, more people and less space to build out transit.

I'd love to know who was responsible for such a travesty.

 

[junctionist]

I would assume marble, as the priority here appears to be to make this as expensive as possible.

In fairness, it would nice to have some natural stone finishes in the system. It would make the system seem more dignified and humane than a mere transit sewer. A lot of cities have stations with natural stone floor tiles and sometimes wall panels. People like their office tower lobbies with natural stone finishes, and plenty of people renovate their homes to include natural stone finishes, so why not our subway stations?

 

[crs1026]

I'd love to know who was responsible for such a travesty.

You can read about it in the City Council Minutes here.

The motion to sell land on Eglinton, with amendments, carried 35-0. It was stated that a narrower roadway would be sufficient for any future transit needs. (yes, they actually said that).

I hear too many stories about significant properties disappearing into Build Toronto's domain, thereby putting an end to something good, be it heritage, transit, community benefit, whatever.

BTW Steve Munro at least did protest the sale at the time - see here.

- Paul

 

[W. K. Lis]

In fairness, it would nice to have some natural stone finishes in the system. It would make the system seem more dignified and humane than a mere transit sewer. A lot of cities have stations with natural stone floor tiles and sometimes wall panels. People like their office tower lobbies with natural stone finishes, and plenty of people renovate their homes to include natural stone finishes, so why not our subway stations?

Tired of all the grey structures we have in Toronto. Better to have more colourful structures instead.

 

[W. K. Lis]

While I think the tunneling is excessive, you know what the real crime here is? Whoever the heck at city hall decided to sell portions of the richview expressway corridor to development?

When everyone lauded Mayor Tory's back-of-napkin plan to put Smarttrack in this corridor without realising that portions of it was sold off to development, everyone loved to hurl insults to the mayor. Why, was no one upset at the fact that WE SOLD OFF A PERFECTLY GOOD AND USEFUL CORRIDOR TO BUILD SOME MID-RISE HOUSING??

Here we have this perfect space to create an at-grade, fully separated LRT system for cheap, and some idiot goes and sells what is supposed to be a transit corridor (originally for a highway but designated to moving people nonetheless) to some developers so that more foreign investment can raise the cost of living in Toronto.

Really awesome, well done. Just what we need in Toronto, more people and less space to build out transit.

I'd love to know who was responsible for such a travesty.

From link.

The Eglinton West Line would have run from Eglinton West Station all the way to Renforth along a right of way that had been reserved for the Richview Expressway (killed in the 1970s). Sadly, the Eglinton road allowance was sold for small change by Rob Ford in 2010 but nobody thought to tell John Tory as he was putting crayon to napkin for his SmartTrack plan. The allowance is now being filled in with some spectacularly awful townhomes.

From link.

The Vanishing Eglinton Right-of-Way

Serious policy geeks like me spend our time delving into the more arcane reports on various agendas. This can be tedious work, but every so often, something interesting turns up.

On the May 2, 2011, agenda for the Government Management Committee, there is an item regarding the transfer of various city properties to Build Toronto, the agency charged with making money off of surplus City lands.

Among the properties to be transferred are three strips of land along the north side of Eglinton Avenue:

• West of Widdicombe Hill Blvd
• East of Widdicombe Hill to Kipling
• East from Kipling to Wincott Drive

These lands form part of the original reserve for the Richview Expressway for which plans were abandoned decades ago. A strip of land will be kept along the south edge of these properties for road widening should an Eglinton LRT project (or similar work needing more road space) ever proceed.

Disposal of this land by the City effectively blocks any scheme for using the expressway lands for a transit line either on the surface or in a ditch.

Another block of land to be transferred lies on the northeast corner of Don Mills and Eglinton. The report notes that this is the planned location for a bus terminal connecting with the Eglinton LRT line at Don Mills, and this would certainly be a good place for an integrated development.

Elsewhere in the list of surplus properties, one can see remnants of the Scarborough transportation corridor and the Front Street extension. It is ironic that an administration so bent on auto transportation is giving up lands that once might have been part of an extensive highway network.

 

[Amare]

Just keep in mind, if you hear from any of the following individuals that the costs of building the Eglinton West extension is "too much" and the money can be "better spent", feel free to ask these same said individuals "then why did you vote to sell off the Richview lands".

Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Michelle Berardinetti, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Vincent Crisanti, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Sarah Doucette, Paula Fletcher, Rob Ford, Mark Grimes, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata (Chair), Cesar Palacio, Gord Perks, Jaye Robinson, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam

 

[W. K. Lis]

Just keep in mind, if you hear from any of the following individuals that the costs of building the Eglinton West extension is "too much" and the money can be "better spent", feel free to ask these same said individuals "then why did you vote to sell off the Richview lands".

Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Michelle Berardinetti, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Vincent Crisanti, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Sarah Doucette, Paula Fletcher, Rob Ford, Mark Grimes, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata (Chair), Cesar Palacio, Gord Perks, Jaye Robinson, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam

I would like to find out if any of them or friends or relatives have a financial interest in any of the developments.

 

[44 North]

Just keep in mind, if you hear from any of the following individuals that the costs of building the Eglinton West extension is "too much" and the money can be "better spent", feel free to ask these same said individuals "then why did you vote to sell off the Richview lands".

Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Michelle Berardinetti, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Vincent Crisanti, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Sarah Doucette, Paula Fletcher, Rob Ford, Mark Grimes, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata (Chair), Cesar Palacio, Gord Perks, Jaye Robinson, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam

Look where all the underground stations are. It could still easily work as an elevated line. Seems like the sell-off did little in that regard.

 

[Amare]

Look where all the underground stations are. It could still easily work as an elevated line. Seems like the sell-off did little in that regard.

Good luck getting the local NIMBYs and local politicians to unite around that idea. It's either all underground, or nothing for them.

Which is exactly why if the Richview lands were used, it would've avoided any kind of controversy. In other words, it wouldn't have mattered if the line was trenched, or at-grade.

 

[sixrings]

Just keep in mind, if you hear from any of the following individuals that the costs of building the Eglinton West extension is "too much" and the money can be "better spent", feel free to ask these same said individuals "then why did you vote to sell off the Richview lands".

Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Michelle Berardinetti, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Vincent Crisanti, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Sarah Doucette, Paula Fletcher, Rob Ford, Mark Grimes, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata (Chair), Cesar Palacio, Gord Perks, Jaye Robinson, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam

Maybe they thought a surface LRT was going to be good enough. As an Eglinton resident I would be perfectly happy and content with a surface LRT (it would make my transfers easier). However no one ever says NO to a subway.

 

[Voltz]

Maybe they thought a surface LRT was going to be good enough. As an Eglinton resident I would be perfectly happy and content with a surface LRT (it would make my transfers easier). However no one ever says NO to a subway.

Yeah there was no reason to think the space would be needed, enough room was left for the planned transit line, and what real reason was there to use it anyway? A surface route is still crossing the same streets, and ducking under those streets can still be done with a route in the middle of the road.

 

[Amare]

Maybe they thought a surface LRT was going to be good enough. As an Eglinton resident I would be perfectly happy and content with a surface LRT (it would make my transfers easier). However no one ever says NO to a subway.

So that's why the aforementioned individuals went ahead and voted to sell off the Richview lands, because an on-street surface LRT would've been "good enough"?

There's a reason why the lands were kept vacant for decades before 2011; apparently all 35 all those individuals failed to comprehend the deeper logic. At least Mississauga (the car-loving municipality) understood that and kept their corridor vacant/intact up until the construction of the Transitway.