Transit Fantasy Maps

[north-of-anything]

In the same vein as the Lawrence proposal, here's one that would be even more likely to be continuous:

Steeles BRT (aka Viva Red if we ever get some kind of fare integration between YRT and TTC)

West End
Highway 407 Terminal (connections with Line 1, YRT, GO)
Pioneer Village (connections with Line 1, YRT)
Keele Street
Alness Street/Viceroy Road
Dufferin Street
New Westminster Drive
Bathurst Street

This area is mostly low-density commercial and industrial properties. Between Alness/Viceroy and Dufferin, especially, is a medium stretch of strip malls and industrial buildings. Perhaps a few of the buildings next to Steeles Avenue could be redeveloped into mid-rises with commercial frontage, to provide a smoother transition into the apartment buildings next to the Don River West.

Thornhill
Bathurst Street
Cactus Avenue/Palm Gate Boulevard
Hilda Avenue
Yonge Street (connection with Line 1)
Henderson Avenue/Maxome Avenue (positioned to the west of the intersection)
Bayview Avenue (existing bus loop preserved for Bayview service)
Laureleaf Road
Leslie Street
Don Mills Road

This area has a large amount of established neighbourhoods and parklands, so not much development is possible except for at Bathurst, Hilda, and Yonge. Stops at Bayview and Leslie are expected to be predominantly used to transfer to/from north-south lines.

East End
Don Mills Road
Woodbine Avenue (positioned to the east of the intersection, also serving Victoria Park Avenue)
Pharmacy Avenue/Esna Park Drive
Warden Avenue
Birchmount Road (positioned to the east of the intersection)
Milliken GO

This area is a mix of low density residential and slightly higher density industrial. Not much redevelopment potential here, but it does hit some trip generators on the Markham side.

I imagine there being bus-only centre lanes for as much of this route as possible. I don't believe one can expect this route to solve the majority of Steeles' transit woes. YRT (or VIVA Red) operation should have a branch (or diverge completely) north at Warden to terminate in the under-construction downtown of Markham, connecting the proposed York U campus there to the main campus at Keele. TTC service would most likely continue east after Milliken along the current Steeles East route, and west along the curbside on Steeles instead of turning north at Jane.

 

[Rainforest]

Steeles BRT (aka Viva Red if we ever get some kind of fare integration between YRT and TTC)

One problem with Steeles BRT: Steeles has some tight sections, with only 4 lanes in total, and houses standing quite close to the traffic lanes.

One such section is between Bathurst and Hilda, another just east of Yonge, and if I remember correctly, there exists at least one 4-lane section further east.

Highrises on the north side of Steeles just east of Bathurst have been built fairly recently, and placed close to the road. No allowance to add the transit lanes. Maybe those transit lanes can still be squeezed in, but that' not obvious just looking at the street.

 

[Leo_Chan]

In the same vein as the Lawrence proposal, here's one that would be even more likely to be continuous:

Steeles BRT (aka Viva Red if we ever get some kind of fare integration between YRT and TTC)

West End
Highway 407 Terminal (connections with Line 1, YRT, GO)
Pioneer Village (connections with Line 1, YRT)
Keele Street
Alness Street/Viceroy Road
Dufferin Street
New Westminster Drive
Bathurst Street

This area is mostly low-density commercial and industrial properties. Between Alness/Viceroy and Dufferin, especially, is a medium stretch of strip malls and industrial buildings. Perhaps a few of the buildings next to Steeles Avenue could be redeveloped into mid-rises with commercial frontage, to provide a smoother transition into the apartment buildings next to the Don River West.

Thornhill
Bathurst Street
Cactus Avenue/Palm Gate Boulevard
Hilda Avenue
Yonge Street (connection with Line 1)
Henderson Avenue/Maxome Avenue (positioned to the west of the intersection)
Bayview Avenue (existing bus loop preserved for Bayview service)
Laureleaf Road
Leslie Street
Don Mills Road

This area has a large amount of established neighbourhoods and parklands, so not much development is possible except for at Bathurst, Hilda, and Yonge. Stops at Bayview and Leslie are expected to be predominantly used to transfer to/from north-south lines.

East End
Don Mills Road
Woodbine Avenue (positioned to the east of the intersection, also serving Victoria Park Avenue)
Pharmacy Avenue/Esna Park Drive
Warden Avenue
Birchmount Road (positioned to the east of the intersection)
Milliken GO

This area is a mix of low density residential and slightly higher density industrial. Not much redevelopment potential here, but it does hit some trip generators on the Markham side.

I imagine there being bus-only centre lanes for as much of this route as possible. I don't believe one can expect this route to solve the majority of Steeles' transit woes. YRT (or VIVA Red) operation should have a branch (or diverge completely) north at Warden to terminate in the under-construction downtown of Markham, connecting the proposed York U campus there to the main campus at Keele. TTC service would most likely continue east after Milliken along the current Steeles East route, and west along the curbside on Steeles instead of turning north at Jane.

Seems like a lack of GO connections:

Also, this should be discussed in the Steeles RT thread.

