[nfitz]

You call this a good thing?

I call it a very good thing!

Right now only the Spadina Line is ACTUALLY under construction

This is not true, there is a lot more transit than the Spadina line uder construction. Within the City of Toronto the Eglinton line is ACTUALLY under construction, as is the Air Rail Link and numerous GO Transit projects that will lead to increase service in the city, including almost a $1-billion rebuild underway at the Union subwa and GO stations. In the rest of the GTA the Mississauga Transitway is under construction, as are new Transitway segments for VIVA.

I don't think the sum of every other "shovels in the ground" transit project in the nation comes to the same total. Last time I checked, the Republic of China wasn't a part of our nation.

 

[nfitz]

The Woodbine connection is strange indeed, and I don't even know what gave them such idea.

There is no Woodbine connection; that's simply crappy reporting by the Star. Look at the original not-to-scale Metrolinx map, and where the DRL goes in comparison to the existing GO line. That's most likely Pape/Donland they are thinking ... not Woodbine!

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

I call it a very good thing!

This is not true, there is a lot more transit than the Spadina line uder construction. Within the City of Toronto the Eglinton line is ACTUALLY under construction, as is the Air Rail Link and numerous GO Transit projects that will lead to increase service in the city, including almost a $1-billion rebuild underway at the Union subwa and GO stations. In the rest of the GTA the Mississauga Transitway is under construction, as are new Transitway segments for VIVA.

I don't think the sum of every other "shovels in the ground" transit project in the nation comes to the same total. Last time I checked, the Republic of China wasn't a part of our nation.

There is no Woodbine connection; that's simply crappy reporting by the Star. Look at the original not-to-scale Metrolinx map, and where the DRL goes in comparison to the existing GO line. That's most likely Pape/Donland they are thinking ... not Woodbine!

Eglinton is in pre construction, Spadina is being built now. The fact is we are so far behind in what was supposed to be build. Everyone is at fault for this. Ford is really the only latest setback. This might not even get done until he is gone.

 

[nfitz]

Eglinton is in pre construction

Pre-construction is what you do before you mobilize. They are out there constructing a portal.

The fact is we are so far behind in what was supposed to be build.

We are ... but so are other central-Canadian cities.

 

[Solid Snake]

I hope the City will fight for the DRL under Front Street going through the new Waterfront Areas, Distillery district, City Place, Liberty Village, Parkdale and Roncesvalles to Dundas and ending at Eglinton on both end.

The Metrolinx plan is basically telling to Torontonians that they can stick it and we don't care about what happens to you after decades of neglects. Their just interested in relieving Union.

When will we get our tax $$$ back so we can invest in our own projects.

 

[nfitz]

The Metrolinx plan is basically telling to Torontonians that they can stick it and we don't care about what happens to you after decades of neglects. Their just interested in relieving Union.

Uh ... it WAS a study about relieving Union. It wasn't supposed to look at other alternatives for the DRL. Given how bizarre the Bathurst thing is, it's quite clear their preferred option would ultimately be tunnelling GO lines under Union. Metrolink will get back the DRL when they figure out how to provice capacity on the Yonge line to extend to Richmond Hill (after the TTC milks them for all the Yonge line upgrades they can get, before concluding that it's still not enough to extend to Richmond without a DRL).

 

[Solid Snake]

Uh ... it WAS a study about relieving Union. It wasn't supposed to look at other alternatives for the DRL. Given how bizarre the Bathurst thing is, it's quite clear their preferred option would ultimately be tunnelling GO lines under Union. Metrolink will get back the DRL when they figure out how to provice capacity on the Yonge line to extend to Richmond Hill (after the TTC milks them for all the Yonge line upgrades they can get, before concluding that it's still not enough to extend to Richmond without a DRL).

That's only if they choose the option of burying the Lakeshore lines like the RER in Paris. Otherwise, building a botch DRL is a nuisance to Toronto.

I would rather have them bury the GO lines and let Toronto decide how and where the DRL will go

 

[noctis]

That's only if they choose the option of burying the Lakeshore lines like the RER in Paris. Otherwise, building a botch DRL is a nuisance to Toronto.

I would rather have them bury the GO lines and let Toronto decide how and where the DRL will go

I second that

 

[noctis]

I call it a very good thing!

This is not true, there is a lot more transit than the Spadina line uder construction. Within the City of Toronto the Eglinton line is ACTUALLY under construction, as is the Air Rail Link and numerous GO Transit projects that will lead to increase service in the city, including almost a $1-billion rebuild underway at the Union subwa and GO stations. In the rest of the GTA the Mississauga Transitway is under construction, as are new Transitway segments for VIVA.

I don't think the sum of every other "shovels in the ground" transit project in the nation comes to the same total. Last time I checked, the Republic of China wasn't a part of our nation.

