Transit City Plan

[Ansem]

Anyone who took the bus On Sheppard Avenue West between Keele and Yonge know how heavy the circulation is.

The bus cannot respect their schedule and the 196 Rocket isn't much of an express vehicule by going at 10 Km/h.

The other advantage of having the Sheppard line to Downsview is that you can kill the 196 Rocket Bus completely (when the York University station opens) and use all those buses on other routes that would need improvements.

That would increase ridership on the Sheppard Line and there a lot of Condo project on that Avenue.

This would maybe convice the TTC that finishing the line is better for the city than and LRT to the East.

 

[kEiThZ]

I've asked this before.... but I am curious as to the feasability of adapting St.Clair W with Transit City LRTs. Would it require significant reworking? Or could a simple re-work of platforms and the replacement of the streetcars with TC LRTs be feasible. I can't see why they didn't make St. Clair a TC route....seems like a natural candidate to me.

 

[CDL.TO]

I've asked this before.... but I am curious as to the feasability of adapting St.Clair W with Transit City LRTs. Would it require significant reworking? Or could a simple re-work of platforms and the replacement of the streetcars with TC LRTs be feasible. I can't see why they didn't make St. Clair a TC route....seems like a natural candidate to me.

St. Clair IS a Transit City route. It is essentially the model for what is to be built on other arterial roads in the city. It also appears on the Transit City maps, along with Spadina.

 

[W. K. Lis]

St. Clair IS a Transit City route. It is essentially the model for what is to be built on other arterial roads in the city. It also appears on the Transit City maps, along with Spadina.

No, the stops on St. Clair and Spadina are too close together. There shouldn't be stops at each traffic light.

Check the suggested stops on the Transit City's LRT and compare them with St. Clair and Spadina, and you will see the differences.

 

[kEiThZ]

^ So if it's only stop spacing that's the issue, I wonder why they didn't convert the line.

For that matter, I wonder about the other streetcar lines on the map like Harbourfront and Spadina. Why not convert those lines too?

 

[Voltz]

I've asked this before.... but I am curious as to the feasability of adapting St.Clair W with Transit City LRTs. Would it require significant reworking? Or could a simple re-work of platforms and the replacement of the streetcars with TC LRTs be feasible. I can't see why they didn't make St. Clair a TC route....seems like a natural candidate to me.

Because TC did not exist when planning and construction was starting for the rebuilding of St Clair, and eliminating stops on St Clair to match the TC lines stop spacing would not sit well with the locals

The new street cars should essentially be the same as the new TC cars, just single ended, and the St Clair platforms are long enough, but I don't know if the height will match exactly with the new streetcars, since their exact dimensions of the new cars are still are unknown.

The best thing they should do with St Clair (and many other surface routs) is to tie the signal priority system in with GPS tracking, and install ticket vending machines on the platforms, and use headway based control, (this is planned for the TC lines

 

[CDL.TO]

No, the stops on St. Clair and Spadina are too close together. There shouldn't be stops at each traffic light.

Check the suggested stops on the Transit City's LRT and compare them with St. Clair and Spadina, and you will see the differences.

So what you're saying is if a Transit City line had stops every 300m (like on St. Clair) instead of every 400m (like is planned) it stops being a Transit City line? So, the only defining feature of LRT as opposed to streetcars is stops being slightly further apart?

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

There's an illegal billboard at 150 Bridgeland (facing the 401) currently displaying an ad for Transit City!

now i know you mods have special powers but wow!......

TTC removing illegal billboard

Sign promoting transit distracted 401 drivers
January 08, 2009


Paul Moloney
city hall bureau

The Toronto Transit Commission is removing a billboard promoting its proposed Transit City streetcar network after a watchdog group charged the sign was illegal.

The rooftop ad, on the south side of Highway 401 just west of Yorkdale shopping centre, is a problem because regulations don't allow so-called third-party billboards beside a busy expressway like the 401, said Rami Tabello, of illegalsigns.ca.

A business beside the highway can advertise itself but is prohibited from renting space to billboard operators to highlight the wares of other companies.

City officials are investigating the billboard, on the roof of a building on Bridgeland Ave., along the 401.

But after Tabello outlined his concerns yesterday, the transit system asked its advertising company to take down the ad, said Councillor Adam Giambrone, the TTC chair.

"We're glad it was brought to our attention," Giambrone said. "We can't comment on the legal matters, but we do understand that as a public body, we should not even be perceived to be involved, directly or indirectly, with violating bylaws."

Restricting expressway billboards makes sense because the ads can divert the attention of motorists, said Councillor Howard Moscoe, who represents the area.

"They're a major distraction for drivers," he said. "It's dangerous."

Moscoe said previous city councils made a mistake in allowing billboards along the Gardiner Expressway, controlled by the city. The provincial Highway 401 comes under Ontario rules that say billboards shouldn't be visible to expressway traffic, and the city sign bylaw has to comply with those regulations, Tabello said.

