Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
I wonder why we build subways in Scarborough and regional rail in Mississauga and Oakville then. 
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ehlow
Senior Member
I wonder why we build subways in Scarborough and regional rail in Mississauga and Oakville then.
They are building regional rail in Scarborough. They're going to start adding a 2nd track to the Stouffville line soon.
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Granted, but nonetheless we are not building subways out to Mississauga because they are inappropriate transit choices for that kind of geographical distance. Similarly, subways are inappropriate transit choices for the similar distance to Scarborough. STC is as far away from the downtown core as Square One.
As TigerMaster loves to repeat these days though, only 30% of Scarborough's trips are to the core, the rest are to within Scarborough or outside of Scarborough/Downtown.
What Scarborough needs is a combination of local and regional transit. It needs RER to serve trips to downtown, and frequent bus (or LRT) service on its arterial routes. Subways that serve medium distance commutes are a waste of money. We should double down on both, have SmartTrack branch to Scarborough Town Center and built the Scarborough East/Malvern LRT.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
It's actually less than 30%. It's only 17% to downtown.
This is why the SSE is so frustrating to me. I occasionally live in Scarborough, so I understand how useless SSE will be for improving commutes for most of Scarborough. We'll still be faced with 25 to 40 minute bus commutes to McCowan and with an additional 30 min trip on the subway to downtown. This is hardly an improvement from the status quo. Unless you live in western Scarborough near Scarborough Centre, the Scarborough Subway does little to improve your commute.
This is why I've been advocating to have the Scarborough Subway replaced with the Scarborough-Malvern LRT. It will provide a faster commutes to Kennedy Station than the current plan, and critically, will provide more reliable service. It will also greatly enhance travel within Scarborough, which is a more important priority than improving travel to downtown. To be walking distance from my LRT station, providing quick, comfortable and reliable access to virtually all the major destinations in Scarborough is incredibly compelling.
And of course, once SmartTrack and RER is operational, people like me will hardly ever use it to make the trip downtown. It just doesn't make any sense to use the subway when RER will be so much faster.
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JayBeeGooner
Active Member
Joe Mihevc sent this email to his constituents today regarding the TBM move. Metrolinx is going to set up bleachers for anyone who wants to watch the TBM's being moved. The move will take place on Saturday and Sunday mornings 2am to 5 am.
Here's the email I got:
March 14, 2015
Attention: Transit and Construction Watchers (and people who don't sleep at night!)
Watch history in the making this coming weekend as the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs), Dennis and Lea, are moved from one side of the Spadina subway line to the other at the Allen Expressway.
The tunnel boring machines have done their work digging from Black Creek Drive in the west to the western side of the Allen Expressway in the east. Because it is too risky an operation to have these machines dig directly under the existing subway at the Eglinton West Subway Station, the engineers have developed a plan to lift the 400 tonne (10 metre long and 6.5 metres high) TBMs from an extraction shaft on the west side of the Allen, mount them onto a heavy duty specialized tractor trailer, cart them eastward along Eglinton, and then lower them back into a "launch shaft" on the eastern side of the Allen Expressway. The next stage of the machines' journey will thus be prepared, allowing for the continued tunnelling eastward to Yonge St.
The lifting, transporting, and lowering of "Dennis and Lea" will be quite an amazing operation. Eglinton Avenue (from Marlee to Bathurst) and the Allen Expressway will be closed. The operation will take 3 hours for each TBM, and will occur in the middle of the night when there is no subway running.
Setup before the lift.jpgNow the fun part: I have been working with Metrolinx to arrange for bleachers to be set up on the south side of Eglinton Avenue at Everden Road. Folks are invited to watch this operation. If you are a transit or construction "geek" of any sort (as I have become), or if you simply want to witness this historic moment, you will want to come to this event. Metrolinx has arranged for everyone to have coffee and hot chocolate. You can bring the popcorn or other treats.
Time: Both Saturday and Sunday (one tunnel boring machine per day) from 2am to 5am
Place: The south side of Eglinton at the Allen Expressway.
Travel suggestion: Walk or come by bike as the area will be congested and there will be no subway service in the middle of the night. If you come by car, there are Green P parking lots at: Alameda and Eglinton, Glencedar and Eglinton (approach from the south), and Hilltop and Eglinton (approach from the north).
Bring a camera. I will be there both nights (yes, my family thinks I am crazy), live tweeting and taking pictures.
