kkgg7
Banned
While I agree that distant suburbs need better downtowns, people still need to get between those downtowns and Toronto (in both directions). In the case of Mississauga and Brampton these should be served by the GO network not the subway network. On routes with no rail corridors that can be expanded, subway expansion may be needed, such as Eglinton/Sheppard for east west suburb to suburb travel and to relieve the 401, Yonge north to Highway 7 which goes through fairly urban areas (remember that Richmond Hill is useless for people going anywhere but Union) etc. I do not agree that we should neglect transit expansion in the suburbs in favor of that in the city because (a) many "suburbs" of Toronto are pretty urban now (like North York Centre) and (b) housing is costly in this city, condos suitable for families are hard to find and expensive so people may need to commute.
I am not say suburbs don't need subways, it is just of low priority, both because the low density and a means to discourage them from living that far.
I don't think a Sheppard line will relieve anything on 401... most people up there have cars (I suppose) and parking is almost always free. Why don't I just drive there and park wherever I want to be, but walk 5-10 minutes to the station, go down, board the train, get to the place, go up the stairs, and probably walk another 10 minutes to my destination, especially when it is cold outside? Plus, it costs $5 bucks both way. No, it seldom makes sense to have subway from one suburb and another. If you look at the chicago subway map, each lines goes through LOOP and there is a reason for that.
The only reason for such a subway is because it passes the Yonge line which goes south to downtown. The problem is we don't want to put further pressure on this particular line. In my opinion, Toronto needs another non-straight South-North line that goes to Yonge/Dundas or financial district, so that more people closer to downtown (for example, St Clair and Dufferin, East York, Laird/Eglinton) will be able to take advantage of it, not all those people living as far as Finch/sheppard st (hopefully they will move).
In all, subway should be built to discourage spawl, not to encourage it.