TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[muller877]

How long until the electric buses come into service anyways? I’m eager to ride them.

Electric motors have instant torque, which should mean faster acceleration and a less sluggish ride

I've ridden in one. Surreal is probably the best way to describe it. So quiet. And without the gearbox shifting it becomes less jerk-y so you are not hanging on for dear life. It was in heavy traffic so I don't know how fast it could accelerate.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I've ridden in one. Surreal is probably the best way to describe it. So quiet. And without the gearbox shifting it becomes less jerk-y so you are not hanging on for dear life. It was in heavy traffic so I don't know how fast it could accelerate.

Great to hear that. What city did you ride it in?

 

[amnesiajune]

Not sure if this has been discussed, but I think some of the short term, immediate relief recommendations are quite realistic...

https://www.thestar.com/amp/opinion/star-columnists/2018/02/05/subway-crowding-at-crisis-level.html

The idea is great if you don't think about it too much, but the problem is that Go Trains are already full when the TTC has its capacity issues (and you can tell that Edward Keenan has no clue about this, probably because he's never taken one during rush hour). It would just cause a second set of crowing issues on Go Trains and at Union Station, and Bloor-Yonge would likely be just as crowded because (A) the number of people taking Go Trains would be a few hundred per hour (Bloor-Yonge has 10,000+ users per hour during rush hour), and (B) some others would take up the space that those few hundred free up.

For this to work, Go Transit would need to add lots of additional trains, which is also going to take 5-10 years. Once there are trains running at TTC bus-like frequencies, and every major street (except Ellesmere) has a stop, then it becomes a viable relief valve for Yonge.

With the DRL coming, I don't see much of a point in investing hundreds of millions in expanding Bloor-Yonge Station. Any investments should be on cheaper, intermediate measures to manage the situation until the Relief Line is operational.

Even with the full DRL built, Bloor-Yonge would still probably be near capacity at rush hour. That's the wonderful nature of induced demand.

 

[dowlingm]

Could build a new southbound tunnel - under Yonge. Two platforms that join western end of existing Line 2 Yonge Platform. Very little impact to existing service. If you are willing to put up with cut-and-cover, could even do it above Line 2.

Given that I believe some "mini PATH" connections are planned at Yonge-Bloor I think it's more likely that such a line would have to go under, not over, Line 2. Constructing a platform at that depth would be challenging indeed. Similar issues would be found further south. It also increases overall load on the Yonge corridor and Yonge-Bloor for things like exits and power issues.

Doubling down on Yonge Street or Yonge-Bloor doesn't help us.

 

[muller877]

Great to hear that. What city did you ride it in?

In Shenzhen

 

[Leo_Chan]

Something that I was thinking about that would make a lot more sense was a different location for Museum Station. Currently, Museum Station is the last (or second last) stop of the University Line (before changing into Spadina) right before interchanging with Line 2 at St George Station. What I think should have been done, is to have Museum Station be an Avenue Station on Line 2, since there is a noticeable gap between Bay and St George Stations. The current "Museum Station" could also have been built, but rather it be called Charles Station.

Something amazing (at least I think so) that would be a result of an Museum (Avenue) Station of Line 2 is that there would then be the possibility of 4 interchange stations with Line 1: Spadina, St George, Museum, and Bloor-Yonge. Which could potentially spread out the load of people switching lines . It still doesn't completely reduce the Bloor-Yonge overcrowding, but still helps.

In addition to the different location of Museum Station, Queens Park Station makes no sense. There should really be a station north of the current station at Wellesley St, since that's actually in Queens Park (insert Downsview Park joke here). So the current "Queens Park Station" at College St could be called Hospital Station or something else that is not Queens Park.

Just one more thing I wanted to add, if you really wanted to be crazy for a fantasy "what if" scenario. What if instead of the University Line "ending" at St George Station, it went diagonally underneath the University of Toronto St George Campus from University & College to Spadina & Bloor. Then there can be one or two subway stations right in the heart of the University of Toronto, allowing for much better access. Then my previous ideas of better connections with Line 2 and the improved "Queens Park Station" would be irrelevant.

I just wanted to share these "ideas" I had, even if they never did or will happen.

 

[amnesiajune]

What I think should have been done, is to have Museum Station be an Avenue Station on Line 2, since there is a noticeable gap between Bay and St George Stations.

Not really. St George has an entrance one block west of Avenue, and Bay has an entrance one block east. The stations are named after certain streets but they stretch in different directions - Yonge goes east, Bay goes west, St. George goes east and Spadina goes west.

 

[Leo_Chan]

Not really. St George has an entrance one block west of Avenue, and Bay has an entrance one block east. The stations are named after certain streets but they stretch in different directions - Yonge goes east, Bay goes west, St. George goes east and Spadina goes west.

