[howl]

I think the real question is why couldn't this be tendered as smaller projects to speed up the process and allow for a staged opening of segments as they are completed? Is cost really the only thing holding that back? If so, would you know how significant the cost difference would be?

Ie. The portion from Black Creek to Eglinton West could have been phase 1, Eglinton West to Yonge, or right to Leslie as phase 2, and the surface portion as phase 3.

And would the savings in staff (bus drivers), diesel, and equipment make up for the increase in cost to get phase 1 opened sooner? Surely the city and TTC would save quite a bit of money by no longer having to run buses along Eglinton West if that portion were to open sooner. Also factor in the cost of gridlock, lost ridership from construction delays, lost business, etc.

I believe the Keele to Oakwood section of the tunnel will be turned over to Crosslinx sooner than the Eglinton West to Brentcliffe section, however it doesn't make sense to operate the LRT to Oakwood and then have everyone transfer to buses to get to Eglinton West. Eglinton West will be one of the last stations to be built since it is the west end of the Allen to Yonge tunnel and will need to be under the controlled of the tunnel contractor until the TBM's reach Yonge.

 

[Voltz]

When the line was first funded, the plan was to open the first phase next year, from Eglinton West to Kipling.

Then the funding was pushed back, delaying everything to when the last phase was planned to be done, also the western section was cancelled.

Going for a P3 model probably contributed to delays as well, since they have to tender everything out at once, not individual sections as they become ready.

 

[M II A II R II K]

I take it that there'll be an all day bus service running above the tunneled sections, especially given the distances between some of the stations.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

I take it that there'll be an all day bus service running above the tunneled sections, especially given the distances between some of the stations.

The distances between the underground stations on Eglinton Avenue are about the same distances as on Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. There is no "local" bus service on Bloor & Danforth, when the subway is running.

Would like to see a "local" bus service on Eglinton, especially since we can assume that the escalators and elevators will be out-of-service at times for maintenance (see link for planned maintenance), and the buses would then be able to provide accessibility at all times. However, if they do, they had better provide 10 minute headway or better service. The 97 Yonge bus, that parallels the Line 1 on Yonge Street, has headways of between 15 to 30 minutes. Not acceptable.

 

[corys]

I think the real question is why couldn't this be tendered as smaller projects to speed up the process and allow for a staged opening of segments as they are completed? Is cost really the only thing holding that back? If so, would you know how significant the cost difference would be?

I wouldn't imagine tendering it separately would work well. It's much easier to have one consortium develop the whole thing to avoid conflicts, confusion, errors, etc. Also less mobilization costs and overhead.

Also, I worked in the Crosslinx Transit Solutions consortium before tender closed, so I saw quite a bit of how it worked. A large portion of the score for the tender was the architectural consistency between stations along the line. Metrolinx wants the whole line to feel continuous and have a similar feel, while maintaining distinct character at each station. You can't have that continuity if a different architect is working on each segment.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I wouldn't imagine tendering it separately would work well. It's much easier to have one consortium develop the whole thing to avoid conflicts, confusion, errors, etc. Also less mobilization costs and overhead.

Also, I worked in the Crosslinx Transit Solutions consortium before tender closed, so I saw quite a bit of how it worked. A large portion of the score for the tender was the architectural consistency between stations along the line. Metrolinx wants the whole line to feel continuous and have a similar feel, while maintaining distinct character at each station. You can't have that continuity if a different architect is working on each segment.

Any idea what kinds of consistency we'll be seeing? Is it more akin to the identical designs we see on most of the Line 2 and Sheppard stations, or will there be lots of variation in artwork like on Yonge Line.

 

[corys]

Much more similar to the Yonge line. The constant theme across the stations will be things like signage, finish materials, the architectural style, and wayfinding.

 

[barit]

The McDonald's at Bayview and Eglinton is now closed.

 

[Mr_Praline]

The McDonald's at Bayview and Eglinton is now closed.

/pours out small Orange Drink

 

[innsertnamehere]

Nooooo... lol. I went to that McDonald's only once, the parking garage was neat. Didn't even park in it, parked in the surface lot up top, but it was neat.

 

[ksun]

The McDonald's at Bayview and Eglinton is now closed.

The suburban nature of Bayview and Eglinton is gross, considering it is a good location. Large parking lots in front of the retail with huge setback. Completely car dominated.

 

[innsertnamehere]

To be fair the McDons went right to the street. 2 of the four corners of the intersection have buildings and retail going right to the sidewalk, its just the north side thats pretty bad. (well, the McDons wasn't the best, but it wasn't horrid either)

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Nooooo... lol. I went to that McDonald's only once, the parking garage was neat. Didn't even park in it, parked in the surface lot up top, but it was neat.

I used to support the ECLRT, but seeing that I won't be able to get my McFlurries any more, I'm thinking that I may have to withdraw my support

 

[Inkarnate]

Forget the McFlurries, where will I get my morning hash browns now?! Curse you, ECLRT!

 

[Ozman]

I used to support the ECLRT, but seeing that I won't be able to get my McFlurries any more, I'm thinking that I may have to withdraw my support

Wait, it gets worse. Mr. Sub at Laird and Eglinton is closing today! I'll be going for a final assorted soon. I was there for the first day in '81, and I'll drop in on the last day, today. I must have eaten 1000 subs there over the years. Between Mr. Sub and McDonald's at Bayview a lot of late night snacks; memories. Oh well, onward and upward.

What's a North Leasider like me supposed to do for fast food now? End of an era but I'm excited the Eglinton Crosstown is moving forward. Now if we can just get them to stop the coffee truck from honking so loud at the East TBM launch site. Sounds like he's in my driveway - not 200m away.