TJ O'Pootertoot
Senior Member
It's the same argument that is made against the Scarborough extension. Yes there will be good ridership at Yonge/Hwy7 (RHC) (much like at SCC), but between Steeles and RHC, the ridership will be very low, so we could do what we are doing in Scarborough and make the subway go express from Steeles to RHC, since Clark, and Longbridge stations will have very low ridership.
Apples and oranges and Longbridge will basically supplant Finch as the terminal parking lot.
Is it a priority for Toronto to support York Region's development plans? I don't think it is. Yes it's my personal opinion of course.
And mine is that proper development helps the entire Region, whether it's there or downtown or NYCC or Mississauga. Obviously bad development on the fringe creates problems for all, doesn't it?
course you are right that not everyone goes to Union, but you would be surprised at how many people stay on at least Bloor, because frankly, there aren't that many jobs at the other nodes like NYCC/Sheppard, or Eglinton or St. Clair.
It wouldn't surprise me but even Bloor is not Union, which is why RER provides a parallel service, not a replacement. Still, clearly the larger goal is to facilitate transit between all these centres, even if it seems improbable someone could want to travel from Eglinton to 7 to work.
Downtown will always be downtown and I'm not under the illusion RHC will become a massive jobs centre, especially overnight, but travel patterns are changing and will continue to do so.
The simple math for the landowners will be that they won't toss Home Depot and Cineplex from their leases and build condos just because there is a subway to Steeles. It will have to come into their site first, not the other way around . ("it " could be an LRT but they won't budge based on the status quo.)
I use the word dubious because I don't think we should be extending our subway lines out into the 905 area on principle.
I get that. Many here oppose it on principle though some pretend there's logic behind it too. I support it not on principle but based on my analysis of policy, the market and current and projected travel patterns. I see where other growth centres have failed and succeeded and draw conclusions accordingly. I don't oppose or support any project (not even the SSE) merely on principle.
The political winds of change are coming so we will likely see RHC funded to win 905 votes, where as the RL will be stalled indefinitely. This is the Toronto way and history will continue to repeat itself here.
Maybe. I don't guess where things will go anymore. It shouldn't be a zero sum game and if we're ranking political transit decisions it will be far from the worst (especially if paired with DRL) But I don't buy it's the same as SSE or even Sheppard. It's something that would be natural, obvious and overdue if Toronto had kept pace over the years and if the municipal border and/or funding for transit was other than the obsolete thing it is. IMHO.