The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

The sub-optimal expansions elsewhere are a price to be paid for getting the relief line done. It might not be the choice many of us would have made, but it isn't the worst.



Ontario Place isn't the worst decision. Comes own to where exactly it is: I can't see why it won't be approximately here:

Presumably, it wouldn't be sold as Ontario Place and/or the Ontario Line if it was on King St, Liberty St or by the Exhibition GO/LRT Station. Anywhere close to Lake Shore and Ontario Place would be the worst.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Ford inherited a provincial chest in financial ruin. He's not exactly pro transit either. The likelihood of any expansions and relief line is not very good. This Ontario Place ploy is all I need. It takes a needed plan and turns it into a white elephant.

I actually kinda disagree with the first part as Ontario is financially stable and this could be solved with even slightly increased taxes (something Wynne refused to do). But as for the rest exactly right. Starting from scratch is the easiest way to ensure nothing gets done.

[osmo]

The Ontario Place station will also fix the mess present in Liberty Village as it is a transit desert and somewhat of an island. The residents will now all have a 10 min walk or less to a rapid transit station. This should also explode some of the employment demand (even more) in the area. It will also ease some pressie from Union Station.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Presumably, it wouldn't be sold as Ontario Place and/or the Ontario Line if it was on King St, Liberty St or by the Exhibition GO/LRT Station. Anywhere close to Lake Shore and Ontario Place would be the worst.

You're judging this on a name? It is marked as a transfer station.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Reecemartin

They are actually relatively narrow. Same stock as being used for REM which everyone seems to insist on calling light.

Actually they're about 3m wide which is the wider side of average for a metro rolling stock and wider than stock used in Montreal, Madrid and Paris metros, London Underground, and the IRT lines of NYC etc. Montreal metro trains are actually only 2.5m wide but the metro isn't considered light rail since the consists are quite long.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by osmo

The Ontario Place station will also fix the mess present in Liberty Village as it is a transit desert and somewhat of an island. The residents will now all have a 10 min walk or less to a rapid transit station. This should also explode some of the employment demand (even more) in the area. It will also ease some pressie from Union Station.

A 10 minute walk in the wrong direction at a cost of hundreds of millions (longer line) compared to building the terminus directly in Liberty Village still doesn't make much sense. Liberty Village does have a GO Station. It's double the price of the TTC as short distance travel subsidizes longer distance travel on the GO system. It's clearly the reason why GO usage is so low within the 416 area code. Rectify that and Liberty Village is significantly less of an island.

The Ontario Government has plans to build private partnerships and develop Ontario Place in a high density employment centre but, it's a horrible location . The current "central" business district is a horrible location and it's still 100 times better than Ontario Place.

Ontario is the world leader for sub sovereign states' debt. It will take a little more than a simple tax increase to get us out of the situation. It may be stable now but, it's precarious all the same.

I don't mind higher taxes either however, I'm paying more and more and getting less in return. I believe in a social net for the disadvantaged and hard luck case but, both Wynne and Trudeau have taken it too far creating an imbalance where hard working middle class Canadians are paying for others to get free rides. For example, My daughter could not even receive OSAP and yet there are tens of thousands getting virtually free tuition because their parents earn less than $50,000. Everyone used to receive the federal child benefit. Now it's only for families earning under $65,000. What is $65,000 in Toronto? It's even more frustrating when you consider the financial resources given to new Canadians that are contributing nothing and are at peace with contributing nothing.

[CityTech]

Station locations, as per today's Ontario budget.

Biggest complaint I can think of is no interchange at the planned Liberty Village GO RER station despite passing near it. A missed opportunity.

[niwell]

The west alignment is not good. That won’t do anything to relieve stress on that side. I mean it won’t be built but if we were going to do it there needs to at least be a queen / king alignment as far west as dufferin. Also those proposed stations are going to cost a fortune, which I’m fine with. But can’t see how that’s in any money saving initiative.

[DDP]

It 100% needs something in Liberty Village, its a very important residential area and growing employment zone. Sure the King Street car gets you there, buts it needs something truly Rapid. There should be a push from all sides to try to figure out how to get a station there. It is much more important to get a station there vs Ontario place IMO

They should figure out a way to extend the Queen /Yonge station to city hall. That way you can dump people right into the path.

