[drum118]

The tracks are damaged and hence in need of another construction which will cost TTC some more money that will lead to increase in yet another TTC price hike.

Where are they damage?

Tracks north of Bathurst Station were rebuilt 18 months ago with some of it 8 months ago.

Queen intersection was done about 2 years ago also.

Tracks south of Front street was done last year.

Has anyone looked at the street itself in person to see if the Bloor platform will work as well ROW??? ......................................The answer you cannot do it as the road is tooooooooo narrow.

 

[sixrings]

Has anyone looked at the street itself in person to see if the Bloor platform will work as well ROW??? ......................................The answer you cannot do it as the road is tooooooooo narrow.

Exactly its too narrow. Unlike Spadina which could have a good ROW if it had priority signals Bathurst cant because its just too narrow. THis is why I think traveling south of bloor underground makes sense...

Wouldnt making queen, king , college, streetcar lines run underground from bathurst to jarvis cost less then a DRL????

 

[BMO]

Exactly its too narrow. Unlike Spadina which could have a good ROW if it had priority signals Bathurst cant because its just too narrow. THis is why I think traveling south of bloor underground makes sense...

Wouldnt making queen, king , college, streetcar lines run underground from bathurst to jarvis cost less then a DRL????

I like this idea, it would greatly increase the capacity of all lines within the core, and make them more of a viable option. not to mention the improved access to these lines over the drl.

 

[golodhendil]

Wouldnt making queen, king , college, streetcar lines run underground from bathurst to jarvis cost less then a DRL????

While this has its merits and should be considered as a future option distinct from the DRL, putting the streetcars underground wouldn't really relieve Y/B very much, one of the primary goals of the DRL. And no, digging four (presumably you didn't mean to leave out Dundas) tunnels probably won't cost less than digging one (especially if the "horizontal" portion of the DRL is put on the rail corridor).

 

[Fred.S]

A little off-topic I guess, but I like the idea of making King and Queen streets one-way from Bathurst to where they converge west of the Don, and reverse the directions of Richmond and Adeleide. Then either put the King and Queen lines in side-of-the-road ROWs, or in one-way ROWs on all 4 streets, and maybe throw some segregated bike lines while we're at it. A little cheaper and nicer then putting them all underground.

Back to Bathurst... It's fairly wide south of Queen, and with the planned bridge reconstruction south of Front St, I think putting in a ROW from Lakeshore to Queen would be a great idea, and still leave two traffic lanes in each direction. I find the congestion in this area is much worse than the section from Bloor to Queen, especially during the summer, when there's events like the CNE, Caribana, airshow etc. This could even out the route a little better.

 

[sixrings]

A little off-topic I guess, but I like the idea of making King and Queen streets one-way from Bathurst to where they converge west of the Don, and reverse the directions of Richmond and Adeleide. Then either put the King and Queen lines in side-of-the-road ROWs, or in one-way ROWs on all 4 streets, and maybe throw some segregated bike lines while we're at it. A little cheaper and nicer then putting them all underground..

OK I can be ok with this but what about ppl who want to continue travelling east or west of these spots. Theyd have to transfer somewhere.. Wouldnt that frusterate some riders or ALOT of riders who oppose TRANSFER city???

 

[sixrings]

If they were going to turn them into one ways... Then there would be 2 lanes going one direction.. then one lane street car going in one direction.. then a fourth lane also going in the same direction. What could happen is this Fourth Lane could become a BIKE lane... also the sidewalk on this side of the street could be extened a little like the new bloor street. GOOD IDEA. I like.

 

[kettal]

A little off-topic I guess, but I like the idea of making King and Queen streets one-way from Bathurst to where they converge west of the Don, and reverse the directions of Richmond and Adeleide. Then either put the King and Queen lines in side-of-the-road ROWs, or in one-way ROWs on all 4 streets, and maybe throw some segregated bike lines while we're at it. A little cheaper and nicer then putting them all underground.

This idea is politically impossible. Build a DRL subway and be done with it.

 

[sixrings]

i hate fear of voters effecting things which may be good ideas being shelved....

 

[BMO]

This idea is politically impossible. Build a DRL subway and be done with it.

yes, why don't we just go with the flow and do whatever the politicians think will help them get votes politically and just trash innovative thinking and creative new ideas.

 

[jwill]

Wouldnt making queen, king , college, streetcar lines run underground from bathurst to jarvis cost less then a DRL????

Lets do the math:

Jarvis to Bathurst is about 2.5km. With three routes (I'll assume there is a reason for excluding Dundas) thats 7.5km of tunnel. 7.5km of DRL would be from Pape down to the core and across to Bathurst (more or less, depending on alignment).

That would be something like 10 DRL stations. The streetcar tunnels would probably require at least 6 each (assuming Jarvis and Bathurst at surface) for a total of 18. Streetcar stops underground are going to be cheaper than a subway station, but overall it looks like the costs for a first DRL phase would be comparable to 3 underground streetcar lines, with less disruption on downtown streets.

 

[sixrings]

Well I think for people who live Downtown this is a better option...

DRL is better for commuters...

Both needs should be served....

 

[Rainforest]

Tunnelling any of the E-W streetcar routes just Bathurst to Jarvis would not significantly improve their capacity or their reliability. Both would still be limited by the remaining, mixed-traffic sections.

If you are going to spend that kind of money, better select one route (likely, Queen) and tunnel it for a longer stretch, such as Roncesvalles to Broadview. At least one route will see a major improvement.

However, DRL subway is far more important. Without DRL, Toronto's subway core is at risk of choking.

 

[madmolecule]

+1 However I always thought the issue with running streetcars on Bathurst North of the TTC yard was that if a streetcar (one of the ARLV's?) got stuck going up the hill there would be no vehicle that could push it up said hill. Would the new streetcars overcome that deficiency? If yes then it should absolutely be something for the TTC to look into.

Does anyone know if the track is actually currently used for moving streetcars to and from St. Clair? If so, then why would it be a problem to use streetcars on it for actual transit?

 

[W. K. Lis]

If the 1950's and 1960's was not so automobile oriented, the Bathurst streetcar could have continued up Bathurst Street to Steeles Street. Today, there will be NIMBY's galore coming out if they suggested that.

However, with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT getting a Notice of Completion of Environmental Project Report, having the Bathurst streetcar continuing up to Bathurst and Eglinton could be looked at by providing rough-in connections. Who knows maybe a Bathurst LRT from Steeles to Eglinton could be part of a Transit City 2.0 expansion.