Just so everyone is aware, renderings at this stage of design are not representative of the final product. There are usually a lot of inconsistencies in them as they try to highlight the bigger picture, so I wouldn't put too much weight on the details of it. There are a lot of placeholders.

The basis of the City's financial struggles is that while they are a centre of economic activity, the systems are not in place for the municipality to capture that equivalent increase in activity. And the other things that the City pays for that it shouldn't.

This is nice too! "It is expected that the proponent will start some limited, mostly in-corridor, work in 2023-2024. Metrolinx anticipates there will be improvements to service starting in approximately 2024-2025, with additional service being introduced incrementally as various work phases are...

It was a sarcastic response to the above post by mistersq1. Both my academic and professional backgrounds are in transportation engineering and planning, so I'm well aware of the misunderstandings in the general public.

The decision making and history of local politics here is very important. It is also a decision that was made 15 years ago, so I'm not sure what point you are trying to get now. It is a bit too late to change the decision now.

Oh nice, now induced demand is a conspiracy

I mean, it was a more recent decision to purchase a new fleet. They were planning on rebuilding and extending the life of T1s through the 2030s, up until quite recently. The lessons learned from the CLRV and ALRV rebuild process is that it cost far more and produced far fewer results...

One thing to consider when looking at the 2051 GGH Plan is that it outlines conceptual network level connections. Actual operations will differ based on feasibility and demand. Just because it's labelled as one/two lines does not mean that it will be a through service with the same frequencies...

What would be your criteria for a neutral third part with inside scoop?

I disagree, the research has changed. As a result, methodologies change, attitudes change, mindsets change. Different methodologies bring different results, the reports that I write today, and the traffic analysis that I do today is different than the reports that I read from the past. That is...

Usually agreeing to disagree applies to opinions, not academically researched facts. Keep in mind, these are also observations, not observations on the hourly or daily scale; but on the yearly and multi-year scale.

Research changes, it's no longer considered good transportation planning policy to put highways everywhere. I could make similar arguments about the freeways that Robert Moses pushed for in New York, using the research at the time. There are still a few of the old guard (particularly traffic...

Let's not forget that the 413 also has a lot of research that indicates that it is not necessary, and only after the new government came in, did new 'research' come to light...

And once again, you have brought the point back. To maximize benefits to society, we cannot keep building low-density, monolithic, auto-centric communities. Just because people will work from home, doesn't mean that they should do leisure, recreation, and other activities all from home.

No one is saying that you're making it up. Traffic volumes decrease in the short-term from administrative policies, but they are not sustainable long-term policies. That's been consistent across the transportation planning industry, we cannot be designing for the short term given how long it...

And I'm sure there are plenty of differing opinions on this front, but, we are currently living in a climate crisis and we need to move and house people more efficiently. Wide roads are just not going to cut it. People also want safe streets, clean air, clean water, and natural spaces. These...

I'm curious why you would want this? Protected left-turn phases are much better for pedestrian and cycling safety.

Definitely the signal changes that you suggested would be helpful. Dedicated signals that reduce signage clutter are much more clear. And near-side signals for their safety benefits too. I am concerned about the people making left-turns on a red light though, that's just unacceptable and I...

Most open payment systems globally work like this. If you need a fare concession, you get the fare card. Open payment is mostly to provide an option for occasional or non-concession users.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, international best practice typically has trams travelling through intersections at around 40 km/h. This is not "track speed" either, however going from 50/60 to 40 is very different than going to 25 km/h. Which, in my professional opinion is very much a...