[EastYorkTTCFan]

Just wait till the TTC demand they program those LRV doors to close slowly just like the streetcars!

The doors aren't programed to close slowly it's because of the type of doors and the mechanism that closes them. What slows them down is passengers exiting late or rushing to board, the same thing happens with the T1 and TR subway trains when they have door problems.

 

[nfitz]

I'm good as long as they don't close as slowly as the buses!

 

[generalcanada]

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.

blog.metrolinx.com

- tunneling contract gets awarded this spring
- rfqs go out for the separate stations and railway this spring
- launch shaft for tunneling breaks ground this spring at sheppard and mccowan

I hate the subway as much as anyone, but at least something finally is being done

 

[TRONto]

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.

blog.metrolinx.com

- tunneling contract gets awarded this spring
- rfqs go out for the separate stations and railway this spring
- launch shaft for tunneling breaks ground this spring at sheppard and mccowan

I hate the subway as much as anyone, but at least something finally is being done

*hate* is pretty strong. I prefer a 23 stop LRT network but I did think the subway should go to STC if money wasn't an issue.

I had this point somewhere on the forum before the Ford government took power. You could provide the money for doing all tons of infrastructure at the same time as is being done with the 4 subway-esque lines we are getting. It's a choice the government has to make. The response was that the government couldn't spend that much money at once. Now it's being done.

I'm not a Ford fan but I'm really happy the government is moving quickly on all these rapid transit projects. The liberals pretty much sat on their hands the whole time.

 

[JSF-1]

*hate* is pretty strong. I prefer a 23 stop LRT network but I did think the subway should go to STC if money wasn't an issue.

I had this point somewhere on the forum before the Ford government took power. You could provide the money for doing all tons of infrastructure at the same time as is being done with the 4 subway-esque lines we are getting. It's a choice the government has to make. The response was that the government couldn't spend that much money at once. Now it's being done.

I'm not a Ford fan but I'm really happy the government is moving quickly on all these rapid transit projects. The liberals pretty much sat on their hands the whole time.

Well its true for things like the SSE and Eglinton West LRT, the OL and Yonge North Extension are still pretty early in development and the OL has already been pushed back to the next election for reasons. However there are many more projects on the docket that the Province will be on the hook for at least a portion of, including purchasing new trains for Line 2, a new Yard west of Kipling, new buses to replace the SRT, the Hurontario LRT, the Hamilton LRT, and of course the big one being GO RER. The Province is throwing around a lot of money as it is (although in the case of the OL and Yonge North its still just words and no cheques have been cashed), so can the Conservatives really sustain this level of spending? I mean they are Conservatives after all and this type of spending hasn't been part of their platform since the 80's. Just look at what they have done to the Hamilton LRT project, they've completely kneecapped that project no doubt because of petty politics and wanting the feds to pay more.

 

[Undead]

I mean they are Conservatives after all and this type of spending hasn't been part of their platform since the 80's

idk, these days it seems like there's no true fiscal conservative party.

 

[rbt]

The response was that the government couldn't spend that much money at once. Now it's being done.

This was something Metrolinx mentioned; a concern finding a sufficient number of construction workers to do the work; and they first said this about 4 years ago.

You may have noticed that most of the new big projects have had their construction start timeline pushed until after the bulk of Crosstown construction work is complete. Even Finch will largely be complete before major station work begins on SSE or Ontario Line.

 

[JSF-1]

idk, these days it seems like there's no true fiscal conservative party.

I'm not against good infrastructure spending and if the Cons can deliver then we all win in the end. My reservations are simply with the fact that this is a post-Harris Conservative Party and there disdain for public spending is well known, just look at what they were up to before the pandemic. I am simply worried that the Cons have simply announced support for all of these projects with no intention of pursuing half of them. Sure the SSE will get built because Doug has a vested interest in it but all the other projects are quite easy to defer for "financial reasons". Once again I point to the Hamilton LRT and how they have seemingly crippled that project for reasons known only to them. Then of course there is GO RER which is by far the most expensive project in the Province and would thus be the easiest to kill for "financial reasons". The longer it takes to finally start actual work on it the more I fear something is going to go wrong. They already killed the "Missing Link" project which pretty much shuts the door on Kitchener getting good GO service for at least a decade.

 

[ARG1]

I'm not against good infrastructure spending and if the Cons can deliver then we all win in the end. My reservations are simply with the fact that this is a post-Harris Conservative Party and there disdain for public spending is well known, just look at what they were up to before the pandemic. I am simply worried that the Cons have simply announced support for all of these projects with no intention of pursuing half of them. Sure the SSE will get built because Doug has a vested interest in it but all the other projects are quite easy to defer for "financial reasons". Once again I point to the Hamilton LRT and how they have seemingly crippled that project for reasons known only to them. Then of course there is GO RER which is by far the most expensive project in the Province and would thus be the easiest to kill for "financial reasons". The longer it takes to finally start actual work on it the more I fear something is going to go wrong. They already killed the "Missing Link" project which pretty much shuts the door on Kitchener getting good GO service for at least a decade.

