The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[Chadillaccc]

That would be interesting. If they could turn the corridor between the two into a mixed-use street, I don't see the harm in trolleys. A better option might be that if population, office, and retail density in the area ever gets high enough, just turn the street into a pedestrian mall except for the intersection of Macleod, in which case they could just deck over Macleod possibly. I wish they would just build two 6 level parkades, one behind the Scotiabank Theatre, and the other behind Nordstrom and be done with it, give the rest of the surface parking over to park land or possibly an expansion of the mall into a semi-outdoor high-street concept.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

That would be interesting. If they could turn the corridor between the two into a mixed-use street, I don't see the harm in trolleys. A better option might be that if population, office, and retail density in the area ever gets high enough, just turn the street into a pedestrian mall except for the intersection of Macleod, in which case they could just deck over Macleod possibly. I wish they would just build two 6 level parkades, one behind the Scotiabank Theatre, and the other behind Nordstrom and be done with it, give the rest of the surface parking over to park land or possibly an expansion of the mall into a semi-outdoor high-street concept.

Lots of good ideas! It'll be fun to see that area develop.

[franktko]

Just read on STM's site that the new Azure metro should be making some runs this autumn during the night. I'm sure will see some footage eventually...

Bientôt…
Un train prototype de neuf voitures devrait être livré à l’automne 2013. Il sera essayé la nuit sur une ligne du réseau du métro.

http://www.stm.info/fr/a-propos/grands-projets/metro-azur

[Chadillaccc]

A sad day for Canada and transit enthusiasts. A Via Rail train collided with an OC Transpo double decker bus this morning, killing multiple people and injuring over a dozen. All fatalities were riding the bus. So terrible.

Full story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/via...llision-causes-multiple-deaths-1.1858868

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Allan83

There has been some talk about trolleys and gondolas to bring people from the C-Train to the main part of the mall as well, but as the mall keeps expanding it may not be long until the mall itself crosses over McLeod and starts advancing on the CTrain station.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Chinook+Centre+expansion+plan+inches+closer/8714766/story.html

Mall crossing McLeod?

That's like 8-9 lanes of traffic. Not going to happen.

What will happen is the mall will expand to McLeod and the lots east of McLeod will be built out making the walk pleasant and possible creating some type of path/+15 connection. That is a LONG way down the road though as there have been tentative plans to develop those lots and little apatite from end users.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Mall crossing McLeod?

That's like 8-9 lanes of traffic. Not going to happen.

What will happen is the mall will expand to McLeod and the lots east of McLeod will be built out making the walk pleasant and possible creating some type of path/+15 connection. That is a LONG way down the road though as there have been tentative plans to develop those lots and little apatite from end users.

I’m not following your point. The next expansion, which I believe has already been approved by the city planning commission, will fill in the parking lot right up to McLeod Trail.
http://www.retail-insider.com/2013/06/calgarys-chinook-centre-to-expand-again.html

I think it only makes sense that the next step would be to bridge McLeod somehow, either over or under, both to improve access from the LRT and to open up a new area to expand into. Whether that development will be part of Chinook Mall proper I don’t know, but I think there is clearly a need for more and better ways cross McLeod in that area.

[LeftCoaster]

I'm well aware of the expansion plans at Chinook...

There are no plans to ever bridge the mall over McLeod and I can't see that ever being feasible short of a path/+15 style connection.

[Chadillaccc]

A Path or +15 style connection might actually be preferable, especially if they decide to ramp up the density of the area plan. Although, The Core has several 3 - 5 storey crossings over main streets downtown, maybe eventually Chinook could do it too. Not the whole mall branching over, but just a large section (similar to the width of the ones of The Core), to connect with the future mixed-use building on the Southeast corner of Macleod. It's unlikely of course, but not impossible.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

I'm well aware of the expansion plans at Chinook...

There are no plans to ever bridge the mall over McLeod and I can't see that ever being feasible short of a path/+15 style connection.

