[Standard]

I was there too, and I think this is a huge exaggeration! There were a handful of irate people, including the guy who ranted about impending high-rise condos to every official he could find, and there were plenty of people with reasonable concerns and questions, but on the whole I don't think the mood was overly negative. (At least no more than you'd expect from this kind of gathering, which will naturally attract people who have things to get off their chest.) It seemed more supportive than an Eglinton LRT info session that I attended in the same location around 2 years ago.

when it takes joe m more then 30 mins just to get into the main room because a instant line up of complainers are coming to ask him whose responsible for this mess i consider it over the top. also when i notice karen stknz taking about the same amount of time answering similar questions i again think the overall feel is negative. im sure there were silent supporters but when i said to joe in front of a group of people that i didnt mind if they closed the allen, i thought both joe and i were going ti be stoned. repeatedly a man with converse kept saying he was calling his lawyer. another lady with a classic loui votton bag was complakning how life is short and she doesnt even want 5 years of construction let alone 10, and then there was at least 10 or so men whose big deal was how to get onto the allen. id like to note i oberheard slme guy say on his commute home he drives north of eglknton on bathurst, turns behind the donut shop, and then turns lnto eglinton to avoid making a left hand turn. the fact that the donut shop would no longer be there was going to ruin his commute. i have been to many transit meetinga. most meetings are people frustrated things are taking so ling, but jn the end the people wanted transit. these people on the other hqnd didnt want any thkng ti change and didnt care for the lrt at all. eglinton was suppose to stay 2 floor struggling retail forever.

Unfortunately there is not much you can do. These types of groups exist everywhere, there was one for St. Clair, and another for Sheppard. These people don't want things to change because they like it the way it is. We live in a democracy and everyone is entitled to their own opinions, unfortunately it is these people that politicians pander to when they want to make a point again transit.

All you can do is hope that the majority of people still support the LRT and that this anti-LRT group doesn't get powerful enough to delay things or change it significantly.

As an aside, any idea when details about the station design and any presentation videos or slides will be posted? Thanks.

 

[nfitz]

Sigh ...

These folks complain about the problems the subway construction under Eglinton will cause. I'm sure they'd complain about the construction from surface LRT and the mess that would create when driving. And I bet they complain about the traffic on Eglinton (which will only get worse in the next 10-20 years if nothing is done).

Ironically, when all this is over, the drivers will benefit most, as surely there'll be more people using the subway under Eglinton ... and far less buses on Eglinton to avoid. Though they'll probably complain about all the pedestrians coming out of stations and making it difficult for them to turn the corner in their cars ...

 

[Inkarnate]

Sigh ...

These folks complain about the problems the subway construction under Eglinton will cause. I'm sure they'd complain about the construction from surface LRT and the mess that would create when driving. And I bet they complain about the traffic on Eglinton (which will only get worse in the next 10-20 years if nothing is done).

Ironically, when all this is over, the drivers will benefit most, as surely there'll be more people using the subway under Eglinton ... and far less buses on Eglinton to avoid. Though they'll probably complain about all the pedestrians coming out of stations and making it difficult for them to turn the corner in their cars ...

This is true on so many levels. People are never happy with anything...

 

[sixrings]

joe m was also talking about the possibility to eliminate the bus terminal at eglinton west. he basically said there were three busses that went into the station, eglintin, marlee, and oakwood. he thought the oakwood and marlee busses could be re routed.

 

[k10ery]

the meeting was suppose to be a design open house for the bathurst station since it was the station furthest along at 10%. truthfully i dont see how too many transit oriented people are going to move in the area. the area is simply to expensive. if anyone can afford to live here they can afford to own a car and usually a pretty good one. instead the transit supporters i suspect will be moving in west of eglinton west with dufferin being the big site for being redeveloped.

Even if no condos get build at Eglinton and Bathurst, the existing houses are going to appreciate 10-20K when the line is built. They will gradually be bought by people willing to pay a premium for good transit, and some of the car folks will gradually sell out and move on. Those people aren't attending a meeting 10 years in advance. (Some of them are teenagers.)