I was majorly referring to Toronto only, but since u did mention the GTA, then I guess u are right. Even still, we are sooooo behind in transit planning...

 

[M II A II R II K]

Front St can be already served by having a local service on the already existing GO route. A DRL can go under Queen which would also be ideal for short range rapid transit to move massive volumes of people like on Bloor.

 

[kkgg7]

The fact is we are so far behind in what was supposed to be build. Everyone is at fault for this. Ford is really the only latest setback. This might not even get done until he is gone.

Today I read news saying TTC finally reached some sort of deal to adopt the presto fare system by Pam Am.
Yes, we are more far behind than we think. My instinct was, should I be happy or sad, that Toronto is finally entering 1995, in 4 years time?
It takes 10 years to adopt a simple fare system. I wouldn't be surprised if nothing got actually built in the next 30 years. Not a bit. We are in a backward place. Deal with it.

 

[kkgg7]

A DRL can go under Queen which would also be ideal for short range rapid transit to move massive volumes of people like on Bloor.

Very good idea. I doubt it will happen with the lifespan of any of the UT members here.

 

[CanadianNational]

I'm no transit expert, but here's my two cents worth.

It's necessary that Metrolinx would want to relieve congestion at Union - one would think that this sort of thing would be the basics of their job. But it doesn't look like much else has been taken into consideration.
I find it interesting that so little about Toronto's transit makes intuitive or pleasing sense. It's like we're still working on a PET computer, while the rest of the world has moved on to Macs.

The two plans shown as Metrolinx's favourites seem really kind of half-baked to me. Both new station positions seem awkward. I can't imagine people are going to want to be transferring or walking to or from them, with the actual Union Station so close by. It's almost like it was designed to frustrate. Plus, I don't see them becoming major new stations that will act as nodes to tie lots of new lines together. So it all seems rather provisional.

Secondly, it's like we got two-thirds of a DRL, with a perky, commonsense east end, and a truncated spur of a west end. I think a subway to Exhibition is a wonderful idea! - longed for, and hoped for. But - it's so....partial and disappointing, compared to the prospect of the DRL continuing on to rejoin Bloor in the West. Plus, it leaves Queen west without almost any DRL at all - and what use is that? If there's any street in downtown crying out for transit relief, it's Queen. I think the DRL would go nicely under King, too - but, c'est la vie.

I have to agree with the people on here who says it looks like it was designed for commuters, but not for people who actually live downtown. It looks like a plan that was cooked up trying to get the most tolerance for the buck on a budget that would hardly buy a birdcage. A plan that only a bureaucratic planner who had no idea of how people actually like to get around Toronto - and rely on transit to do it seamlessly and pleasurably - could love.

Also, the fact that even this piecemeal bit hasn't been fastracked to have been built by yesterday is frustrating in itself.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Today I read news saying TTC finally reached some sort of deal to adopt the presto fare system by Pam Am.
Yes, we are more far behind than we think. My instinct was, should I be happy or sad, that Toronto is finally entering 1995, in 4 years time?
It takes 10 years to adopt a simple fare system. I wouldn't be surprised if nothing got actually built in the next 30 years. Not a bit. We are in a backward place. Deal with it.

Word. It's sad. Metrolinx just can do this without Council approval and TTC. I want to believe but this sounds like more talk to me.

 

[CapitalSeven]

I don't think I've ever seen a Toronto Star graphic about a transportation project that wasn't wildly wrong. It's as though they've never even visited Toronto. I can't imagine how they do it.

Metrolinx seems to have a fixation with Queen Street; the DRL has to go there, end of question. If the theoretical GO tunnel isn't under the rail corridor, then it has to be under Queen, end of story. One look at a satellite view of downtown Toronto should show you that getting a rail line from Front and Spadina to Osgoode would give you a bunch of huge curves and cost a huge bucket of money. And it would take most of the passengers well north of where they want to go. I may be missing something, but it seems such a preposterous idea that I can't understand how it got on paper. What about King? A tunnel under Wellington would be almost easy by comparison, and would deposit riders where they are actually destined.

I know the idea of a subway line under Queen has a long history to it and a lot of folks think it's the obvious choice, but I think it's a bad one. Building it would cause transit chaos downtown for years. Queen already has a transit line that can handle all of its own demand. It is lined with heritage buildings that, let's face it, would "accidentally" burn down and be replaced by 40-story cookie-cutter boxes about 20 minutes after the subway opened.

The Front corridor is in the process of being built up with much greater heights and densities than Queen, and is poorly served by transit. It has important regional destinations like the Dome, the convention centre, and the Exhibition that would benefit from a subway line. Building it would not involve scrapping an existing transit investment and would be less disruptive in terms of transit, people's lives, and heritage.