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The Sheppard site is inherited from the original Sheppard East LRT plans, and if I am not mistaken, the land has been purchaced and reserved for transit.
Yes. 8304 Sheppard Avenue East – Official Plan & Rezoning Applications – Final Report - 2010

8304 Sheppard Avenue East – Official Plan & Rezoning Applications – Final Report
May 28, 2010
These applications propose a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) Maintenance and Storage Facility at 8304 Sheppard Avenue East. The facility is a key part of the Transit City Plan and is intended to maintain and store LRVs on the Sheppard East Light Rail Transit line, as well as other Transit City lines in the future.

The property is owned by the Province of Ontario (Ministry of Transportation)

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The City has committed 1.2 billion out of 4.2 billion required. I can't see why the province and the feds cant split 1.5 billion each and get this project in the ground. Anyone have any thoughts when funding could potentially be secured? In the next year or 2 or are we looking way down the line?
I feel it's very unlikely that the province will provide additional funds - given that it has already decided on what it wants to spend it's transit billions on - the Ontario Line/Eglinton West/Scarborough Subway/Yonge North projects, with a future Subway extension on Sheppard in the future.

Given the future election however - you never know! There's other transit projects waiting in the wings looking for funding too - extension of the ion LRT to Cambridge, Waterfront Transit etc...
 
I feel it's very unlikely that the province will provide additional funds - given that it has already decided on what it wants to spend it's transit billions on - the Ontario Line/Eglinton West/Scarborough Subway/Yonge North projects, with a future Subway extension on Sheppard in the future.

Given the future election however - you never know! There's other transit projects waiting in the wings looking for funding too - extension of the ion LRT to Cambridge, Waterfront Transit etc...
Would you say that the Sheppard subway extension funding confirmation would come before the Eglinton East LRT Extension?

Also the election is in 120 days... Do you or anyone here think that any additional transportation announcements will come by then? Perhaps Liberals or NDPs up the anti and Ford will have to follow suit?
 
The line could be made more likely to get built by removing expensive and unneeded changes to the plan like the extension to Malvern and the underground part from Lawrence to Morningside.
Those changes came through the analysis and community feedback. I participated in the process and the project may not be perfect but it doesn't have any frills.
 
Would you say that the Sheppard subway extension funding confirmation would come before the Eglinton East LRT Extension?

Also the election is in 120 days... Do you or anyone here think that any additional transportation announcements will come by then? Perhaps Liberals or NDPs up the anti and Ford will have to follow suit?

Although it is hard to predict what any of them will promise, neither of those parties will gain a lot of votes with such promises.

The Cons don't really need Sheppard Subway this time. They can brandish the 4 projects they already announced, that are already in design or in the early construction stages, and all will be completed sooner than Sheppard.

The Liberals or NDPs will not gain many votes with suburban LRTs. Those LRTs are useful, but they are not catchy and do not prompt the voters to change their decision. They will have a better chance with the Waterfront East LRT, that one is catchy and may energize their voters to some degree.
 
The City has committed 1.2 billion out of 4.2 billion required. I can't see why the province and the feds cant split 1.5 billion each and get this project in the ground. Anyone have any thoughts when funding could potentially be secured? In the next year or 2 or are we looking way down the line?

The feds provide lump-sum funding evenly divided between the provinces. It's very rare that they provide funding for a specific project outside of a generic country-wide program. It's entirely up to the province to submit the paperwork (typically on behalf of the municipality) for those generic country-wide programs.

In short, federal funding being committed to Eglinton East is up to Ford, and Ford used every penny of money available on other projects.


That said, since most provinces have allocated all available "Investing in Canada" money through to 2029, perhaps the feds will create a new program starting 2025 through around 2034; that allows 3 to 4 years for projects to go through EAs. Quebec, Ontario, and BC each have a list of unfunded partially studied projects; I believe REM-East is expecting a new federal funding bucket.

The last bucket of federal money ($2.5B) from the "Zero Emission Transit Fund" is going almost entirely to battery buses and garage electrification across the country.

Don't expect any federal funding announcements until well after the Ontario election. No point in gifting Ford federal money he can use to make campaign promises.
 
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Those changes came through the analysis and community feedback. I participated in the process and the project may not be perfect but it doesn't have any frills.
I remember from the consultation that the reason for the underground section was the assumption that full service of three car trains to Malvern would be needed, it won't be needed, there are not that many riders heading south east from Malvern to require a LRT, most will be going west to the Subway. The EELRT extension to Malvern was put in the plans to politically make up for the cancelled Scarborough LRT that was to have been built to Malvern in 2015.

That underground section also reduced two stops located at the major intersections to one that is midblock, requiring a longer transfer from the bus routes, and a longer walk to businesses in the area. But the main issue is it will cost something like $800 Million more, Just not worth it and we won't get the funding for it.
 
and we won't get the funding for it.
I really don’t buy this narrative. Within the scale of relatively marginal variation I do not, and never have, thought that the actual cost has any meaningful impact on the political decision making with respect to whether to fund a project. I see no reason to think that $800 million is make or break to any party here.
 
I really don’t buy this narrative. Within the scale of relatively marginal variation I do not, and never have, thought that the actual cost has any meaningful impact on the political decision making with respect to whether to fund a project. I see no reason to think that $800 million is make or break to any party here.
Its not an insubstantial amount of the outstanding funding, and just because funding appears, is not a good enough reason to just go out and spend it.
 
^ Is that number accurate though? How can a single underground station with very short tunnel segments on the sides, really just the portals, cost $800 million.

Maybe, $800 million is the total difference between the latest and the second latest version of the Eglinton East plan, and takes into account other changes to the route as well as some inflation correction.
 
^ Is that number accurate though? How can a single underground station with very short tunnel segments on the sides, really just the portals, cost $800 million.

Maybe, $800 million is the total difference between the latest and the second latest version of the Eglinton East plan, and takes into account other changes to the route as well as some inflation correction.
How much for just the Science Centre Station "with very short tunnel segments on the sides, really just the portals"?
 
^ Is that number accurate though? How can a single underground station with very short tunnel segments on the sides, really just the portals, cost $800 million.
It's not really just the portals, the underground section is more than half a KM with the portals. The cost increase is also what I remembered, and could find online.
 
heres hopping increased ticket revenue makes up for it! the zoo is also actively trying to create a more appealing winter experience, so it's getting slightly less seasonal.

My spouse and I love going to the zoo in the winter. It’s quieter, and many of the animals are more active in the winter, even in the Africa outdoor exhibits. They’re not so much fun on a hot sunny day.
 

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