The Great Canadian Transit Thread - Page 472

TorontoDrew · #**9421** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 2:39 PM**

The new alignment isn't under Gerrard Square but under the No Frills Plaza. That's actually a great place for it because that plaza sits on a massive plot of land and has huge potential for future density.

And sorry just had to post this Gallery I saw on Dundas yesterday.
Posted on: https://incluseum.files.wordpress.com

Innsertnamehere · #**9422** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 2:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Pape is also a narrow residential street. The station construction would be awful for owners. I do prefer the station alignment under Gerrard Square but, why wouldn't they build a tunnel to replace the overhead crossing anyways?

Metrolinx has identified the pedestrian bridge as needing replacement or heavy modification for RER anyway, its too low for electrification.

jigglysquishy · #**9423** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 2:47 PM**

I hope this is the final alignment and construction can start soon.

TorontoDrew · #**9424** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 2:53 PM**

We will be lucky if shovels would hit the ground anytime before 2027.

Innsertnamehere · #**9425** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:19 PM**

^be a bit more optimistic than that. 2026-2027 is more so the expected completion date if you ask me.

Right now all the studies should be done by the end of 2018. If funding comes forth by then, it could probably move towards construction in 2019 or 2020, with opening 6-7 years later.

There is a big push on it right now as the province really wants to build the Yonge line extension, but they need the DRL to do that. So I suspect we will see one gigantic $10 billion announcement to build both at once at some time in the future.

jigglysquishy · #**9426** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:30 PM**

I suspect the announcement will happen leading up to the 2019 federal election.

There's 50 seats in the Toronto and Oshawa CMAs. There's a huge political advantage to announcing funding then.

TorontoDrew · #**9427** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

^be a bit more optimistic than that. 2026-2027 is more so the expected completion date if you ask me.

Right now all the studies should be done by the end of 2018. If funding comes forth by then, it could probably move towards construction in 2019 or 2020, with opening 6-7 years later.

There is a big push on it right now as the province really wants to build the Yonge line extension, but they need the DRL to do that. So I suspect we will see one gigantic $10 billion announcement to build both at once at some time in the future.

I hope you're right, all it will take is Doug Ford to rally the stupid to cancel a DRL for more suburban subway stops like his brother did with Smart Track.

niwell · #**9428** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:47 PM**

The big question in my mind is what will happen with the 2018 Ontario election, even if the Liberals announced funding beforehand. At this point I honestly don't have any clue what the outcome will be, but both the PCs and NDP have pretty awful track records with transit in Toronto. This will probably have changed a bit by now, but it's a project that could be spun as a "Toronto elite" thing quite easily. I'd be less worried about any of the suburban 905 projects to be honest.

The City could always find a way to push ahead with tunneling portions of the project and hope for Federal funding however.

swimmer_spe · #**9429** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

The big question in my mind is what will happen with the 2018 Ontario election, even if the Liberals announced funding beforehand. At this point I honestly don't have any clue what the outcome will be, but both the PCs and NDP have pretty awful track records with transit in Toronto. This will probably have changed a bit by now, but it's a project that could be spun as a "Toronto elite" thing quite easily. I'd be less worried about any of the suburban 905 projects to be honest.

The City could always find a way to push ahead with tunneling portions of the project and hope for Federal funding however.

Politicians are not stupid. They are a lot of things, but stupid they are not. All parties will have the DRL in their platform.

kwoldtimer · #**9430** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

The big question in my mind is what will happen with the 2018 Ontario election, even if the Liberals announced funding beforehand. At this point I honestly don't have any clue what the outcome will be, but both the PCs and NDP have pretty awful track records with transit in Toronto. This will probably have changed a bit by now, but it's a project that could be spun as a "Toronto elite" thing quite easily. I'd be less worried about any of the suburban 905 projects to be honest.

The City could always find a way to push ahead with tunneling portions of the project and hope for Federal funding however.

Other than his opposition to DVP tolls, has Patrick Brown gone on record with any views related to transit in Toronto?

Innsertnamehere · #**9431** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

The big question in my mind is what will happen with the 2018 Ontario election, even if the Liberals announced funding beforehand. At this point I honestly don't have any clue what the outcome will be, but both the PCs and NDP have pretty awful track records with transit in Toronto. This will probably have changed a bit by now, but it's a project that could be spun as a "Toronto elite" thing quite easily. I'd be less worried about any of the suburban 905 projects to be honest.

