[nfitz]

Finch will be fine with BRT.

Except that there is no plan to build BRT on Finch West. All the city has promised is an "an enhanced bus service". Expect something more like the existing 199 Finch Rocket that runs from Yonge to Scarborough Centre with no new infrastructure, other than perhaps a paved shoulder at an intersection here and there, and transit priority traffic lights, similar to that they already use at some other intersections.

 

[gweed123]

Finch will be fine with BRT.

However, Malvern and Sheppard are dead.

Out of all of the above the one that concerns me the most is Malvern, not Sheppard or Finch.

I would hope that between now and the time construction on the SRT replacement actually begins, more funds will have surfaced to complete the SRT extension to Malvern.

 

[Mike in TO]

Map:

 

[Eug]

Except that there is no plan to build BRT on Finch West. All the city has promised is an "an enhanced bus service". Expect something more like the existing 199 Finch Rocket that runs from Yonge to Scarborough Centre with no new infrastructure, other than perhaps a paved shoulder at an intersection here and there, and transit priority traffic lights, similar to that they already use at some other intersections.

Good point. Noted.

 

[lafard]

But now Finch, Sheppard and Malvern are the losers, all because of Fords fear of surface rail tranist.

It could be worse. That's what we're reduced to.

I think there is a bit of space for optimism here. With Eglinton out of the way, the remaining LRTs can be built for relative pocket change by a transit-friendly future government. The balance of Transit City can be resurrected for a relative pittance compared to what we've spent on Eglinton now.

Sheppard too, has been taken care of. Either it gets built or it doesn't, but this is probably its last hurrah and we can stop spending so much time and money angsting over it. If Ford gets it built, great, if he fails then that's it, we can finally write it off as an expensive mistake and move forward as a city.

I think that once Ont. takes care of its deficit, and the political pendulum swings back left in a couple years, things are lookign bright. I wouldn't be surprised if we did end up building Finch, Malvern and the Airport extension of Eg before the buried part opens.

 

[gweed123]

To add to what I said earlier about extending the SRT, Steve Munro seems to echo a similar thought process: "All that said, by the time they get to actually building the outer parts of the line, they may reactivate the extension of the SRT further north and that gets you into range of the proposed new RT yard east of McCowan."

 

[Solid Snake]

Except that there is no plan to build BRT on Finch West. All the city has promised is an "an enhanced bus service". Expect something more like the existing 199 Finch Rocket that runs from Yonge to Scarborough Centre with no new infrastructure, other than perhaps a paved shoulder at an intersection here and there, and transit priority traffic lights, similar to that they already use at some other intersections.

There's not even an Express branch on Finch West. Adding lots of 36E is a good way to start. Add HOV line and you will have drastically improve service on Finch...Until a Post Rob Ford mayor brings it back on the table

 

[nfitz]

There's not even an Express branch on Finch West. Adding lots of 36E is a good way to start. Add HOV line and you will have drastically improve service on Finch...Until a Post Rob Ford mayor brings it back on the table

There's no money for an HOV lane. An express bus would help many routes ... but is a real kick in the balls for those that were promised much more.

Another broken McGuinty transit promise.

 

[gweed123]

There's no money for an HOV lane. An express bus would help many routes ... but is a real kick in the balls for those that were promised much more.

Another broken McGuinty transit promise.

To be fair, McGuinty really had to walk a tightrope with this one though. Had to balance a bunch of different interests, and come out with something that could still stand on its own two feet, but that contained something for everybody. Personally, I think his solution to Sheppard is genius. Give Ford his own little sandbox to fool around in, which Metrolinx continues on.

With the Sheppard subway, either way McGuinty wins. If it fails miserably, he can say "we didn't think it was a good idea from the beginning. THAT'S Conservative's policies for you". If he somehow pulls it off, not only does Toronto get a subway, but he can spin in that he helped get it off the ground. And in the short term, he can be seen as playing nice with Ford.

 

[nfitz]

Metrolinx got everything it always wanted from before they made the deal with Miller. They always wanted Eglinton as grade-separated. They never wanted to be involved with the other LRT lines. And they had no interest in extending the SRT east of Scarborough Centre. Miller strong-armed them into Sheppard East, Finch, and the SRT extension to Malvern.

Metrolinx basically got Ford to give into the the original position Metrolinx wanted all along, have Toronto pay for the cancellations, AND take on Presto.

Ford doesn't seem to have gotten a single concession from the Province. If Nick Kouvalis negotiated this, as was rumoured, he has to be the worst negotiator ever! McGuinty must be laughing himself silly.