Wonderful, but that doesn’t change that fact that there is a whole lot of foot traffic going between the LRT and the mall, and correspondingly there is a need for a better way to get them across McLeod. Whether that will be over or under I can’t say, but I think it’s a safe bet that there will be new ways to bridge that street in that area in the foreseeable future.

[MTLskyline]

Apparently the Government of Quebec will announce tomorrow its plan to extend the Blue line of the Montreal Metro eastward. I guess we'll see tomorrow what the specifics are.
http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/montre...e-bleue-du-metro-prolongee-vers-lest.php

[Martin Mtl]

About time. This should have been done before the Laval extension. Oh well, better late than never.

[MTLskyline]

Hmm... The Yellow line will also be discussed tomorrow.

http://www.lesaffaires.com/secteurs-d-ac...ligne-bleue-du-metro/561644#.UjuI5j_9Uw8

[Chadillaccc]

Someone a while ago asked if many of Calgary's LRT stations are as "substantial" as Crowfoot. I counted the number of large stations to over 3/4 of the system. Here is a good example. This is the station I take every day, Dalhousie Station, near the northern terminus of the 201 line. It is mid-aged, built over 10 years ago. It has more modern finishes, but it is an almost identical structure to almost every station on the Northeast Line, and just as large as the ones on the West and South lines.



Source: Me

Here's an exterior photo



Here is Brentwood Station too




and Crowfoot


Source: http://leblondpartnership.com/portfolio/civic-architecture





And the progress of the expansion on one of are very unsubstantial stations, Lions Park. From yesterday...

IMG_20130918_165059 by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

It is mid-aged, built over 10 years ago.

That's brand new by Toronto's standard. Our newest stations are 11 years old. (!!!)

[Chadillaccc]

You guys are getting some very nice new ones soon though. Our newest stations are less than 10 months. Basically half our system is ten years or less. Out of our 44 operational stations, 19 of them have been built or rebuilt since 2004. At least two more total rebuilds(that I know of [39th Avenue, Heritage]) are scheduled, and one new station(Tuscany) coming online.

[Rico Rommheim]

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

Hmm... The Yellow line will also be discussed tomorrow.

http://www.lesaffaires.com/secteurs-d-ac...ligne-bleue-du-metro/561644#.UjuI5j_9Uw8

Well I'll be damned, a new metro extension announcement... I guess they finally got sick of that Charter fall out...


5 New stations eastward on the blue line -> Cool!
Yellow line announcement -> I'm intrigued to see how ambitious that one will be (or not)

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

You guys are getting some very nice new ones soon though. Our newest stations are less than 10 months. Basically half our system is ten years or less. Out of our 44 operational stations, 19 of them have been built or rebuilt since 2004. At least two more total rebuilds(that I know of [39th Avenue, Heritage]) are scheduled, and one new station(Tuscany) coming online.

oops well if you are counting rebuilds we have some very new ones. Pape, which is literally 2 or 3 weeks old, Victoria Park as well is fairly new. And yes, we do have several new stations on the way. 6 on the Spadina extension, and 13 underground stations on the Eglinton LRT (though 2 of them are interchange stations and therefor expansions) Then there is either the 7 new Scarborough LRT, or 2 or 3 subway stops on the Scarborough subway. (depending on which one ends up happening) And of course there is probably the 30+ surface LRT stops coming.

[Chadillaccc]

Same for us. Though we don't know exactly how many stations will be underground, elevated, and on the surface of the 203 line. We only know the selected route for the SE section of it, not station format.

[WhipperSnapper]

GO has rebuilt a number of stations centred around massive parking garages.

[Innsertnamehere]

That's not metro rail though, and GOs stations on 5 of the 7 lines are nothing more than ashphalt platforms, a small station building to sell tickets, and a parking lot. Lakeshore stations involve large buildings, parking garages, and multiple platforms however, and deserve higher praise.