But on a side note, as someone who has a condo at King and Spadina, cha ching!!

[CityTech]

I'd agree with the planned alignment as far west as King/Bathurst. But from there instead of jogging south to Ontario Place I'd continue it with the following stations:
-Liberty Village GO RER
-King/Dunn
-Roncesvalles GO RER (I know there isn't a GO RER station planned here, but add one)
-Lakeshore/Brookers
-Lakeshore/Park Lawn - terminus

To me servicing the high density node at Humber Bay is more important than Ontario Place. There's a whole skyline over there with no rapid transit access.

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by DDP

It 100% needs something in Liberty Village, its a very important residential area and growing employment zone. Sure the King Street car gets you there, buts it needs something truly Rapid. There should be a push from all sides to try to figure out how to get a station there. It is much more important to get a station there vs Ontario place IMO

They should figure out a way to extend the Queen /Yonge station to city hall. That way you can dump people right into the path.

But on a side note, as someone who has a condo at King and Spadina, cha ching!!

Liberty Village is getting a GO RER station, so they'll get rapid transit. To me though that should be an interchange with this line.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Station locations, as per today's Ontario budget.

Biggest complaint I can think of is no interchange at the planned Liberty Village GO RER station despite passing near it. A missed opportunity.

Who wants to bet that this will not have shovels in the ground by the next provincial election?

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Who wants to bet that this will not have shovels in the ground by the next provincial election?

Probably won’t be much of anything done. It takes decades to get anything done in Toronto.

That said, I am in favour of the province taking over the subway, and in fact I’m in favour of them taking over all transit in the GTHA and eliminating the TTC and other municipal systems. Metro Vancouver has a single transit system administered by the province and it is much more efficient than the patchwork of systems in the GTA - and they get stuff done. I am in awe at how the entirety of the Skytrain system has been built in only the past 35 years.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by DDP

It 100% needs something in Liberty Village, its a very important residential area and growing employment zone. Sure the King Street car gets you there, buts it needs something truly Rapid. There should be a push from all sides to try to figure out how to get a station there. It is much more important to get a station there vs Ontario place IMO

They should figure out a way to extend the Queen /Yonge station to city hall. That way you can dump people right into the path.

But on a side note, as someone who has a condo at King and Spadina, cha ching!!

Or adjacent to it, just to the side, or is that totally unacceptable?

[Innsertnamehere]

The terminus is Exhibiton GO which is easy walking distance from most of liberty village.

[softee]

Originally Posted by DDP

They should figure out a way to extend the Queen /Yonge station to city hall. That way you can dump people right into the path.

The Path already extends to the current Queen Station on line 1.

[p_xavier]

The CAQ confirmed that they are looking into turning Montréal's East Island planned LRT to a REM line. They should put a formal proposal to the CDPQi in the next 30 days.

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand...sur-le-prolongement-du-rem-vers-lest.php

The main reason is construction speed as the REM is not subjected to the same regulations as other transportation projects. That would make over 70km of REM currently being studied by the CPDQi (the other lines being studied are the Chambly and Mirabel lines).

Good news for the Toronto plan. Anyone knows how many new subway km it makes?

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The terminus is Exhibiton GO which is easy walking distance from most of liberty village.

Which is the best case scenario for this proposed plan. I don't have any faith this is anything but a plan to kill the DRL by making it cost twice as much. I'll be more at peace once a phasing plan is presented.

[Reecemartin]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Probably won’t be much of anything done. It takes decades to get anything done in Toronto.

That said, I am in favour of the province taking over the subway, and in fact I’m in favour of them taking over all transit in the GTHA and eliminating the TTC and other municipal systems. Metro Vancouver has a single transit system administered by the province and it is much more efficient than the patchwork of systems in the GTA - and they get stuff done. I am in awe at how the entirety of the Skytrain system has been built in only the past 35 years.

Much like REM the Province will likely legislate that it needs fewer studies etc. so they could actually push it through quite quickly.

[Reecemartin]

Final video on upgrades to the Stouffville GO line (for now), would love to see a similar program of improving service and upgrading stations on AMT/EXO and the WCE though the latter is less likely.

Double tracking is also nearing completion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IV08dssUlI