The City could always find a way to push ahead with tunneling portions of the project and hope for Federal funding however.

If you remember 2014, the DRL was the centrepiece of the conservative transit plan. Hudak wanted to dump all the LRTs and divert the funding the DRL.

The conservatives like subways, so they like the DRL.

The 2014 conservative transit plan was GO AD2W (said that the Liberal RER scheme was too expensive, would instead introduce hourly frequencies only with no electrification), the Scarborough Subway, the DRL, and the Yonge Line extension. Eglinton was too far along to be cancelled so it would have stayed, but Finch and Sheppard would have been cancelled and we would never have seen the Hamilton or Hurontario LRTs move forward.

From what I recall, the NDP transit plan was very sparse. Not a lot of details.

niwell · #**9432** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 3:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Other than his opposition to DVP tolls, has Patrick Brown gone on record with any views related to transit in Toronto?

I don't believe so - which is why I have some hope that they PC party won't do the usual pandering to rural Ontario that will vote for them 100% of the time anyways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Politicians are not stupid. They are a lot of things, but stupid they are not. All parties will have the DRL in their platform.

Maybe. The DRL could still prove to be quite unpopular with suburban voters who see it as pandering to central Toronto which already has "great transit". An opinion I heard in person far too many times.

TorontoDrew · #**9433** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 4:16 PM**

There really needs to be legislation in place that says infrastructure and spending is based solely on expert advice on what they deem to be the most urgent investments needed. Without that in place we run the risk at every election of losing out on transit that is most needed just so politicians can win votes. We've seen it happen way too many times in Toronto.

The Lower Queen Street station is a stark reminder of this.
source:http://farm1.static.flickr.com

Innsertnamehere · #**9434** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 4:20 PM**

believe it or not, politics has always been a part of transit planning.. Even in the 1940's for the queen street subway.

The queen subway was cancelled since the war delayed the subway project because of steel shortages, raising costs. The original budget ended up only managing to build the yonge line, instead of both the yonge line and the Queen Street streetcar subway.

I'm happy it didn't happen back then to be honest. The plan was for a streetcar tunnel only, which would be inadequate today, and it was to be trenched in the east and west ends of downtown like the yonge line is North of Bloor. wouldn't have been the most urbanism freindly and would have demolished good chunks of land next to the core.

MalcolmTucker · #**9435** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 4:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

There really needs to be legislation in place that says infrastructure and spending is based solely on expert advice on what they deem to be the most urgent investments needed. Without that in place we run the risk at every election of losing out on transit that is most needed just so politicians can win votes. We've seen it happen way too many times in Toronto.

The Lower Queen Street station is a stark reminder of this.
source:http://farm1.static.flickr.com

Nah. Now, you can require evidence to be public when decisions are made, or that certain evidence exist and be made public before decisions are made, but I prefer to live in a democracy you know?

WhipperSnapper · #**9436** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 6:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Metrolinx has identified the pedestrian bridge as needing replacement or heavy modification for RER anyway, its too low for electrification.

Too low? Never would have thought that. It's a lot of switchbacks to go like 10 metres.

WhipperSnapper · #**9437** Posted **Apr 11, 2017, 6:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

And sorry just had to post this Gallery I saw on Dundas yesterday.
Posted on: https://incluseum.files.wordpress.com

Sucks. No money there.

caltrane74 · #**9438** Posted **Apr 15, 2017, 3:11 AM**

The peeps in Kitchener-Waterloo got to look at their new trains

• Video Link

nephersir7 · #**9439** Posted **Apr 20, 2017, 8:43 PM**

The people have spoken

After Lévis pulled out, Quebec City has killed its BRT network project, which would have been 90% funded by the province and the feds.

There is no replacement project.

Laceoflight · #**9440** Posted **Apr 20, 2017, 9:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nephersir7

There is no replacement project.

Québec (the city) is so hopeless sometimes...

A simple tram line (or light rail) from the head of the bridges in Sainte-Foy, to D'Estimauville, would do wonders to the public transit there. The streets are wide enough. Sometimes, I just don't get it... I guess.