I'd like to know how you determined the location of DRL west anyways? I say using the Georgetown rail corridor is redundant, this will have high-frequency GO service in the near future. Why not have a DRL subway station at King-Roncesvalles intersection, which will become a major terminus for King, Long Branch, Roncesvalles, and Queen streetcars?
High frequency GO is not a substitute for a subway though. While it may be high frequency, the degree of connectivity it will offer to the adjacent neighbourhoods is virtually zero. Are they even planning to add in 1 stop between Bloor and Union? How will high-frequency GO service benefit Liberty Village at all (aside from a few rail-road intersections being grade-separated)?
The second aspect is the amount of transit-oriented redevelopment than can take place along the route. The route is lined with unused or underused industrial sites. The ability to have all of these potential redevelopment sites being within a couple minute walk, if not directly adjacent to, a subway stop would be a very big selling point. The amount of redevelopment and intensification that can occur along an alignment like using King or Queen pales in comparison.
And the DRL west is not intended replace any existing streetcar lines, only relieve them. These streetcar lines provide a level of local service that a subway can't match. And if it tried to, the station spacing would be so close together that it wouldn't be a faster alternative route at all.
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