 

[sixrings]

Even if no condos get build at Eglinton and Bathurst, the existing houses are going to appreciate 10-20K when the line is built. They will gradually be bought by people willing to pay a premium for good transit, and some of the car folks will gradually sell out and move on. Those people aren't attending a meeting 10 years in advance. (Some of them are teenagers.)

The average house price is 750k+...........an extra 10-20k is not going to be benefitial to anyone in the area... 100k and maybe theyd be interested.

 

[k10ery]

joe m was also talking about the possibility to eliminate the bus terminal at eglinton west. he basically said there were three busses that went into the station, eglintin, marlee, and oakwood. he thought the oakwood and marlee busses could be re routed.

Is it technically possible to build a condo tower on top of an existing subway station?

 

[JoeParez]

joe m was also talking about the possibility to eliminate the bus terminal at eglinton west. he basically said there were three busses that went into the station, eglintin, marlee, and oakwood. he thought the oakwood and marlee busses could be re routed.

Ossington?

 

[Rainforest]

the meeting was suppose to be a design open house for the bathurst station since it was the station furthest along at 10%. truthfully i dont see how too many transit oriented people are going to move in the area. the area is simply to expensive. if anyone can afford to live here they can afford to own a car and usually a pretty good one.

1) The area has some rental units, and surprisingly the rent is not very high.

2) Even those who can afford a house and a car, but work downtown, will likely prefer to take transit. Driving in that area during the peak hours is a pain.

 

[sixrings]

the rent might be cheap for some of the apartment units but the majority of the area is detached houses who do prefer to drive. This is not a area full of CHOICE TTC users. Even though it may be a pain the people in the area are generally older (45+) and are car dependant or car oriented. West of Eglinton West things are completely different but east of the station it feels like the people using transit are high school students to young to drive, people who work on eglinton itself or nannys. Again this is completely different then west of the station. The meeting last night was almost exclusively a 40+ crowd and I would say more likely a 50+ crowd. I am 32 and my wife is 24 and we are by far one of the youngest couples in the area in a actual house.

 

[rbt]

... I would say more likely a 50+ crowd. I am 32 and my wife is 24 and we are by far one of the youngest couples in the area in a actual house.

Can't blame someone who is 50 to 60 for being angry. They will deal with a difficult commute for 10 years, then retire. I can blame them for being selfish enough to want to stop it though.

Thankfully, this group will tend to become more significantly liberal at 65 to 70* making them some of the most vocal in the cheering group when it is complete.

* See Democrat versus Republical demographics over the last 40 years. Tendencies at given age groups tend to remain pretty constant even as the actual people in that age group changes.

 

[vz64]

The Crosstown site posted a presentation on Bathurst station: bathurst-station-preliminary-design. I hope NIMBYsm will not kill intensification of this area (as happened around Glencairn station).

 

[sixrings]

Ill never understand NIMBYism when things are not so good... SO I basically understand NIMBYism in places like Yorkville where everything has been good the last 20 years. But this area has numerous FOR LEASE signs and stores that open and close after mere months of being open. This area needs a change. I would suggest that its biggest flaw is that the allen puts so many cars on this stretch of Eglinton it becomes not friendly for pedestrians. This area needs more life and I think that the condos will be good for the area. Similar to how ST. Clair is being redeveloped.

 

[sixrings]

I wonder if NIMBYism will prevail and Chaplain will be removed from the LRT map... Truthfully I would think a station at Jane or Weston would be more important then Chaplain.

 

[Rainforest]

the rent might be cheap for some of the apartment units but the majority of the area is detached houses who do prefer to drive. This is not a area full of CHOICE TTC users. Even though it may be a pain the people in the area are generally older (45+) and are car dependant or car oriented. West of Eglinton West things are completely different but east of the station it feels like the people using transit are high school students to young to drive, people who work on eglinton itself or nannys. Again this is completely different then west of the station. The meeting last night was almost exclusively a 40+ crowd and I would say more likely a 50+ crowd. I am 32 and my wife is 24 and we are by far one of the youngest couples in the area in a actual house.

You might be correct that transit patronage will be higher west of Eglinton West. However, quite a few people board buses in the Eglinton / Bathurst area, too; and I expect that number to be even larger when LRT is in service.

It does not matter if they are high school students or nannies, total ridership is what counts.