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Transit City: Sheppard East Debate

But Wellesley works. It has a compact but efficient bus terminal, no unnecessary mezzanine levels, and a scale suitable for its location. Obviously it wouldn't be appropriate for King or Union or a terminal station. They clearly must be designed to handle a much higher load. But there is no reason why stations like Wellesley, Rosedale, or Chester--or new stations like Sheppard West, Cummer, or Clark--need to have the capacity to handle Union-level traffic. The original B-D stations are a perfect model as well. The only problem with them (and Wellesley) is that they have only one entrance. The fire code requires a station to have two, though one can just be an emergency stairwell. Multiple entrances make the savings from shallower stations even more obvious.

The reason for the cavernous stations with the vast, vacant mezzanines is the excessive reliance on bored tunnelling. One of the reasons that the Canada Line in Vancouver is so much less expensive than new subways in Toronto is that most of the tunnels are being built with cut and cover methods. That's causing problems in Vancouver, because Cambie is a busy shopping street like Queen or Bloor. On streets like Sheppard or through empty grasslands and hydro corridors in Vaughan, the disruption would be minimal.

None of this means that subway stations can't be well-designed. Great design and quality materials cost a tiny fraction of the cost of building a large underground structure.
 
There's always stupid design flaws to contend with, too, like escalator placement (Kennedy's architect must have designed it over the phone). I know that they need to predict crowd flows to some degree, but for the most part it should be obvious even on paper where flows of people will cross and become entangled.

Even North York Centre has flaws (at the north end, the automatic entrance/exit turnstiles need to flip position). Its mezzanine is also bigger than it needs to be, but this extra space is disguised by its use as a PATH-type connection.
 
unimaginative2 said:
But Wellesley works. It has a compact but efficient bus terminal, no unnecessary mezzanine levels, and a scale suitable for its location. Obviously it wouldn't be appropriate for King or Union or a terminal station. They clearly must be designed to handle a much higher load. But there is no reason why stations like Wellesley, Rosedale, or Chester--or new stations like Sheppard West, Cummer, or Clark--need to have the capacity to handle Union-level traffic.
Click to expand...

And remember, too, that Wellesley was actually state-of-the-art generously functional by the standards of 1954--for what it was, it was anything but "small and cheap". To knock it today is nitpicking; indeed, to "fix it" would ironically embody "too grand and expensive".

And besides, it's heritage. Better to restore it than to obliterate it.
 
On Sheppard Avenue East, pink hieroglyphics reveal the future

Posted: June 09, 2009, 6:30 AM by Rob Roberts

The National Post

I met Dave Sharpe and Shane Lewis of Underground Engineering Services as they painted pink hieroglyphics all over Sheppard Avenue East in front of the Agincourt Mall, near Kennedy Road.

They use a machine that resembles those metal detectors people use on the beach, to hunt for change. This one detects a radio frequency. The workers clip a transmitter on a Bell line, for example, to give it a radio frequency, then they follow the frequency to trace the wire.

Then they mark up the pavement. The markings are fun to read, once you learn the codes:

STRM -- storm sewer.
W/M -- water main.
BT -- Bell Telephone
SAN -- sanitary sewer
ST/L -- street light wires

The street looks like the Dead Sea Scrolls once they’re done.

The men are here because the Toronto Transit Commission plans this year to begin tearing up Sheppard to put in two lanes of light rail, from Don Mills Road to Neilson Road, a job which will make a 14-kilometre mess before it is done, and cost $800-million.

Workers will have to move/replace the storm sewers, sanitary sewers, water mains, gas lines, hydro and telephone wires, all of which run under the avenue now. The TTC, in justifying this Promethean endeavour, explained to me awhile ago that the old city water and sewer pipes want replacing anyway.

But Mr. Lewis has looked through the robotic eye of probes sent down to reconnoiter these concrete pipes. And he says they don’t need replacing at all.