The billboard would appear to contravene the province's commercial signage policy, which doesn't allow third-party advertising adjacent to Class 1 highways, said a spokesperson for the transportation ministry.

Tabello said his research indicates the city issued a permit in 2006 for a two-sided third-party sign at the Bridgeland location.

"It appears somebody has issued permits in error," said Moscoe, who has asked city building officials to respond. "If there were third-party billboard permits issued, I have to assume they were in error."

Tabello, who has been investigating and citing apparent irregularities for several years, said the city's sign rules are a "complete mess."

A new, harmonized Toronto sign bylaw is being drafted.

- With files from Vanessa Lu

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/563489

 

[W. K. Lis]

So what you're saying is if a Transit City line had stops every 300m (like on St. Clair) instead of every 400m (like is planned) it stops being a Transit City line? So, the only defining feature of LRT as opposed to streetcars is stops being slightly further apart?

The Transit City platform stops will be and longer, minimum twice the size of the St. Clair platforms, to accommodate trains of multi-unit cars when needed. The platforms could be wider, if there is room. Unnecessary closely spaced stops like at Wynchwood and Vaughan would not be built. No loops, but crossovers. Curves more gentle and wider, double-point switches, double-ended cars instead of single-ended cars, etc. Imagine the Rosedale subway station, but with lower platform and narrower track space, at street level without the turnstiles and mezzanine level.

 

[ShonTron]

now i know you mods have special powers but wow!......

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/563489

Some of us Mods have friends in high places - another UT forumer and I also got the TTC subway maps (with the crappy new bold font and the addresses for each station) replaced.

I was wondering if that billboard was going to be a downtown Spacer's paradox - "Hey, I support streetcars, but not illegal ads. Does not compute!"

At least the TTC has backed away from that particular ad.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

apparently billboards are not supposed to be visible from the 401, i can clearly see LOTS of them along the 401.

it doesn't seem like a law that's terribly hard to enforce. you can kinda say that these guys are advertising their wrongdoings and wanna be caught.

 

[Anth]

National Post: Transit City Series

The TTC this year embarks on construction of Transit City, its plan to build a 120-kilometre network of light rail lines over the next 15 years. Peter Kuitenbrouwer begins a series of columns on the $8-billion project, which is almost entirely unfunded and remains largely a leap of faith for city hall.

 

[isittimetomoveyet]

I thought the TC stops were going to be 850 meters apart... or am I thinking of the subway extension?

In regards to the one Waterfront West TC question... I think they are still looking at various designs. I am not sure if it would be an extension of the 509 route, in its current iteration down Queens Quay, or in addition to. I don' think they would remove that route... at least from all the Waterfront talk about having one of the best Street Car rides on the continent.

I know there has been talk about the Waterfront West line in which it would run down Bremnar, or potentially under a portion of the Gardiner (which was a surprise new alternative last year). No idea when the ultimate design is expected to be chosen though...

 

[isittimetomoveyet]

National Post: Transit City Series

I just read that article, and while I am very sympathetic to businesses and commerce in general, is it not the case that these arguments are proven wrong time-after-time when being raised in opposition to a project?

Maybe I just lean a little bit to the left too much, but is it really so outrageous to ask these people to see the larger vision? ... that automobiles create more problems than they solve and that we need to build real, smart, transit options (debatable, I know) that can actually be convenient to use, and is generally much more affordable than car ownership?

 

[RedRocket191]

The tunneled section of Eglinton will likely be in the 750 to 800 metres range, while most other TC lines are going to be 500 metres. The rationale is that beyond around 500 metres you would need a parallel bus route. My experience with the 97 YONGE (3-4 times per week or so I ride from York Mills to Dundas) is that it becomes a second class transit line as people don't ride to the next rail stop - they ride all the way downtown.

Maybe I just lean a little bit to the left too much, but is it really so outrageous to ask these people to see the larger vision? ... that automobiles create more problems than they solve and that we need to build real, smart, transit options (debatable, I know) that can actually be convenient to use, and is generally much more affordable than car ownership?

I think the root cause of the problem is that the Canadian/American dream has become the pursuit of monetary wealth and value, and it is engrained in our culture that to accumulate wealth is positive and to lose that wealth is negative.

With the case of small businesses, many are just getting by month to month and while I do believe they know that they will probably have more customers, the loss of the customers during the construction period might be enough to push them off the financial knife's edge. So, they would rather leave things the way they are than take the risk.

It sucks 100%, but small businesses are one of the things that makes many of Toronto's neighbourhoods great and I'm not sure if I can blame them for wanting to maintain the business that feeds their family, especially when they've sunk a ton of their own money into it.

Residents, on the other hand, I have far less sympathy for as the arguments raised are usually irrational and sometimes contradictory (ie we support expanding the mall into the parking lot but do not support moving the parking underground or onto a structure).

There was a time, according to a professor of mine, where under the Rae government community groups could get funding to hire planners to propose realistic alternatives to proposed projects. Many decision-makers of the day said that it made responding to opposition much easier.

Respectful, educated and insightful opposition - Mike Harris put a stop to that real quick.