[Racer_77]

You might say, well, that creates an extra cost of opening up and operating the station itself. To which I would say, (a) that's a completely different argument, and (b) yes, that's the point, I'm suggesting putting the stations into use ahead of time, partly because it may force the TTC to work a little harder in getting the LRT finished,

To clarify, responsibility and operation of all parts of the Crosstown are still under control of the Crosslinx construction team (except for train operations as of last week). The TTC has no real input over what happens in those parts of the stations until the project is formally handed over. Even if they wanted that to change, the construction contract is with Metrolinx, and Crosslinx previously had issues with the TTC getting too involved.

If anybody, it would be Metrolinx opting not to request this in a contract amendment because they're hoping the nightmare will be over soon.

We can tell that they sort of realize this, because from last spring up to the end of last year, they were running the escalators full time, day and night, at all the new stations, as though the stations were ready to open in a week or so. It was sort of the right idea, if they had applied it to something else, but at the same time, it was an absurd thing to do.

I've gone through Eglinton Station and walked by Laird a couple times this week, and they're still running the escalators. Seems like they're working on them too, the Eglinton ones at Line 1 platform level have gotten less squeaky in the past few weeks.

 

[smallspy]

One would think that immediately after opening, there would be a short-term overage of buses which are no longer needed for 32/34 service.

That isn't the case. Basically all of the service on the various Eglinton routes will be reallocated to other services. There is only going to be a very small net reduction in service hours.

This is why the TTC had to run all sorts of extra service earlier this year - they had hired additional drivers for all of the service that is to be operated but weren't able to allocate the crews to the LRT side as yet.

Not trying to disagree so much as clarify...

I was trying to be careful to suggest a minimal change that would not put a strain on bus services, if that's what we're talking about. How about if we limit the idea to diverting the end of any bus route from a current postiton of a bus stop on the street that's right next to a new station, to a bus bay in the station, so this would be no significant change to the route. Not talking about changing the whole system to what it will be in future when the LRT opens, just doing a few routes here and there where it makes virtually no difference.

To a degree, they're already doing that - a lot of stops have already been moved to their final locations.

As for the stations themselves, that's much more problematic. In many cases a long detour is required to access them from the route (look at Caledonia Station, for instance), which means that substantial additional running time is needed. One of the reasons for the reallocation of service is to help account for this additional running time, meaning that the headways at worst will stay the same as they are today. Doing what you are suggesting without the additional service means that the headways on the route will have to be worse for at least that board period.

You might say, well, that creates an extra cost of opening up and operating the station itself. To which I would say, (a) that's a completely different argument, and (b) yes, that's the point, I'm suggesting putting the stations into use ahead of time, partly because it may force the TTC to work a little harder in getting the LRT finished, and partly to phase in the opening by not trying to do everything at once on LRT opening day.

The TTC is not the one holding things up here. "Forcing" them to do what you suggest is actually going to be detrimental to the people using the service.

I do realize I'm beating the ol' dead horse, because I'm making a suggestion that would have made more sense to do years ago.

I don't think that it's an inherently bad idea at all. But I also think that you are not necessarily aware of all of the moving parts here, nor of the repercussions of the actions that you are suggesting.

At the same time, when I see that the stations STILL aren't ready to open, because finishing touches are missing, it almost looks as though the TTC finds the whole project so daunting, that they can't bring themselves to finish up the things that they CAN finish now. We can tell that they sort of realize this, because from last spring up to the end of last year, they were running the escalators full time, day and night, at all the new stations, as though the stations were ready to open in a week or so. It was sort of the right idea, if they had applied it to something else, but at the same time, it was an absurd thing to do.

You seem to be under the mistaken understanding that the TTC has anything to do with the stations. They don't. They are getting handed all of the infrastructure when it's done - it's not on them to do any of the remaining work, that's on Crosslinx, the contractor.

Once the TTC is handed the proverbial keys, they could open the stations up immediately if they wanted to.

Dan

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

That isn't the case. Basically all of the service on the various Eglinton routes will be reallocated to other services. There is only going to be a very small net reduction in service hours.

This is why the TTC had to run all sorts of extra service earlier this year - they had hired additional drivers for all of the service that is to be operated but weren't able to allocate the crews to the LRT side as yet.


To a degree, they're already doing that - a lot of stops have already been moved to their final locations.

