The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by nephersir7

Montreal metro elevator retrofit plan for the next 4 years:

Montreal is moving really slowly on this one. Isn't Toronto planning full accessibility by 2023 or something like that?

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

From my experience from taking transit in the states, he isn't wrong. Only the poorest of the poor take it there.

Canada often has higher transit rates than many parts of Europe too, not just the US. For example, calgary has a higher transit modal share than any city in France other than Paris.

This. A lot of people don't realize that transit use rates in Europe aren't actually as high as they are thinking. In a lot of cities it's actually a high mode share for bikes and pedestrians that puts car use low, not high transit more share.

There are some exceptions, though. Vienna and Prague have extremely high transit ridership--something like 70% mode share in both cities. And interestingly, it's not necessarily rapid transit, either. Prague's metro system is actually rather small; it has fewer kilometres of track than Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal. It's the massive tram & bus networks that do the trick.

[hipster duck]

^I'd like to see country comparable stats on both the percent of non-work trips taken by different modes, as well as just the number of trips taken per capita.

The census only records trips taken to work. My impression is that Canadians probably use the car much more for errands than Europeans in cities with a "comparable" transit mode share. Canadian cities have pretty big CBDs with a large share of their workforce working there, but most of them live in suburban neighbourhoods where 100% of the retail and services is built around the car.

An example of what I mean would be a hypothetical Calgarian living in a suburban neighbourhood, taking the C-train to work downtown on the weekdays, but doing all their shopping at the nearest Costco or Smart Centre and driving their kids around to activities. While Calgary has the "same" transit ridership as Marseille, I think the average number of car trips in Calgary - and certainly the vehicle kilometers traveled - is considerably higher.

Anecdotally, I also think that Canadians probably take more trips in an average week than a lot of Europeans, who probably just "trip chain" their grocery shopping or errands when they come back from work, or buy a lot of stuff within walking distance of their homes.

[begratto]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Montreal is moving really slowly on this one. Isn't Toronto planning full accessibility by 2023 or something like that?

Montreal’s metro stations are usually much deeper than the ones in Toronto, so costs are higher.

[nephersir7]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Montreal is moving really slowly on this one. Isn't Toronto planning full accessibility by 2023 or something like that?

Montreal is moving just as fast, if not faster than Toronto.

Toronto started making stations accessible in 1996 and will reach full accessibility in 2025, nearly 30 years after.

Montreal only started making stations accessible in 2007 and the current city administration is aiming for full accessibility by 2030.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by PHrenetic

Good Day.

2 photos of uOttawa station from Mathieu Fleury Twitter feed :

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DsNgol6WsAA8_bl.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DsNgonnXcAAJUDp.jpg

EnJoy!

Originally Posted by sseguin

Two new Snapshot updates taken today.

Pimisi Station
and
Bayview Station

Pimisi

West entrance.



Aqueduct and pimisi (Algonquin word for eel) sculpture.







East entrance.



Tunnel portal.



Bayview





Next three show the Trillium Line platform below the Confederation.







West entrance.





Trillium Line train.



And from Twitter, Parliament Station entrances.

Central elevator entrance.


https://twitter.com/chrisrands/status/1063531998990471171

East entrance.


https://twitter.com/chrisrands/status/1063531615664701441

West entrance.


https://twitter.com/chrisrands/status/1063530283004305409

And video released by the City earlier last week. It had been posted on the LRT/RT Construction thread.

• Video Link

[ssiguy]

Seeing this is a totally grade separated line, why didn`t Ottawa just call it a Metro?

[Doady]

All the people saying that transit is useless in suburban Toronto will no doubt to very pleased to hear that the Hurontario LRT will probably be cancelled. Doug Ford's The Government for the People is following through on their promise to eliminate waste. A government that is actually staying true to its election platform, how refreshing.

