denfromoakvillemilton
Senior Member
Why not attach the STC/Centennial Branch to an Extended DRL? Loop it through to East York and Connect it with there.
If the rail corridor is too narrow, elevate overtop of it instead of tunnelling underneath it. Up until just south of Sheppard, it's an industrial area anyway. In fact, I would recommend that the split itself be elevated, seeing as how the other branch will be continuing on an elevated guideway as well. And if both branches are on the same grade coming into the split, then that split can happen north of Ellesmere.
I think those who are pro LRT based on technical merit or cost are wasting their energy until we have LRT up and running in the city. People need real tangible evidence of how these systems will work in the GTA. Prior to that you will NEVER be able to convince people of their merit. Even pointing to other examples in other cities is not enough. Decisions are made based on FEELINGS not rational analysis.
Why not attach the STC/Centennial Branch to an Extended DRL? Loop it through to East York and Connect it with there.
Sounds interesting as well, but I am not sure if the Uxbridge Sub is already owned by Metrolinx, or still belongs to CN. If it is CN's, they might resist building anything on top of the track that complicates their maintenance. Plus, there will be clearance issues especially if the mainline is ever slated for electrification. The mainline voltage is many times higher (something like 15 or 25 kV) that the subway or LRT voltage (less than 1000 V). Higher voltage requires higher clearance.
If the elevated option is not doable, another possibility is to swing to Kennedy Avenue north of Ellesmere. The walk-in ridership certainly will be higher there, but so is the construction cost.
Not exactly sure what you mean here. It's unlikely the DRL will ever reach north of Eglinton, let alone into Scarborough.
I think those who are pro LRT based on technical merit or cost are wasting their energy until we have LRT up and running in the city. People need real tangible evidence of how these systems will work in the GTA. Prior to that you will NEVER be able to convince people of their merit. Even pointing to other examples in other cities is not enough. Decisions are made based on FEELINGS not rational analysis.
it cuts the finch west bus travel time in half, actually, not "just a couple of minutes"
I think people are more apathetic towards 'LRT' than decidedly hostile, at least for the on-street portions of LRT lines.
What's the travel speed on on-street portions? Finch West LRT is expected to be 23kph. Why would Torontonians get all excited for this? At best that would shave a few minutes off of their commute.
That's not to say LRT wouldn't have other advantages in terms of greater vehicle capacity, (presumably) lower operating costs per passenger, (presumably) more reliable headways and such. But at the end of the day it makes sense for the public to consider travel times above all.
"LRT" and "BRT" are both marketing terms, it would make sense that people don't exactly jump up and down the moment some politician tries to plaster it on anything. While lots of North American cities are building "LRT" systems with lots of public buy in and success, those systems look nothing like Finch West. Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, Minneapolis and the like all look more like the C-train. Routes are radial, station spacing averages over 1km and running in mostly segregated ROWs outside of downtown.
The sad thing about the Sheppard East LRT is that if it weren't for Ford's (probably) illegal failed attempts at the cancellation of the project, it would be opening 4 days from now.