[TheTigerMaster]

This always makes me so angry. Did nobody really raise a fuss when an almost laughably-easy-to-use right-of-way along a major arterial which for years has been slated for some form of higher-order transit was sold off (and is still in the process of being sold off) for...freehold townhomes? Jesus, Toronto. Some bureaucrat should be getting raked over the metaphorical coals for this.

As for 4.2 meters for an elevated structure, it seems a little narrow, especially with regards to where the stations would be. Plus the amount of community pushback from the owners of those bloody townhomes for running an elevated LRT directly in front of their windows would be considerable.

I agree that whoever made the decision to sell off this corridor needs to be fired. Who the hell sells off a corridor while rapid transit is planned on for it? Idiots.

 

[kEiThZ]

Not true. I guess you didn't hear about the land transfer tax increase, which will yield around $20 M per year. Part of it will cover the capital cost for a new bus garage, new buses, and DRL engineering work. It's not much, but at least she's not pretending that TIF is the way to go.

TIF is the one thing that seriously bugs me about Tory's platform. I'm comforted by the fact that he'll be in a hard corner between cutting his transit proposal and raising taxes. And I do believe he'll raise taxes to get 'er done.

I actually don't think there's much of a penalty to pay for raising taxes for transit. It's hard during an election, of course. But when in office? Rob Ford pulled it off without serious blowback. Even less likely that anybody is going to hammer Tory for a percent or two to pay for transit if TIF doesn't work out as well as a planned. Who wants to be the guy to go after a politician for raising taxes to pay for a subway?

And correct me if I'm wrong, I thought Chow's land transfer tax increase proposal was to pay for her school lunch program.

 

[kEiThZ]

I agree that whoever made the decision to sell off this corridor needs to be fired. Who the hell sells off a corridor while rapid transit is planned on for it? Idiots.

This. Exactly this. It would have been used for some form of transit eventually. Very shortsighted.

 

[salsa]

And correct me if I'm wrong, I thought Chow's land transfer tax increase proposal was to pay for her school lunch program.

Correct. The land transfer tax is to go towards a number of things, including transit and lunch programs. I will also add that cancelling the Scarborough subway will yield almost a billion dollars that could go towards other transit priorities. Whether she can actually pull that off in reality is something to think about, but that's what her platform says.

 

[BurlOak]

So, Chow's campaign is really focused lately on attacking the SmartTrack Eglinton West alignment:
http://www.oliviachow.ca/eglintonavenue

From this article http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=199507:


Anyways, my question to everyone here is: is an elevated structure plausible on the 4.2 meters?

I am not sure exactly what the 4.2m refers to. Is that the total space available beside the road, or is it beyond the grass boulevard and sidewalk.

• Either the piers can be offset, with the elevated structure cantilivering above the sidewalk/road, or,
• The alignment of Eglinton can be shifted a little bit south.

 

[MrsNesbitt]

No. But you can always put pillars down the middle of the rebuilt Eglinton, and do it Vancouver-style.

The EA was done, and approved by the province to allow for LRT down the middle of the street. There's plenty of width. There was no secret this was going on. We discussed it here.

I'm surprised Mayor Ford didn't object to it. But even he didn't object to it.

What amazes me, is that John Tory and his campaign team are so unaware of what is happening in Toronto to even have suggested this. He could just have easily had the line go up the tracks do Malton, and then backed into the airport along Airport Road - it would have provided far more stops in Etobicoke than the one stop he is currently proposing.

The EA for sure was done for a street ROW and the width is there, yes. I'm not arguing that the lack of the Richview corridor entirely prevents an Eglinton West LRT. But when an empty corridor that would've allowed for full grade-separation runs immediately adjacent to the road for such a long distance, why limit ourselves to a street ROW? A trenched LRT could've easily been built for the grade separated benefits of a tunnel without the costs of a tunnel.

And as for Tory, it certainly is disturbing. Just kind of reflects a mentality that he's an opportunist who has only jumped into the election for his own personal benefit. Really, considering that's not far off from his reputation as the also-ran, I would think that's not an image he should be reinforcing.

 

[salsa]

I agree that whoever made the decision to sell off this corridor needs to be fired. Who the hell sells off a corridor while rapid transit is planned on for it? Idiots.

What rapid transit? We were supposed to get an LRT in the middle of the street.

 

[Markster]

Anyways, my question to everyone here is: is an elevated structure plausible on the 4.2 meters?

An in-median LRT is possible in the 4.2m, as that is what has been held on to for precisely that that purpose.

If you wander over to the Vancouver Evergreen Line thread, you can see just how easily you can fit elevated in that kind of space:

 

[salsa]

An in-median LRT is possible in the 4.2m, as that is what has been held on to for precisely that that purpose.

If you wander over to the Vancouver Evergreen Line thread, you can see just how easily you can fit elevated in that kind of space

What about the stations?

 

[BurlOak]

The EA for sure was done for a street ROW and the width is there, yes. I'm not arguing that the lack of the Richview corridor entirely prevents an Eglinton West LRT. But when an empty corridor that would've allowed for full grade-separation runs immediately adjacent to the road for such a long distance, why limit ourselves to a street ROW? A trenched LRT could've easily been built for the grade separated benefits of a tunnel without the costs of a tunnel.

And as for Tory, it certainly is disturbing. Just kind of reflects a mentality that he's an opportunist who has only jumped into the election for his own personal benefit. Really, considering that's not far off from his reputation as the also-ran, I would think that's not an image he should be reinforcing.

When were the Richview lands sold again. I think it was 2012. Council had just voted to revert back to the in-median Eglinton line through Scarborough. Obviously, if the east side was not grade-separated, the west would not be either. That is why the lands were sold - because they were not needed for the transit that Council voted for.

I'm surprised Mayor Ford didn't object to it. But even he didn't object to it.

Either Ford was to dumb, too stoned or too powerless after the political defeat to do anything about it.

 

[MrsNesbitt]

What rapid transit? We were supposed to get an LRT in the middle of the street.

So the other question to ask is what idiot planned an LRT in the middle of the street when there was a fully grade-separable empty corridor directly adjacent to said street.

The sale of the Richview Corridor really is inexcusable. It's not like we're even getting mid-rise or mixed-use development along this arterial either as a trade-off - just ugly townhouses.

 

[BurlOak]

I agree that whoever made the decision to sell off this corridor needs to be fired. Who the hell sells off a corridor while rapid transit is planned on for it? Idiots.

I would say that it was the type of idiot that supports LRT in the middle of Eglinton.

 

[BurlOak]

What about the stations?

Presumably there is more than 4.2m at/near the major roads that would get a station.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

What rapid transit? We were supposed to get an LRT in the middle of the street.

Okay? The ECLRT is rapid transit according to TTC and Metrolinx.

 

[ehlow]

Re Vancouver Skytrain, yes that's the type of elevated structure I was thinking about.

However, SmartTrack will likely run much bigger & heavier trains than the Vancouver system, EMU regional rail trains.

If SmartTrack does happen and it does run down Eglinton West, hopefully the elevated option would be cheaper tunnelling.

On the proposed map, there are very few stations in Etobicoke along Eglinton West, which could save some money if SmartTrack is elevated or tunnelled. However, I find the huge amount of stations in Scarborough vs the lack of stations in Etobicoke very strange, so I wonder if more will be added along Eglinton.

Obviously, the above is hypothetical.