[Chadillaccc]

Banff-Canmore's Bow Valley Regional Transit has seen a 16% year-over-year increase in ridership, with new routes coming online including service to Johnston Canyon and Lake Louise, with more service on the way. The initiative is aimed at creating greater linkages between the two pristine mountain cities, as well as reducing car usage between the two cities.

https://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2018-Q2-Ridership-APTA.pdf


https://www.thecragandcanyon.ca/news/loc...wcm/cc60d8ab-85bc-4a2d-8b74-2fa651d078c0



This news comes on the heels of the story back in July about a couple raising $300 million dollars towards the construction of a fixed rail link between Calgary and Banff. They estimate that this is about half of the money required. With the pull out of Greyhound from Western Canada, the construction of this fixed link is more realistic than ever, so here's hoping it goes through, it would be a boon for the entire Calgary Region.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/funds-secured-banff-passenger-rail-1.4744603



The below image is more of a fantasy by a proponent group of the project showing the fixed mountain link as part of a larger commuter rail system. Of course this routing does make perfect sense and would likely end up being reality eventually, if the rail is approved/built at all.


https://www.albertaregionalrail.com/calgary-commuter

[corynv]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Seeing this is a totally grade separated line, why didn`t Ottawa just call it a Metro?

At least at the start, we called it LRT over Metro because we weren't sure if future extensions would be separated. It was only when stage 2 was confirmed did we find out it was going to be 100% separated the whole way through, just never bothered changing the name really (besides moving the term "O-Train" to be the city's rail transit name than just the name of one specific line). Also there may still be plans for a Carling Streetcar, which wouldn't be a metro. Though it's possible that might be different once the next TMP comes out from the city.

Also currently Ottawa is making the O-Train a single mode, and if you look at the trillium line that is not a metro, so with Ottawa using it as a single mode, they wouldn't call it a metro either.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Doady

All the people saying that transit is useless in suburban Toronto will no doubt to very pleased to hear that the Hurontario LRT will probably be cancelled. Doug Ford's The Government for the People is following through on their promise to eliminate waste. A government that is actually staying true to its election platform, how refreshing.

Two word: Scarborough Subway.

Hurontario LRT will either be replaced with the Hurontatio Subway or the money will be diverted to other suburban subways. I predict the latter, because Hurontario could eventually serve Brampton, which is bad because the mayor is one of Ford's arch enemies.

It's not about saving money, it's about moving money to benefit his friends and voter base.

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by Doady

All the people saying that transit is useless in suburban Toronto will no doubt to very pleased to hear that the Hurontario LRT will probably be cancelled. Doug Ford's The Government for the People is following through on their promise to eliminate waste. A government that is actually staying true to its election platform, how refreshing.

Actually, this would go against his election platform. One key component was that all currently funded transit projects would proceed.

I actually doubt the Hurontario LRT is going anywhere, given that the city government in Mississauga went apeshit the second it sounded threatened, and that Mississauga's six seats, all PC-held, are vulnerable enough that a ribbon cut timed with the next election is very useful. I think it's the government testing the waters of what it can get away with.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Banff-Canmore's Bow Valley Regional Transit has seen a 16% year-over-year increase in ridership, with new routes coming online including service to Johnston Canyon and Lake Louise, with more service on the way. The initiative is aimed at creating greater linkages between the two pristine mountain cities, as well as reducing car usage between the two cities.

The bus in Banff is fantastic, the frequency is great and takes you anywhere you need to go in the area. We generally park our vehicle at the hotel and take the bus until we are heading back to Calgary.

The wife and I would make use of the train if and when it ever happens.

[Doady]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Actually, this would go against his election platform. One key component was that all currently funded transit projects would proceed.

I actually doubt the Hurontario LRT is going anywhere, given that the city government in Mississauga went apeshit the second it sounded threatened, and that Mississauga's six seats, all PC-held, are vulnerable enough that a ribbon cut timed with the next election is very useful. I think it's the government testing the waters of what it can get away with.

If the PCs really are stupid enough to make an enemy of Hazel McCallion and the 905, they are doomed next election. It wouldn't surprise me. I would almost welcome it. Even as a resident of Mississauga, I don't mind sacrificing the Hurontario LRT to help remove Doug Ford from power.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by begratto

Montreal’s metro stations are usually much deeper than the ones in Toronto, so costs are higher.

Plus the STM wants perfect architectural integration of the elevators in respect of the stations' original designs.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by Doady

All the people saying that transit is useless in suburban Toronto will no doubt to very pleased to hear that the Hurontario LRT will probably be cancelled. Doug Ford's The Government for the People is following through on their promise to eliminate waste. A government that is actually staying true to its election platform, how refreshing.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! A Government for the people? Are you serious? He only got 41% of the vote, almost 60% of Ontario can't stand that walking talking trash bag. And you want to talk about waste? DoFo and his late brother are the main reason for a multi billion dollar 2 stop Scarborough Subway expansion. Toronto is about 15 years behind schedule now thanks to DoFo and his late brother cancelling the fully funded Transit City plan which by now would be complete serving more of the city. Now as we play catch up it's costing the GTA not only billions of extra dollars but wasted time in heavy commutes.

