Toronto GO Transit: Davenport Diamond Grade Separation | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

smably said:
Huge sigh of relief from everyone in the neighbourhood who's been anticipating the neighbourhood connectivity + public realm improvements that come with this project! Great news.
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Is that aspect of the celebration a bit premature, though? I don't see public realm components specifically mentioned at the link below.

Preferred Proponent Selected for Davenport Diamond Project

Preferred Proponent Selected for Davenport Diamond Project
www.infrastructureontario.ca
 
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ADRM said:
Is that aspect of the celebration a bit premature, though? I don't see public realm components specifically mentioned at the link below.

Preferred Proponent Selected for Davenport Diamond Project

Preferred Proponent Selected for Davenport Diamond Project
www.infrastructureontario.ca
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Metrolinx have previously stated that the public realm will be tendered separately, and will be completed after the overpass is built.
I will not lose sleep if the public realm component doesn't see the light of day, to be honest.
 
raptor said:
Metrolinx have previously stated that the public realm will be tendered separately, and will be completed after the overpass is built.
I will not lose sleep if the public realm component doesn't see the light of day, to be honest.
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It's not a healthy situation for ML to commit to these improvements and then sneak away from that commitment. I'm sure the community won't let this go. But I bet that this part of the project gets downloaded to the city.

I also wonder whether ML and Ford will honour the commitment to limit service to hourly until electrification is implemented. I bet we see half hourly or better diesel 2WAD.

- Paul
 
raptor said:
I will not lose sleep if the public realm component doesn't see the light of day, to be honest.
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I, for one, will lose a lot of sleep if the public realm doesn't get built, and I think most of Davenport feels the same way. But I feel pretty confident that Metrolinx wouldn't try to pull a bait and switch here with the public realm. Even if there is a Cheapening, I can't imagine that they'd cut the multi-use path, which is really the essential piece as far as I'm concerned.
 
smably said:
I, for one, will lose a lot of sleep if the public realm doesn't get built, and I think most of Davenport feels the same way. But I feel pretty confident that Metrolinx wouldn't try to pull a bait and switch here with the public realm. Even if there is a Cheapening, I can't imagine that they'd cut the multi-use path, which is really the essential piece as far as I'm concerned.
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The path and all connections (Paton Rd., Antler/Lappin, and over the CP line) would make this whole project actually useful to the neighbourhood*. I hope all of that can happen even before any of the "beautification" occurs. Ideally though, connecting all the way south to the Railpath at Dundas/Sterling, connecting to Earlscourt Park (and therefore St. Clair Ave!), etc., would truly make this a very useful multi-modal corridor. Make the whole area much more walk/bike/transit accessible.

* The removal of noise from trains hammering over the diamond is also a benefit without any additional work
 
Towered said:
How many roads will be connected in the area as a result of the grade separation?
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There's supposed to be a bike/ped crossing at Paton Rd. (which had a tunnel in the 80's, but was capped off due to safety issues) and another bike/ped crossing at Antler/Lappin. No changes for automobile traffic.
 
crs1026 said:
It's not a healthy situation for ML to commit to these improvements and then sneak away from that commitment.
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Exactly. Even if you don't care at all about this specific community, or you think Metrolinx promised too much, you should find it concerning if Metrolinx fails to live up to its commitments here. GO expansion and the various other higher-order transit projects that Metrolinx is planning on undertaking will require negotiating with a ton of communities in the future, and it's going to be important that those communities be able to trust Metrolinx to deliver on their promises, or it'll make it much, much harder to get things done.
 
torontocolin said:
Exactly. Even if you don't care at all about this specific community, or you think Metrolinx promised too much, you should find it concerning if Metrolinx fails to live up to its commitments here. GO expansion and the various other higher-order transit projects that Metrolinx is planning on undertaking will require negotiating with a ton of communities in the future, and it's going to be important that those communities be able to trust Metrolinx to deliver on their promises, or it'll make it much, much harder to get things done.
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Or, don't ask the community at all, and build whatever is necessary for the greater good?
 
1. Metrolinx is a government agency, and the government is accountable to the people it represents, even those who are in its way.
2. The world is full of examples of why rolling over a minority of people for someone's definition of "the greater good" is a bad idea.
3. Why would you do that when there are countless examples of governments and communities successfully working together to revise projects to better suit the affected communities?

Metrolinx is working with businesses along Eglinton to ensure they are able to operate and stay afloat during Crosstown construction. Should they have just allowed all those businesses to fail "for the greater good?"
 
raptor said:
Or, don't ask the community at all, and build whatever is necessary for the greater good?
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People tend to like to say that's what they'd like - until it affects them. Not to say there aren't instances where it should be done, but it should never be done glibly.

AoD
 
In a way that's what they already did. The community wanted a tunnel and Metrolinx said they were going to proceed with the overpass no matter what, and the community was forced to settle for the public realm improvements as a sweetener. Seems fair to me.
 
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