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timio said:
For those who know more about this type of thing, what work can be done in Guelph until the GEXR lease is over? There's still at least a few months left, IIRC.
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ML can likely do plenty, so long as they coordinate with GEXR so that freight movements aren’t unreasonably impeded. With GO, VIA and GEXR all using the line, work will likely be planned to allow this.

- Paul
 
Will expropriation be necessary? There's not much room to double/triple track in that area. However, if speeds can be increased to 50 km/h or better in the area, trip times could be reduced by about 10 minutes between Kitchener and Guelph, and therefore, Toronto. If the same happens at the Schantz Station Rd bridge, another 5 minutes can be shaved off, and if the speeds between Georgetown and Acton can be increased, another 5 minutes off. That's 20 minutes of savings right there. Combined with express services, the trip from Kitchener to Toronto becomes 1:20 hour:minutes. These small ~10M dollar improvements could do wonders for ridership, so why isn't Metrolinx doing this all over the system?
 
This is an example of how Fords anti-transit forum will not work like it did in Toronto. In Toronto he is able to pit the urbanites who would never vote for a Ford against the conservative suburbanites such as in the anti-LRT and pro-Scar subway debate. Now he has to talk to Conservative voters who want transit connections and infrastructure spending in their areas. Cancelling projects for left-wing urban Torontonians is one thing, hurting his base in the non-Toronto ridings is quite another.

He will have the same problem with huge budget items like Tor-Lon-Win HSR having to lure those votes who are already leery of his leadership and at the same time trying to figure out how he will spend these large amounts of money and balance the books or conversely tell those important voters that their dreams of better infrastructure will have to be put on hold. If he puts them on hold he will have a very tough job explaining why they do not get rail and yet RER will be going ahead in the GTA. Conversely if he has to be pressured to stop RER to create equality of regions then he greatly risks the important suburban 416 and 905 voters. If he cancels all of the projects rationalized by the fact that everyone has to share the pain then he conversely misses out of massive infrastructure funds from Ottawa which opens a huge can of worms.

He is now starting to realize that running for city council is far different than running for Premier in such a large and diverse province and that conservative priorities in the rest of Ontario may be completely different priorities than those in the GTA.
 
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Perhaps we are only just figuring out what it means to have a populist as Premier (-to-be).

Doug didn't say he wouldn't support GO Niagara. He simply said that it had not been put to the acid test of due diligence that he holds paramount: ie, he hasn't heard directly from the people.

It doesn't matter that GO Niagara has a Business Case already. A BCA is just something that a professional (ie an elite) has prepared. He's serving notice that he doesn't trust BCA's, and doesn't intend to read them. Don't confuse him with facts and figures, especially if they were prepared by consulting firms (ie, smart people with university degrees). Just let him talk to the 'people', and the real true facts will emerge.

There is a lot more classic Rob Ford in this episode than we may have given Doug credit for. We figured Doug was the smarter and more polished brother.

Maybe he isn't.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
It doesn't matter that GO Niagara has a Business Case already. A BCA is just something that a professional (ie an elite) has prepared. He's serving notice that he doesn't trust BCA's, and doesn't intend to read them. l
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I have not read the BCA for Niagara GO service......so I am not gonna comment on the proposed service.......but i’d be very careful with a “it has a BCA, ipso facto it must make sense” stance......surely I am not the only person who has read BCAs that point in one direction only to recommend an entirely different thing? Usually the thing recommended is what the local politicians want and it makes a mockery of the whole BCA exercise.
 
TOareaFan said:
I have not read the BCA for Niagara GO service......so I am not gonna comment on the proposed service.......but i’d be very careful with a “it has a BCA, ipso facto it must make sense” stance......surely I am not the only person who has read BCAs that point in one direction only to recommend an entirely different thing? Usually the thing recommended is what the local politicians want and it makes a mockery of the whole BCA exercise.
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No kidding.

Which is why the populist viewpoint is so politically attractive, and doing so well in the polls :)

- Paul
 
I thought the row back on GO was going to be accompanied by the promise of funding the mid peninsula highway but I don’t think that shoe has dropped yet?
 
Ford has proven himself to be more than willing to ignore business cases for political gain with the Scar subway being the most glaring example. That might let give him the Niagara GO expansion the green light but sets up the impossible task of saying no to everyone else.
 
ssiguy2 said:
Ford has proven himself to be more than willing to ignore business cases for political gain with the Scar subway being the most glaring example. That might let give him the Niagara GO expansion the green light but sets up the impossible task of saying no to everyone else.
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You do realize that the governing Liberals also support the Scarborough extension right?
 
narduch said:
You do realize that the governing Liberals also support the Scarborough extension right?
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They only do because City of Toronto councillors that think they know better then transit planers think that a one-stop subway is so much better than a 17 stop LRT line, because Scarbrough deserves a subway.
 
EastYorkTTCFan said:
They only do because City of Toronto councillors that think they know better then transit planers think that a one-stop subway is so much better than a 17 stop LRT line, because Scarbrough deserves a subway.
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I think they do because it is politically expedient to do so.
 
And...here is the outstanding RFQ from a couple of weeks ago, for existing station renovation:
https://www.merx4.merx.com/public/solicitations/736046108/abstract

This project consists of approximately 22 existing station sites with work that may include:

  • Station access and Surface parking improvements
  • New Parking Structure(s)
  • Bus loop increased capacity and rehabilitation
  • Passenger Pick Up and Drop Off increased capacity and rehabilitation
  • Pedestrian tunnel(s) and bridge(s)
  • New bicycle covered rack and secured bicycle parking
  • Electrical room upgrades and retrofit, where required
  • Electrical vehicles charging stations, where required
  • New and rehabilitated station buildings and customer waiting areas
  • Platform pavement rehabilitation and new edge tiles
  • New Bus and Platform shelters
  • Wayfinding and static signage improvements
  • Digital signage civil works and installations
  • Upgrade lighting to DRM (LED) standard for tunnels, platforms and parking lots
  • Life Safety Retrofit (New Smoke Alarms/Strobes, Detectors, Pull Stations and Speakers)
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