 

[Alexut]

One problem with Steeles BRT: Steeles has some tight sections, with only 4 lanes in total, and houses standing quite close to the traffic lanes.

One such section is between Bathurst and Hilda, another just east of Yonge, and if I remember correctly, there exists at least one 4-lane section further east.

Highrises on the north side of Steeles just east of Bathurst have been built fairly recently, and placed close to the road. No allowance to add the transit lanes. Maybe those transit lanes can still be squeezed in, but that' not obvious just looking at the street.

Bathurst to Hilda has a wide section of grass separating the sidewalk and the road on either side, with around 3m on the south side and 11m on the north, which I believe was left for specifically this purpose.

Yonge to Bayview is a different story. There's something like 2km of suburban single-family homes with driveways going directly onto Steeles and those would probably have to be expropriated for a project like this.

 

[Leo_Chan]

Bathurst to Hilda has a wide section of grass separating the sidewalk and the road on either side, with around 3m on the south side and 11m on the north, which I believe was left for specifically this purpose.

Yonge to Bayview is a different story. There's something like 2km of suburban single-family homes with driveways going directly onto Steeles and those would probably have to be expropriated for a project like this.

Or just run in mixed traffic.

 

[north-of-anything]

Seems like a lack of GO connections:
View attachment 177148

A connection to the Barrie Line would be nice, but it's right in the middle of a current GO station (York University) and a better location for a new station at Highway 7. The Richmond Hill Line at Steeles is flanked on both sides by single family home backyards, and also backs onto a golf course in the northeast. There wasn't much that could be done on the GO front besides the connections I already put down.

With regards to the section between Yonge and Bayview, I tried to load it in Google Street View to get a better look but it somehow crashed my computer so badly it logged me out. From what I did see, even if land could be expropriated from driveways and front lawns, it wouldn't be enough for bus lanes. That area would probably be one where mixed traffic is the only option. (Though the one house just east of Yonge that's currently home to a psychic can probably be bulldozed, but not for any bus lane-related reason.)

 

[M II A II R II K]

Could there be a feasibility of having platforms on the Union Station roof for to accommodate more services there, like in the old sketches of GO ALRT elevated above the building.

 

[micheal_can]

Could there be a feasibility of having platforms on the Union Station roof for to accommodate more services there, like in the old sketches of GO ALRT elevated above the building.

It is a heritage building. I doubt anyone would agree to that. However, going over the railway shed might be possible.

 

[north-of-anything]

I think there are cheaper ways for Union to accommodate more services, or at least ways that don't involve trains climbing up steep slopes to reach the top of the station.

 

[BurlOak]

I think there are cheaper ways for Union to accommodate more services, or at least ways that don't involve trains climbing up steep slopes to reach the top of the station.

Technically, an elevated station allows for deceleration while climbing into the station, and acceleration while leaving it. That's a good thing.

 

[micheal_can]

Technically, an elevated station allows for deceleration while climbing into the station, and acceleration while leaving it. That's a good thing.

Depends on the route. It may already be high enough that it might be at the height, or even higher than the station platform.

 

[M II A II R II K]

In the west there could be a Humber Line that goes from Humber College to Humber College with stops at Kipling, the Airport, the Racetrack.

 

[JSF-1]

In the west there could be a Humber Line that goes from Humber College to Humber College with stops at Kipling, the Airport, the Racetrack.

So the Etobicoke RT? That was a big idea during the late 70's; so big they even built a platform for it at Kipling. Unfortunately the SRT debacle put an end to the Etobicoke RT real quick and by extension Etobicoke's chances of actually developing into something more then a suburb. The SRT did wonders for Scarborough in it's now 30+ year operation, I can only imagine how Etobicoke would have changed had they gotten there RT.

 

[JSF-1]

Just as a addon this is atleast my rought approximation of what the Etobicoke RT would have been like using the little information we have on it. The only interesting bit was the idea of the line having 2 branches, one to Pearson and another to York U. The later likely being a hold over from the time when Metro was planning a "Northern Crosstown LRT" which was to run from Kipling to Kennedy via the Finch Hydro Corridor. I could imagine the Etobicoke RT's northern branch being built with an eastern extension in mind likely bringing the Etobicoke RT to Finch Station and possibly beyond into Scarborough. Building this line today would be a real struggle compared to back in the 70's when a alot the planned route was still mostly empty land.

 

[robmausser]

Just as a addon this is atleast my rought approximation of what the Etobicoke RT would have been like using the little information we have on it. The only interesting bit was the idea of the line having 2 branches, one to Pearson and another to York U. The later likely being a hold over from the time when Metro was planning a "Northern Crosstown LRT" which was to run from Kipling to Kennedy via the Finch Hydro Corridor. I could imagine the Etobicoke RT's northern branch being built with an eastern extension in mind likely bringing the Etobicoke RT to Finch Station and possibly beyond into Scarborough. Building this line today would be a real struggle compared to back in the 70's when a alot the planned route was still mostly empty land.
View attachment 189838

I still wish this would be built. Continuing east along Finch Hydro corridor.