As for the stations themselves, that's much more problematic. In many cases a long detour is required to access them from the route (look at Caledonia Station, for instance), which means that substantial additional running time is needed. One of the reasons for the reallocation of service is to help account for this additional running time, meaning that the headways at worst will stay the same as they are today. Doing what you are suggesting without the additional service means that the headways on the route will have to be worse for at least that board period.


The TTC is not the one holding things up here. "Forcing" them to do what you suggest is actually going to be detrimental to the people using the service.


I don't think that it's an inherently bad idea at all. But I also think that you are not necessarily aware of all of the moving parts here, nor of the repercussions of the actions that you are suggesting.


You seem to be under the mistaken understanding that the TTC has anything to do with the stations. They don't. They are getting handed all of the infrastructure when it's done - it's not on them to do any of the remaining work, that's on Crosslinx, the contractor.

Once the TTC is handed the proverbial keys, they could open the stations up immediately if they wanted to.

Dan

A big detour I'm aware of are the buses using Mt. Dennis Station

A 89 WESTON or 989 WESTON EXPRESS bus has to go along Eglinton Avenue West, Keelesdale Road, Photography Drive before getting to its northbound or southbound bus bay, and then returning. Not so good for passengers who do not want to transfer to Line 5. So we can expect people getting off at a corner at Eglinton & Weston to walk across the intersection to get on another bus to continue their trip. I can expect to see them getting on the same bus to continue their trip because of a poor headway between buses on the same route.

Ditto for the 935 JANE EXPRESS or 35 JANE/27 JANE SOUTH bus.

 

[ThenWhat]

Adil Shamji, MPP, is proposing a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
Petition to demand action and accountability on the Eglinton LRT.
The text is available from his office. I expect it will be on his web site some time soon.

 

[TwoWheelPoli]

Adil Shamji, MPP, is proposing a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
Petition to demand action and accountability on the Eglinton LRT.
The text is available from his office. I expect it will be on his web site some time soon.

Which will likely get voted down since Shamji is a Liberal.

 

[Voltz]

Which will likely get voted down since Shamji is a Liberal.

They can blame themselves for the intentional delays they put into the construction schedule, and P3 fiasco

 

[Steve X]

A big detour I'm aware of are the buses using Mt. Dennis StationView attachment 662317
A 89 WESTON or 989 WESTON EXPRESS bus has to go along Eglinton Avenue West, Keelesdale Road, Photography Drive before getting to its northbound or southbound bus bay, and then returning. Not so good for passengers who do not want to transfer to Line 5. So we can expect people getting off at a corner at Eglinton & Weston to walk across the intersection to get on another bus to continue their trip. I can expect to see them getting on the same bus to continue their trip because of a poor headway between buses on the same route.

Ditto for the 935 JANE EXPRESS or 35 JANE/27 JANE SOUTH bus.

This is always a problem with new transit hubs. They want all the buses to be in one place and expect the majority to benefit from it.

For many routes like the 32 eastbound, it'll be faster to get at Weston and walk in the station than to way for it to loop through the terminal. It's probably a longer walk from the terminal too. As with the 32 westbound and 89, you'll likely catch the bus you missed by a minute if you went to the stop at the intersection.

The 935 won't serve this station. If you are coming from downtown and taking the 35, 89 and 989, you'll probably use line 5 instead of line 2 to avoid these excessive looping time. If you want to take a bus from Eglinton/Jane to Eglinton/Keele, your 10 minute ride will double to 20 minutes. That's what happen when Kennedy Station opened in 1980, taking the 34 from Eglinton/Midland to Eglinton/Birchmount went from 10 minute to 20-25 min.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

This is always a problem with new transit hubs. They want all the buses to be in one place and expect the majority to benefit from it.

For many routes like the 32 eastbound, it'll be faster to get at Weston and walk in the station than to way for it to loop through the terminal. It's probably a longer walk from the terminal too. As with the 32 westbound and 89, you'll likely catch the bus you missed by a minute if you went to the stop at the intersection.

The 935 won't serve this station. If you are coming from downtown and taking the 35, 89 and 989, you'll probably use line 5 instead of line 2 to avoid these excessive looping time. If you want to take a bus from Eglinton/Jane to Eglinton/Keele, your 10 minute ride will double to 20 minutes. That's what happen when Kennedy Station opened in 1980, taking the 34 from Eglinton/Midland to Eglinton/Birchmount went from 10 minute to 20-25 min.

