innsertnamehere
Superstar
I think the route study will come out late this year.
Richmond Hill Yonge Line 1 North Subway Extension | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx
- Thread starter 299 bloor call control.
- Start date
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Awaiting Funding for Metrolinx. They've committed so spending $7 Billion - $8 Billion on the project. All parties involved, with the exception of York Region (obviously) view the DRL as having upmost importance. Without the project, the entire RT system will crack.
The City of Toronto is racing to complete the environmental assessment for the line. It should be done sometime within the next 18 months.
We don't yet know when funding will be finalized, but it will come soon enough.
Expect construction to begin within the next 2 - 3 years.
Quite a speedy timeline, which is exactly what the DRL deserves.
xtremesniper
Active Member
To be honest, that doesn't seem to be particularly speedy, especially when considering how long the DRL idea has been floating around for.
I still can't believe how slow Toronto is at doing just about everything except slamming down ideas. The longer this takes, the more likelihood some baboon in government is going to take it out.
TJ O'Pootertoot
Senior Member
I think xtremesniper got my dry, ironic commentary. The DRL has been an idea floating around for, what, 60 years? If York Region hadn't taught Toronto a lesson (i.e. plan transit, do the work, lobby for funds, get it built), it would still be on Metrolinx's 25-year plan, and who knows where on Toronto's radar. It's only because York Region did so much great work to make their dream a reality that Toronto moved concretely on the DRL. And I bet council didn't even send a "thank you" card north. (This is particularly trenchant when you throw in the Spadina extension. The narrative is that it's a "subway to nowhere" that Toronto didn't want, but if Toronto wanted the DRL so bad, where was it's competing plan? Don't punish the suburbs for doing what needs to be done.)
Construction in 2-3 years?! Where's that coming from? Is that assuming Ford gets re-elected and the private sector, as promised, races to build free subways for the city?
IF Wynne's government survives and IF Metrolinx's proposals are put in place (and I hope they are), the DRL will be one of several top-tier projects competing for the first round. Personally, I think (it being shovel-ready and all) Yonge extension should go first with DRL following immediately after (or concurrently, if possible). I 100% acknowledge the capacity issues the DRL addresses but the Yonge extension won't make things immeasurably worse immediately and is directly tied (as I've said above) to so many anti-sprawl plans that it should trump the capacity issues if that's what it takes to get things rolling. I wouldn't say that if the DRL was years in the future but if Yonge is ready to go and DRL just a bit behind, I don't think you need to wait. Waiting might make the Bloor platform less crowded, but at the expense of thousands of units of new, sprawling housing.
Adjei
Senior Member
Construction within the next 2 to 3 years? Even Metrolinx doesn't have this much optimism. According to them it will take at least 5 years for the design and environmental phase and that is if funding is available:
http://torontoist.com/2013/05/can-the-metrolinx-investment-strategy-succeed/
TOareaFan
Superstar
Congrats!!!! That truly is the funniest sentence I have read on these boards!
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
What's so funny about it? The EA has been approved by Council is scheduled to be complete in 2014.
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TOareaFan
Superstar
Just the juxtaposition of the words "racing" and "done sometime within the next 18 months"....not sure when it started but that would suggest that it took +/- 2 years to do an an environmental assessment....hardly seems like "racing".
Sorry, thought the humour was intentional....did not mean to offend.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Sounds more reasonable.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Compared to some other EAs, this 6 - 18 month timeline is pretty damn fast. Especially for a project of this magnitude. I'm so used to seeing EAs that can last 3-5 years. I have no idea why they take so long.
No offense taken.
rbt
Senior Member
Do you recall how long the EA for the Spadina extension took? Or Sheppard for that matter?
nfitz
Superstar
If they haven't started the EA yet, and it would be finished in 2014, (not sure if that's true or not), how do you get ± 2 years?
TOareaFan
Superstar
I think we are overanalyzing what I thought was funny but I got the impression it had already started and added that to it being done in the next 18 months.
Sorry for finding humour and sidetracking discussion.
TJ O'Pootertoot
Senior Member
The EA process for transit projects has hugely changed since Spadina and Sheppard.
http://www.metrolinx.com/en/project...talassessments/environmental_assessments.aspx
Toronto may be "racing" to complete it in 18 months but the new process takes six months. How do I know? That's how long Yonge extension took. [drops mic]
Seriously, Toronto hasn't even picked anything remotely resembling a preferred route or set the scope so they're probably 18 months from even starting the EA.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
The sooner the better. Both the DRL and Yonge Extension are a no-go without the DRL.