“They’re quite good,†Mr. Lewis says. “They look fine. The sewers, as you can imagine around here, are getting a lot of use.â€

Near Midland Avenue, the sanitary sewer (“SANâ€) runs under down the centre of Sheppard, right where the TTC plans a 15 cm-high concrete pad on which will run light rail trains, east and west. The TTC could possibly just leave the pipes under the tracks and punch manholes at intervals for servicing, Mr. Lewis suggests.

Whatever path the engineers choose, this job will be invasive.

“They could run into some awful mess,†Mr. Lewis says.

“They’re gonna,†predicts Mr. Sharpe. “I’m just glad I’m not gonna be here. F--- that. I’m out of here. One guy was honking at me the other day. I’m like, ‘You think I’m bad? You’re going to wear out your horn.’ You’re going to have everything blocked with paid duties, cops everywhere.â€

A surveyor I met at the corner of McCowan Road, also working on the first stages of this light rail project, predicts the job will take eight years.

Mr. Sharpe has been on Sheppard since before Christmas; last week he put in 75 hours. Yesterday morning his two-year-old son woke up just after midnight; Mr. Sharpe stayed up with the boy until 3:30 a.m., when he came here to start work.

So please don’t honk at the poor guy.

He says the job involves widening Sheppard by two lanes, removing lanes of grass and trees that right now separate the road from the sidewalk.

Among trees at risk is a proud silver maple in front of the squat red brick church at Sheppard and Midland, which bears this plaque: “This maple tree was planted to the glory of God, and in honour of all those who served in World War II, by the Young People’s Society, Knox Presbyterian Church, Agincourt, Ontario, V.E. Day, June 6, 1945.â€

We cannot, of course, insert rapid transit into this burg without disruption. We can only hope the transit is rapid enough to warrant the costs.
 
^ in what way, exactly?

I think this line sums up many of ours' sentiment about TC, especially Sheppard (and Eglinton):
We cannot, of course, insert rapid transit into this burg without disruption. We can only hope the transit is rapid enough to warrant the costs.
Click to expand...
 
^^^^^^^^^

in the expression of no-duh!

and in that... why warn't you hoping when they were asking you if it should be done.


But then I agree. Got to find a way to keep the journalists employed somehow. So nevermind.
 
Small Update:

  • Toronto's Government Management Committee is set to consider expropriating portions of eight properties to allow the TTC to move forward
    with the Sheppard East LRT;
  • Properties include: 7 Reidmount Avenue, 5 Agincourt Drive and 4061, 4080, 4091, 4125,4142 and 4156-4158 Sheppard Avenue East;
  • The properties are required to construct a grade separation at the Agincourt GO Station, which will ultimately accommodate the construction
    of the light rail line;
  • Negotiations are ongoing with the affected property owners - however the city has commenced the expropriation process.
 
For those who do not know what Sheppard Ave really looks like, I took the following video's on May 31 as before construction view. I try to stay in the centre lane since is where the LRT will be. Took me a couple nights to cut up both large on shot files in each direction.

A lot of nice trees will be lost if money cannot be found to relocate them considering they can be move in the first place.

Sheppard Westbound Meadowvale to Markham Rd

Sheppard Westbound Markham Rd to GO crossing

Sheppard Westbound GO crossing to Commsumer Rd

Sheppard Westbound Commsumer Rd to Don Mills

Sheppard Eastbound Don Mills to Commsumers Dr

Sheppard Eastbound Commsumer Rd to GO Line

Sheppard Eastbound GO Line to Markham Rd

Sheppard Eastbound Markham Rd to Meadowvale Rd

I thought the line could be extended to Port Union Station in this section, but density poor.
Sheppard Eastbound Meadowvale to Lake
 
If it's not, then its a great display of idiocy.

In markham, an underpass of this rail line was built just a few years ago at Enterprise Drive. Single track bridge. :mad:
 
kettal said:
If it's not, then its a great display of idiocy.

In markham, an underpass of this rail line was built just a few years ago at Enterprise Drive. Single track bridge. :mad:
Click to expand...

IIRC the Enterprise Drive bridge is actually wide enough for two tracks... I'll try and get a snap for you. :)
 
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