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

salsa said:
This is a new rendering of the Humber College stop on the Finch LRT, which will be grade separated as an open trench on the side of the road.

I just want to know, why wasn't this solution considered for Eglinton West? How is it that the only grade-separated alternatives the city could come up with were either an overbuilt subway-style station with escalators and concourses, or this ridiculous 4 storey high elevated station at Islington?
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It is a wonder why trenched wasn't proposed. However ignoring costs of options and focusing on the planning aspect, I think trenched would be the absolute worst. Yes a 4-storey high station seems suspect, but at least it allows pedestrians midblock to cross the street freely and can be landscaped well. That's arguably better than at-grade in-median. Now compare that with a long deep trench. Would require a bridge to cross it, bisects neighbourhoods, and renders the adjacent roadway expressway-like.

Notice that the FWLRT render fails to show the lengths of guardrail and chainlink fencing along this chasm? They actually show people walking at the edge of the precipice. Elevated is a win in comparison.

BMO said:
Bingo, somebody somewhere at the City or Metrolinx want this to be at-grade the whole way. Probably for noble reasons like saving money, but it's apparent that this project is using a bunch of subjective parameters to skew the results toward at-grade. Like I said in the crosstown thread, the fact that Urban Strategies is the main proponent of the study with HDR as a subconsultant speaks volumes. We're getting an urban design study not a transportation planning study.
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Feel like a key problem is that we already ordered the trains years ago. And these trains are low floor and designed specifically for roadway operation. So in a way the deck is a bit stacked against using any other option. Not sure, but maybe that's a reason we didn't consider more grade-separations.
 
All you folks who want LRT stops predominantly trenched or elevated (as opposed to at major intersections like Islington). You can either drag a 30lb suitcase OR a big stroller OR you can have a dead leg and then climb four flights of stairs up and down to simulate.
 
dowlingm said:
All you folks who want LRT stops predominantly trenched or elevated (as opposed to at major intersections like Islington). You can either drag a 30lb suitcase OR a big stroller OR you can have a dead leg and then climb four flights of stairs up and down to simulate.
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Yep, a local bus would do wonders for accessibility in that case, picks you up right at the curb, minimizes distance needed to travel with bags or a stroller. ;)
 
This intersection, or more accurately, intersections (plural), is the main problem with having an at grade LRT along Eglinton Avenue West.

Current-issues.jpg


While the East Mall stop has been removed, they still want the LRT to make turns crossing all the eastbound traffic coming off the 401, 427, and 27.
East Mall.jpg

The current plans are for the LRT to emerge out of a portal on the east side of Eglinton Flats. However, the LRT would be in the middle of the Eglinton Avenue West roadway, running all the way to the 401/427/27/Eglinton intersection.
Mt. Dennis neighbourhood.jpg

If the powers-that-be are so set on using at grade for the entire Eglinton West LRT, then they should set up the portal at Eglinton Flats to emerge on the south side of Eglinton Avenue West. Then by having the entire LRT right-of-way at grade level on the south side, by the time the trains get to Martin Grove and the 401/427/27/Eglinton intersection, they would already be on the south side. They'll avoid crossing the very, very, very busy traffic congestion by doing so.
 

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dowlingm said:
All you folks who want LRT stops predominantly trenched or elevated (as opposed to at major intersections like Islington). You can either drag a 30lb suitcase OR a big stroller OR you can have a dead leg and then climb four flights of stairs up and down to simulate.
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If only we had a device that elevated people vertically without them having to climb stairs.

Oh well. If only such a device existed.
 
Incoming 2-stop underground LRT extension from Mt Dennis to Pearson with stops at Commerce and Pearson. :D

But honestly, elevated grade separations don’t really seem viable, especially if 4 levels high, and underground at major intersections seems much more practical.

Either way, I would assume there would be no concourse (no opposite platform access from underground), Queens Quay Station/St Clair West Station like, with stairs at all quadrants of the intersection and elevators on opposite sides (the side closer to crossing bus route stops).

This honestly should be a good balance between speed and cost.
 
dowlingm said:
All you folks who want LRT stops predominantly trenched or elevated (as opposed to at major intersections like Islington). You can either drag a 30lb suitcase OR a big stroller OR you can have a dead leg and then climb four flights of stairs up and down to simulate.
Click to expand...
I love how out of all the valid concerns that you could have about grade separation, you come up with a comment about on how inaccessible underground/above ground stations will be. Literally, have you been living under a rock for your whole life. Have you not heard of something called a elevator? It is a thing that moves up and down between levels with the press of a button. There are also accessibility regulations these days that mandate accessibility by wheelchairs. That is why all transit projects nowadays are accessible. All you have to do is to look to the Mississauga Transitway slightly to the west of the scope of this project.
 
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Leo_Chan said:
Incoming 2-stop underground LRT extension from Mt Dennis to Pearson with stops at Commerce and Pearson. :D

But honestly, elevated grade separations don’t really seem viable, especially if 4 levels high, and underground at major intersections seems much more practical.

Either way, I would assume there would be no concourse (no opposite platform access from underground), Queens Quay Station/St Clair West Station like, with stairs at all quadrants of the intersection and elevators on opposite sides (the side closer to crossing bus route stops).

This honestly should be a good balance between speed and cost.
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Why do people keep saying the elevated line is 4 stories high?
 
TheTigerMaster said:
Notice that the elevated guideway descends immediately after the station. Shifting the station would reduce the space the LRT has to return to an at-grade configuration, since the grades must be flat within the station structure.
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That's because it was a mandatory requirement to maintain the mid-block on-street stops. Even though fully grade-separated had the best Benefit Cost ratio, the options considered made it mandatory to have the line NOT grade-separated.
 
Agreed. The renderings are wonky and probably a bit flawed, but if you blow them up and look carefully at the planes, the floor of the second landing is level with the awning where the bus stop is, and compared against the heads of the renderfolk, would be about 10 feet off the ground. And the last landing that leads out to the platform is therefore about 20 feet off the ground, enough to clear traffic.
 
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