[Jac.]

I wonder how many of the people that trot out this bullshit argument actually use the line they are condemning for being built as the wrong form of transit?

I have no idea how anyone can look at the overcrowded, traffic logged buses that were running on Eglinton and think that those were preferable to a vehicle that has infinitely higher capacity and its own lanes to boot, just because it's not the proper form of transit, whatever the hell that means. Thank Christ we don't have people like you making decisions on what gets built.

Just because the previous situation was demonstrably bad, doesn't mean people aren't allowed to point out the flaws of what succeeded it. And also you don't really need to live in area or actually use the line to know which form of transportation should have replaced it, ridership data etc all shows that the Eglinton corridor, specifically on the eastern portion would have greatly benefited from being underground as opposed to its current configuration, or better yet had the whole line as a subway to begin with. But all is said and done at this point, and all we can do about it is improve what we have currently and maybe sometimes think about what life could have been had the people in charge of the project made the right decisions, I'm just not a fan of this idea of "hey you don't use the line, don't criticize it" as it shuns out a lot of valid points that even people in the neighbourhood who use the shiny new toy have to come to grips with.

 

[turini2]

Have really enjoyed seeing all the opening day festivities from the UK - and all your thoughts and observations. Not often that 19 kilometres of new rapid transit opens!
I do wish the orange colour was used a little less ... sparingly - some of those plain walls could have been livened up by some occasional flashes, strips or stripes of colour.

(Of course, in a perfect world, I want more public art)

 

[T3G]

Just because the previous situation was demonstrably bad, doesn't mean people aren't allowed to point out the flaws of what succeeded it. And also you don't really need to live in area or actually use the line to know which form of transportation should have replaced it, ridership data etc all shows that the Eglinton corridor, specifically on the eastern portion would have greatly benefited from being underground as opposed to it's current configuration, or better yet had the whole line as a subway to begin with. But all is said and done at this point, and all we can do about it is improve what we have currently and maybe sometimes think about what life could have been had the people in charge of the project made the right decisions, I'm just not a fan of this idea of "hey you don't use the line, don't criticize it" as it shuns out a lot of valid points that even people in the neighbourhood who use the shiny new toy have to come to grips with.

Ah, but declaring on behalf of the line's users that actually, buses were enough for them until such time as a full subway was feasible is quite a bit more than merely criticizing the line.

 

[PL1]

Incidentally, Google Maps does not show the updated bus routes. For instance, it shows the 56A for me this morning. I filed an report with them.

Transit app is fine

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Looking forward to hearing testimonies of the commute this morning.

 

[PL1]

Train was 2/3 full WB from Laird at 7:54

 

[hawc]

Is Eglinton Station on the Yonge/University Line 1 going to be able to handle the extra volume that will be dumped on it from people transferring over from Line 5? Isn't it already pretty crowded? Or was that all from bus routes, that will now simply be LRT passengers so no real change?

 

[EllaW]

Is Eglinton Station on the Yonge/University Line 1 going to be able to handle the extra volume that will be dumped on it from people transferring over from Line 5? Isn't it already pretty crowded? Or was that all from bus routes, that will now simply be LRT passengers so no real change?

I’ll be surprised if there is any change. How many people living along Eg who work downtown near line 1 would have been driving and parking downtown and now switch to transit? I think basically almost all the riders switching to line 1 were already taking the bus there to do the same commute. The real change will come when they build more housing along Eg, and it attracts people who have a downtown commute and are looking for where they can live to do that commute easily without a car.

 

[PL1]

Is Eglinton Station on the Yonge/University Line 1 going to be able to handle the extra volume that will be dumped on it from people transferring over from Line 5? Isn't it already pretty crowded? Or was that all from bus routes, that will now simply be LRT passengers so no real change?

It'll be interesting to see if there's any immediate increase traffic. I rather suspect a large part of the previous bus traffic will now be LRT.

 

[Bojaxs]

I wonder how many of the people that trot out this bullshit argument actually use the line they are condemning for being built as the wrong form of transit?

I have no idea how anyone can look at the overcrowded, traffic logged buses that were running on Eglinton and think that those were preferable to a vehicle that has infinitely higher capacity and its own lanes to boot, just because it's not the proper form of transit, whatever the hell that means. Thank Christ we don't have people like you making decisions on what gets built.

You complain about the over crowded buses that used to run along Eglinton, and yet the line is already showing signs of capacity issues.

Something that wouldn't had been an issue had we constructed a subway instead.

So yes, you may not want to hear it, but wrong form of transit was built along Eglinton.

 

[PL1]

One immediate issue I see is there is zero wayfinding as to which exit you are going towards, at least at Laird and Leaside stations.

Laird has different set stairs from the platform to each of the two exits. At Leaside the corridors to each exit go from the mezzanine. There LED map at Leaside outside the fare gates does show which building you are going to, but it should be obvious from the fare-paid side.

Laird station platform: to secondary (East) exit, then primary.

 

[T3G]

You complain about the over crowded buses that used to run along Eglinton, and yet the line is already showing signs of capacity issues.

Something that wouldn't had been an issue had we constructed a subway instead.

So yes, you may not want to hear it, but wrong form of transit was built along Eglinton.

Well, no, we don't know that, because we have no idea what percentage of the ridership yesterday were people who were only riding the line to check it out. The coming weeks are what will demonstrate whether there are latent capacity issues present or not.

And like I said before, criticize all you want, but there is a MAJOR difference between doing so, and outright declaring that, because the line's design is not to your liking, that we shouldn't have bothered to build it in the first place and that buses would have been fine until we could afford to bury it along its entire length. In most if not all circumstances, the line is going to be a significant improvement over what came before, whatever shortcomings it has. These criticisms are letting perfect be the enemy of good and if this line or thinking were applied to literally any other area of life, no one, anywhere, would do anything, for any reason, since perfection is unattainable.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/1qzu3pf

Here’s a video of the Flexity Freedom vehicles going 80km/h in the tunnel during service yesterday.

 

[nightstreak]

To answer my questions about bus route changes, of course Steve Munro has an article. The Eglinton 34 bus will remain but only every 20 minutes (expected to be reduced to half hour later this year) and many other routes along Line 5 will change.

TTC Service Changes Effective February 8, 2026

The TTC has not yet issued its detailed memo listing the operating designs for bus service changes effective February 8, 2026. When it is available, I will update this article with all of the usual…

stevemunro.ca

 

[crs1026]

Here’s a video of the Flexity Freedom vehicles going 80km/h in the tunnel during service yesterday.

While riding yesterday I noticed trams that were being driven by white hard-hatted types in hi vis vests with the operator standing behind them watching. Not sure what that was about.

- Paul