 

[Thoughtless Miscreant]

Okay so the press release described the combined Eglinton-Scarborough Line as having "up to 26 stops". I think that means we can probably guess the new station list: Black Creek, Keele, Caledonia, Dufferin, Oakwood, Eglinton West, Bathurst, Chaplin, Avenue, Eglinton-Yonge, Mt Pleasant, Bayview, Laird, Leslie, Don Mills, Wynford, Bermondsey, Victoria Park, Pharmacy, Warden, Birchmount, Kennedy, Lawrence East, Ellesmere, Midland, and Scarborough Centre.

If that is the case then I'm very pleased with the stop spacing. Slightly wider than what you'd find on most of Bloor, but still reasonable. My only concern is the "up to". I wouldn't say any of those stations are really expendable.

 

[Eug]

Okay so the press release described the combined Eglinton-Scarborough Line as having "up to 26 stops". I think that means we can probably guess the new station list: Black Creek, Keele, Caledonia, Dufferin, Oakwood, Eglinton West, Bathurst, Chaplin, Avenue, Eglinton-Yonge, Mt Pleasant, Bayview, Laird, Leslie, Don Mills, Wynford, Bermondsey, Victoria Park, Pharmacy, Warden, Birchmount, Kennedy, Lawrence East, Ellesmere, Midland, and Scarborough Centre.

If that is the case then I'm very pleased with the stop spacing. Slightly wider than what you'd find on most of Bloor, but still reasonable. My only concern is the "up to". I wouldn't say any of those stations are really expendable.

To put that into perspective:

Sorry for the giant pic

 

[ssiguy2]

Well there a couple of things I have a problem with.........
First, I still don't understand the logic of building an LRT. Seeing Eglinton/STC is going to be one continuous route {which is an excellent idea and get's rid of Miller's TC fixation on making as many transfers as humanely possible} I still don't see why it's not SkyTrain. Seeing the whole line will be underground weather is not a problem and all they have to do is put on the cheap heating mechanisms on the original line. Expand the the stations and save the money and disruption of transferring STC to LRT. SkyTrain is faster than LRT and has higher frequency capacity and has better incline/decline abilities of either Metro or LRT as well as tighter turn radiuses. The idea that it's proprietary is a none issue as everyone here knows that any federal or provincial funds for any LRT or Metro cars for the next 100 years will go to Bombardier regardless. The SkyTrain yards and command centre are already there unlike the LRT trains which will require a new yard due to not having the same gauge as the new legacy streetcars.
Second. tunneling from Kennedy to Don Mills is a complete waste of precious transit dollars. Is there a fear the elevated track will destroy the oh so bohemian Golden Mile? The Golden Mile is an industrial and commercial area and will never change from that but that's fine. Commercial and industrial areas are just as much a part of the urban fabric as is Yorkville.

All that said, just build the damn thing with shovels in the ground {real ones not ceremonial kind} this year. By doing this it also means that Toronto could put it's large voting bloc as a negotiating tool in the current election. There is no better time to get federal dollars than during an election......any potential government may not want to say yes to funding but are far to afraid to say no.

 

[ssiguy2]

Well there a couple of things I have a problem with.........
First, I still don't understand the logic of building an LRT. Seeing Eglinton/STC is going to be one continuous route {which is an excellent idea and get's rid of Miller's TC fixation on making as many transfers as humanely possible} I still don't see why it's not SkyTrain. Seeing the whole line will be underground weather is not a problem and all they have to do is put on the cheap heating mechanisms on the original line. Expand the the stations and save the money and disruption of transferring STC to LRT. SkyTrain is faster than LRT and has higher frequency capacity and has better incline/decline abilities of either Metro or LRT as well as tighter turn radiuses. The idea that it's proprietary is a none issue as everyone here knows that any federal or provincial funds for any LRT or Metro cars for the next 100 years will go to Bombardier regardless. The SkyTrain yards and command centre are already there unlike the LRT trains which will require a new yard due to not having the same gauge as the new legacy streetcars.
Second. tunneling from Kennedy to Don Mills is a complete waste of precious transit dollars. Is there a fear the elevated track will destroy the oh so bohemian Golden Mile? The Golden Mile is an industrial and commercial area and will never change from that but that's fine. Commercial and industrial areas are just as much a part of the urban fabric as is Yorkville.

All that said, just build the damn thing with shovels in the ground {real ones not ceremonial kind} this year. By doing this it also means that Toronto could put it's large voting bloc as a negotiating tool in the current election. There is no better time to get federal dollars than during an election......any potential government may not want to say yes to funding but are far to afraid to say no.

 

[Thoughtless Miscreant]

Second. tunneling from Kennedy to Don Mills is a complete waste of precious transit dollars. Is there a fear the elevated track will destroy the oh so bohemian Golden Mile? The Golden Mile is an industrial and commercial area and will never change from that but that's fine. Commercial and industrial areas are just as much a part of the urban fabric as is Yorkville.

Rob Ford wants transit underground so transit goes underground. You're wasting your time looking for any kind of logic besides that.