If you do not wish to stay up all night to watch the move, Metrolinx staff will be available during the following times to provide detailed responses to any curiosities you might have about the project plans and engineering, or answer more general questions about the Crosstown:
Saturday, April 18 from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 6pm.
Looking forward to seeing you in the wee hours!
Yours in transit geek solidarity,
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=bcab1443a96b8fd7f112b651a&id=1bca802cbd&e=c6008b1ca7
Here's the email I got:
March 14, 2015
Attention: Transit and Construction Watchers (and people who don't sleep at night!)
Watch history in the making this coming weekend as the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs), Dennis and Lea, are moved from one side of the Spadina subway line to the other at the Allen Expressway.
The tunnel boring machines have done their work digging from Black Creek Drive in the west to the western side of the Allen Expressway in the east. Because it is too risky an operation to have these machines dig directly under the existing subway at the Eglinton West Subway Station, the engineers have developed a plan to lift the 400 tonne (10 metre long and 6.5 metres high) TBMs from an extraction shaft on the west side of the Allen, mount them onto a heavy duty specialized tractor trailer, cart them eastward along Eglinton, and then lower them back into a "launch shaft" on the eastern side of the Allen Expressway. The next stage of the machines' journey will thus be prepared, allowing for the continued tunnelling eastward to Yonge St.
The lifting, transporting, and lowering of "Dennis and Lea" will be quite an amazing operation. Eglinton Avenue (from Marlee to Bathurst) and the Allen Expressway will be closed. The operation will take 3 hours for each TBM, and will occur in the middle of the night when there is no subway running.
Setup before the lift.jpgNow the fun part: I have been working with Metrolinx to arrange for bleachers to be set up on the south side of Eglinton Avenue at Everden Road. Folks are invited to watch this operation. If you are a transit or construction "geek" of any sort (as I have become), or if you simply want to witness this historic moment, you will want to come to this event. Metrolinx has arranged for everyone to have coffee and hot chocolate. You can bring the popcorn or other treats.
Time: Both Saturday and Sunday (one tunnel boring machine per day) from 2am to 5am
Place: The south side of Eglinton at the Allen Expressway.
Travel suggestion: Walk or come by bike as the area will be congested and there will be no subway service in the middle of the night. If you come by car, there are Green P parking lots at: Alameda and Eglinton, Glencedar and Eglinton (approach from the south), and Hilltop and Eglinton (approach from the north).
Bring a camera. I will be there both nights (yes, my family thinks I am crazy), live tweeting and taking pictures.
If you do not wish to stay up all night to watch the move, Metrolinx staff will be available during the following times to provide detailed responses to any curiosities you might have about the project plans and engineering, or answer more general questions about the Crosstown:
Saturday, April 18 from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 6pm.
Looking forward to seeing you in the wee hours!
Yours in transit geek solidarity,
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=bcab1443a96b8fd7f112b651a&id=1bca802cbd&e=c6008b1ca7
someMidTowner
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
We got a look inside the extraction shaft at Eglinton and Allen today. Check it out here: http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2015/04/crosstown-tbms-be-moved-elaborate-operation-starting-friday
Edward
Senior Member
Very cool!
Monarch Butterfly
Superstar
I guess this moving the Dennis & Lea would qualify it as:
THE BIG MOVE
THE BIG MOVE
Uncle Teddy
Senior Member
Good to see they are making an event of it. Excellent marketing.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
So is anyone going to see the extraction of the boring machines? I imagine it will be quite exciting to see the boring machines extracted after more then a year.
Yay for horrible puns!
Yay for horrible puns!
JayBeeGooner
Active Member
Going Sunday Morning. It's a 30 minute walk for me.
Monarch Butterfly
Superstar
Will there be a webcam (real-time) coverage of the Big Move?
kotsy
Senior Member
I'll be there for the Sunday morning move wearing glasses and a New York hat. Don't be shy if you see me!
Marcanadian
Moderator
I'm going tonight/tomorrow morning, but just an FYI for everyone, CTV News just said the actual raising of the TBM from the tunnel will end at around 11 pm. The TBM will then sit on a specialized truck until the subway closes, and then it will make its journey to the other side of the line.
JayBeeGooner
Active Member
Wait.. So the TBM will be raised AT 11pm? That's when Eglinton Ave closes.
*Sorry* Eglinton closes at 9.*
*Sorry* Eglinton closes at 9.*
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