DoFo is not for the people, he never has been, he never will be.


Thanks to this billion plus subway extension Scarbourgh residents got screwed out a multiple line multiple stop LRT system. Well done Fordnation of fools.

source: https://images.thestar.com



Source: http://urbantoronto.ca
Stopped by Rofo and DoFo

[SkahHigh]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! A Government for the people? Are you serious? He only got 41% of the vote, almost 60% of Ontario can't stand that walking talking trash bag. And you want to talk about waste? DoFo and his late brother are the main reason for a multi billion dollar 2 stop Scarborough Subway expansion. Toronto is about 15 years behind schedule now thanks to DoFo and his late brother cancelling the fully funded Transit City plan which by now would be complete serving more of the city. Now as we play catch up it's costing the GTA not only billions of extra dollars but wasted time in heavy commutes.

DoFo is not for the people, he never has been, he never will be.


Thanks to this billion plus subway extension Scarbourgh residents got screwed out a multiple line multiple stop LRT system. Well done Fordnation of fools.

I'm 99% sure he was being sarcastic.

[Doady]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! A Government for the people? Are you serious? He only got 41% of the vote, almost 60% of Ontario can't stand that walking talking trash bag. And you want to talk about waste? DoFo and his late brother are the main reason for a multi billion dollar 2 stop Scarborough Subway expansion. Toronto is about 15 years behind schedule now thanks to DoFo and his late brother cancelling the fully funded Transit City plan which by now would be complete serving more of the city. Now as we play catch up it's costing the GTA not only billions of extra dollars but wasted time in heavy commutes.

DoFo is not for the people, he never has been, he never will be.


Thanks to this billion plus subway extension Scarbourgh residents got screwed out a multiple line multiple stop LRT system. Well done Fordnation of fools.

It's the Government for the People. Note the capital letters. That is literally the official name of the new Ontario government. I did not give it that name. I was merely using the name that was already given.

Subway should have been built to SCC from the very beginning instead of a useless stub of a line with forced transfer at Kennedy. However, with an extension to Malvern, the line would become a lot more useful, so it probably would have made more sense to spend the money to rehabilitate the line instead of demolishing it. The subway extension will also increase the overcrowding on the Yonge Line.

In terms of getting Scarborough residents downtown, it would have made more sense for Toronto to build the Downtown Relief Line and push for co-fare arrangement with GO Transit, so more people can use the Stouffville and Lakeshore East lines.

I think that has been the problem with all of Toronto's transit plan. They just fail to see the bigger picture. Transit City is a product of that same myopia.

First of all, Transit City ignores downtown. It ignores the fact the existing subway system is overcrowded, and that it would just make the overcrowding worse. It was a very short-sighted plan lacking on details. It turned out that a Jane LRT would have cost billions of dollars due to the extensive tunneling required. But they ended up building Eglinton LRT anyways. $5.3 billion for a single light rail line. Not exactly cost-effective.

The Ford brothers did the city a huge favour in their role cancelling as much of Transit City as they did, but not for the reasons that they think. The only places that new LRT lines make sense in Toronto are Wilson Ave and Lawrence East. Follow the damn Avenues plan. There's no sense building an LRT along Morningside Ave. A Morningside LRT when you allow politicians to draw transit maps.

If you want to serve more of the city, if all that matters is how many lines you can build, then just build BRT and forget about LRT. If LRT is better than subway simply because it cheaper, then BRT is even better.

[Dengler Avenue]

In that case, City of Toronto needs to invest in more bus lanes. The ones on Don Mills are done right. Yonge? Not so much. We need a bus-only turn lane from Yonge N to Steeles W. It’s especially disgusting when the advanced left-turn light stays on for not even 10 seconds.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

In that case, City of Toronto needs to invest in more bus lanes. The ones on Don Mills are done right. Yonge? Not so much. We need a bus-only turn lane from Yonge N to Steeles W. It’s especially disgusting when the advanced left-turn light stays on for not even 10 seconds.

How many km of bus lanes there are in TO? I never read any numbers on the subject.