For Eglinton West, the tree clearing process has already begun in order to prepare for the construction of TBMs this spring/summer, also helps that that is where his riding is, Yonge North whilst moving at glacial place, is an amazing place to score political points since York Region especially Vaughan/Richmond Hill contain a ton of battleground electoral districts. Whilst Hamilton did get the axe, its quite clear that he did it because its one of the few areas that didn't vote for him in the last election. Its also important to remember that whilst post Harris PCs are anti-spending, Doug Ford isn't your average PC. While I wouldn't call him an outsider, don't forget that he showed as party leader in the last second because the previous one had to step down due to a scandal. Doug Ford is a populist first, and a conservative second, and I don't think judging him based off what a stereotypical PC member is like is productive.

 

[TRONto]

This was something Metrolinx mentioned; a concern finding a sufficient number of construction workers to do the work; and they first said this about 4 years ago.

You may have noticed that most of the new big projects have had their construction start timeline pushed until after the bulk of Crosstown construction work is complete. Even Finch will largely be complete before major station work begins on SSE or Ontario Line.

From a graphic I saw on the forum, it looks like construction will be concurrent on Eg West, SSE and OL. That's more than what's happening now.

I think the companies would figure it out something in the end.

 

[rbt]

From a graphic I saw on the forum, it looks like construction will be concurrent on Eg West, SSE and OL. That's more than what's happening now.

Absolutely, but that wasn't the concern Metrolinx had. The concern was Finch, Hurontario, Hamilton, Crosstown, SEE, Yonge North, Relief Line, and GO Expansion simultaneous.

Eg West seems to have replaced Yonge North.

 

[TRONto]

Absolutely, but that wasn't the concern Metrolinx had.

The convern was Finch, Hurontario, Hamilton, Crosstown, SEE, Yonge North, Relief Line, and GO Expansion simultaneous.

Understood, thanks for the clarification.

I do think they used this point as an excuse.

 

[turini2]

Metrolinx Press Room

Find the latest Metrolinx news, project updates and more.

blog.metrolinx.com

- tunneling contract gets awarded this spring
- rfqs go out for the separate stations and railway this spring
- launch shaft for tunneling breaks ground this spring at sheppard and mccowan

I hate the subway as much as anyone, but at least something finally is being done

Note the complete lack of ... well, anything about the SRT shutdown . Yet again, Metrolinx PR doing an excellent job to provide only good news.
An example of something non committal that still mentions it - "We're working closely with the TTC to ensure that the replacement bus service will be as painless as possible" or something...

Really, they should be ponying up for the temporary bus terminal at Kennedy, but that's another story...

 

[syn]

I'm not against good infrastructure spending and if the Cons can deliver then we all win in the end. My reservations are simply with the fact that this is a post-Harris Conservative Party and there disdain for public spending is well known, just look at what they were up to before the pandemic. I am simply worried that the Cons have simply announced support for all of these projects with no intention of pursuing half of them. Sure the SSE will get built because Doug has a vested interest in it but all the other projects are quite easy to defer for "financial reasons". Once again I point to the Hamilton LRT and how they have seemingly crippled that project for reasons known only to them. Then of course there is GO RER which is by far the most expensive project in the Province and would thus be the easiest to kill for "financial reasons". The longer it takes to finally start actual work on it the more I fear something is going to go wrong. They already killed the "Missing Link" project which pretty much shuts the door on Kitchener getting good GO service for at least a decade.

These are valid concerns.

I can't see this government as being anymore 'pro-transit' than the Liberals were.

EWLRT and SSE seem to be moving forward, but they're advantageous to Ford and the Conservatives. Kind of like the TYSSE was advantageous to the Liberals.

The Finch LRT and Eglinton LRT were all moving forward before the Conservatives took over, and they canceled the DRL in favour of the OL which will likely take even longer.

Ford sold us a vision where the provincial government could do everything faster with greater cost efficiency but I'm not seeing any of that happening. What's worse is that Metrolinx seems to be more of a government mouthpiece than ever before.

Hopefully some meaningful expansion can be completed.

 

[syn]

Note the complete lack of ... well, anything about the SRT shutdown . Yet again, Metrolinx PR doing an excellent job to provide only good news.
An example of something non committal that still mentions it - "We're working closely with the TTC to ensure that the replacement bus service will be as painless as possible" or something...

Really, they should be ponying up for the temporary bus terminal at Kennedy, but that's another story...

Metrolinx "News" is basically propaganda, unfortunately.

I hope at some point they become the arms-length agency they were intended to be.