Yeah, I was thinking it would be too close, considering Google maps says they're only 750 metres apart. It would be good, but the spacing would be too close for subway, even for upper downtown.
What do you think of my other (great) ideas?

 

[amnesiajune]

Complaining about station names is a favourite past-time here (and I have my fair share of complaints), but I don't see any good reason to change the names of existing stations (except a case like Downsview Park where it would actually have been very confusing).

If there is a service change that makes any sense to me, it's to split the existing two subway lines into three - Vaughan - Spadina, Kennedy - St. George and Finch - Kipling, just because it doesn't require any major construction. But even that change is questionable - will the passengers diverted from Bloor-Yonge make up for the people who move from Spadina to Yonge to avoid the transfer?

 

[Leo_Chan]

Complaining about station names is a favourite past-time here (and I have my fair share of complaints), but I don't see any good reason to change the names of existing stations (except a case like Downsview Park where it would actually have been very confusing).

If there is a service change that makes any sense to me, it's to split the existing two subway lines into three - Vaughan - Spadina, Kennedy - St. George and Finch - Kipling, just because it doesn't require any major construction. But even that change is questionable - will the passengers diverted from Bloor-Yonge make up for the people who move from Spadina to Yonge to avoid the transfer?

I never said to implement any of this now, I’m just suggesting ways it could have been implemented.

 

[Streety McCarface]

If there is a service change that makes any sense to me, it's to split the existing two subway lines into three - Vaughan - Spadina, Kennedy - St. George and Finch - Kipling, just because it doesn't require any major construction. But even that change is questionable - will the passengers diverted from Bloor-Yonge make up for the people who move from Spadina to Yonge to avoid the transfer?

Too many people take the Bloor Danforth line between Kipling and Kennedy without transferring to and from the Yonge line for this to be logical. If they built the University line further south to per say Harbourfront centre, they could split the Yonge and University Spadina lines in an area that makes sense because of the proximity to one another.

 

[aquateam]

Something that I was thinking about that would make a lot more sense was a different location for Museum Station. Currently, Museum Station is the last (or second last) stop of the University Line (before changing into Spadina) right before interchanging with Line 2 at St George Station. What I think should have been done, is to have Museum Station be an Avenue Station on Line 2, since there is a noticeable gap between Bay and St George Stations. The current "Museum Station" could also have been built, but rather it be called Charles Station.

Something amazing (at least I think so) that would be a result of an Museum (Avenue) Station of Line 2 is that there would then be the possibility of 4 interchange stations with Line 1: Spadina, St George, Museum, and Bloor-Yonge. Which could potentially spread out the load of people switching lines . It still doesn't completely reduce the Bloor-Yonge overcrowding, but still helps.

In addition to the different location of Museum Station, Queens Park Station makes no sense. There should really be a station north of the current station at Wellesley St, since that's actually in Queens Park (insert Downsview Park joke here). So the current "Queens Park Station" at College St could be called Hospital Station or something else that is not Queens Park.

Just one more thing I wanted to add, if you really wanted to be crazy for a fantasy "what if" scenario. What if instead of the University Line "ending" at St George Station, it went diagonally underneath the University of Toronto St George Campus from University & College to Spadina & Bloor. Then there can be one or two subway stations right in the heart of the University of Toronto, allowing for much better access. Then my previous ideas of better connections with Line 2 and the improved "Queens Park Station" would be irrelevant.

I just wanted to share these "ideas" I had, even if they never did or will happen.

I don't have any quibble with the naming of the University line stations (Museum station is next to the ROM, the Ontario Parliament buildings (called "Queen's Park" are a stones throw from the subway entrance, and actually would have an underground connection if it weren't for security reasons.) Going diagonally through U of T would have been amazing, I always found it frustrating how I would either have to walk to the edge of campus to Queen's Park station or catch the Spadina streetcar on the other end to get to Line 2.

Museum station, I always thought was dumb since it's so close to Bloor street and the Bedford entrance of St. George. It always made more sense to walk to St. George and not transfer than to go to Museum. So if it were aligned further west, smack dab in the middle of campus (say at Wilcox and St. George), that would have been absolutely perfect. It could connect directly into Sidney Smith and Lash Miller, and you could travel through the steam tunnels through most of campus without going outside in the winter. Or it could be a bit further north at Harbord and connect to Robarts.

 

[Richard White]

The signs on the side of the T1 trains are operational.

 

[Leo_Chan]

The signs on the side of the T1 trains are operational.View attachment 134586

It would make more sense if it was just

2 - Kipling

 

[Streety McCarface]

The signs on the side of the T1 trains are operational.View attachment 134586

I feel like it would have been cooler if they had the roundal on the side of the train instead of a simple LED panel. Oh well.