Would like to see the definite, carved in concrete, "alleged" bus route routing for all the bus routes that would terminate and/or serve the Line 5 stations. The routing can still change before whenever Line 5 opens. With "Don Valley Station" instead of "Science Centre Station" for example to indicate it is up-to-date.

 

[cplchanb]

They can blame themselves for the intentional delays they put into the construction schedule, and P3 fiasco

What does it mean "action and accountability".... seems like performative politicking as usual

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

This image is from 2023 at the Mount Dennis Station. Wonder what changes will be made before Line 5 opens.

 

[Allandale25]

Which will likely get voted down since Shamji is a Liberal.

I think petitions are just introduced into the record. Not voted on.

Petitions

Visit the Petitions page at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

www.ola.org

The government then has 24 sessional days to respond.

Petitions and responses subject index | Legislative Assembly of Ontario

www.ola.org

 

[ThenWhat]

I think petitions are just introduced into the record. Not voted on.

Petitions

Visit the Petitions page at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

www.ola.org

The government then has 24 sessional days to respond.

Petitions and responses subject index | Legislative Assembly of Ontario

www.ola.org

No doubt the government will just blow off the Eglinton LRT petition, but it will still have more impact than complaining in an online forum. And more so if many people sign it.

 

[A 6264]

Would like to see the definite, carved in concrete, "alleged" bus route routing for all the bus routes that would terminate and/or serve the Line 5 stations. The routing can still change before whenever Line 5 opens. With "Don Valley Station" instead of "Science Centre Station" for example to indicate it is up-to-date.
View attachment 662448

That map is not just dated because of station names. The northeast corner of Don Mills and Eglinton will be under contruction for years, and there is no way buses are going to be able to turn into the station from Don Mills, because that is where the new station is to be built. There is a big outdoor park of bus platforms being built right now, south of the existing (but not yet open) station, where there are bus platforms that will probably not be used until the Ontario Line is done. As I understand it, buses will only be able to enter and exit the area via the small side street to the east. All bus routes will have to be diverted to that little street. So this map isn't taking into account the construction of the Ontario Line at all.

Still, it may be a useful map, 10 years from now.

 

[A 6264]

No doubt the government will just blow off the Eglinton LRT petition, but it will still have more impact than complaining in an online forum. And more so if many people sign it.

I agree. First, I'd really like to see internal memos and such about reasons for the 5+ year delay, and see if they're anything like what we've been told. (Oh wait, we haven't been told anything, I mean to say different to what we've been speculating.) I'd also like to see the report the government commissioned that led to the closing of the Science Centre, since so many people have said they don't think it really recommended that it be closed. And I'd love to see the contracts for Ontario Place, and see if they match what we've been told. And what decisions were really made about the greenbelt. The Ontario government is as opaque as can be, and possibly run on secret deals that we might know nothing about, as far as we know. So to the person who said that a call for accountability is all political and something only Liberal members would petition for, WELL OF COURSE, it has to be a Liberal (or any party other than Conservative) MPP challenging them, but that doesn't negate the need for transparency. (And no, I don't call myself a liberal, I've always tried to see all sides and be as centrist and unbiased as possible. Signing the petition isn't a liberal thing, it's a vigilant citizen thing, anyone can do it.)

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

This is always a problem with new transit hubs. They want all the buses to be in one place and expect the majority to benefit from it.

For many routes like the 32 eastbound, it'll be faster to get at Weston and walk in the station than to way for it to loop through the terminal. It's probably a longer walk from the terminal too. As with the 32 westbound and 89, you'll likely catch the bus you missed by a minute if you went to the stop at the intersection.

The 935 won't serve this station. If you are coming from downtown and taking the 35, 89 and 989, you'll probably use line 5 instead of line 2 to avoid these excessive looping time. If you want to take a bus from Eglinton/Jane to Eglinton/Keele, your 10 minute ride will double to 20 minutes. That's what happen when Kennedy Station opened in 1980, taking the 34 from Eglinton/Midland to Eglinton/Birchmount went from 10 minute to 20-25 min.

Someone had better change whoever put up this bus stop at the southwest corner of Eglinton Avenue West & Weston Road, then. Image taken TODAY, on June 29, 2025.

Shows the 27 JANE SOUTH, 32 EGLINTON WEST, 35 JANE, 73 ROYAL YORK (73B ROYAL YORK via La Rose & Emmett), 935 JANE EXPRESS, and 334 EGLINTON NIGHT. That's why we need to see the "official", up-to-date bus route changes.