[TOareaFan]

Pasted from Steve Munro's website - Mlinx's Top 15 priority projects:
(bold=today's announcement)

* VIVA Highway 7 and Yonge Street through York Region
* Brampton’s Queen Street Acceleride
* Spadina subway extension to Vaughan Corporate Centre
* Yonge subway extension to Richmond Hill and capacity improvements
* Eglinton rapid transit from Pearson Airport to Scarborough Centre
* Upgrade and extension of the Scarborough Rapid Transit line
* Finch/Sheppard rapid transit from Pearson Airport to Scarborough Centre and Meadowvale
* Express Rail on the Lakeshore Line from Hamilton to Oshawa
* Rapid transit in downtown Hamilton from McMaster University to Centennial Parkway
* Hurontario rapid transit from Port Credit to downtown Brampton
* 403 Transitway from Mississauga City Centre to the Renforth Gateway
* Rail link between Union Station and Pearson Airport
* Rapid transit service along Highway 2 in Durham
* Improvements to existing GO Rail services and extension of GO Rail service to Bowmanville
* Early phases of BRT service on Dundas Street in Halton and Peel

I don't think they were prioritized within that list.

So, that leads me to my next question....has Mr. McGuinty just prioritized these for Metrolinx and, will the other projects on the list ever get the sort of funding that these 4 just got? (ie. wasn't M'linx's plan a few billion short of funding already?). Be a shame if Mr. McGuinty just bought Mr. Miller's public love by usurping the planning and priortizing authority of the very agency he created.

Seems we may be moving back to the days of "ad hoc" "squeeky wheel" transit planning....shame really.

 

[realtycoon]

That look even in such hard times I am building transit, remember the dark days of Mike Harris !!!

The dark days that gave us the Sheppard Subway and Highway 407 (A quick way across the GTA and used by thousands on Go Transit 407 routes)...
Oh, those were very dark days indeed

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

So, that leads me to my next question....has Mr. McGuinty just prioritized these for Metrolinx and, will the other projects on the list ever get the sort of funding that these 4 just got? (ie. wasn't M'linx's plan a few billion short of funding already?). Be a shame if Mr. McGuinty just bought Mr. Miller's public love by usurping the planning and priortizing authority of the very agency he created.

It's a good Q - I think the short answer is that he gave money to things that are "shovel ready" as part of the infrastructure stimulus plan.

It still begs the question about Sheppard's omission but, as I posted earlier, it could explain the omission of the Yonge subway extension which is 7 days away from completing its EA process. Someone else could better comment on the statuses (stati?) of the rest of the other 9 projects without funding.

And realtycoon - it's worth mentioning both those projects were very compromised. The 407 obviously because it was sold and Sheppard because it was hacked nearly into near irrelevancy and accompanied by the simultaneous axing of Eglinton. Hardly proud moments in tranport planning history.

 

[Dilla]

The dark days that gave us the Sheppard Subway and Highway 407 (A quick way across the GTA and used by thousands on Go Transit 407 routes)...
Oh, those were very dark days indeed

Yes, a subway to nowhere, and a very expensive toll highway sold for pennies on the dollar. Good times.

 

[TOareaFan]

It's a good Q - I think the short answer is that he gave money to things that are "shovel ready" as part of the infrastructure stimulus plan.

It still begs the question about Sheppard's omission but, as I posted earlier, it could explain the omission of the Yonge subway extension which is 7 days away from completing its EA process. Someone else could better comment on the statuses (stati?) of the rest of the other 9 projects without funding.

Your right but it is, to me, a much more basic question....why create an agency like M'linx (really digging this contraction if you can't tell) to regionally plan and co-ordinate if you are just going to hold press conferences announcing that you are going to write a $9B cheque to fund projects that are, largely, city projects and not regional.

Before someone jumps on this...I am not suggesting that this new order is not the right order....I am not capable of making that judgement - just M'linx is .......I also think that M&M should also be deferring to M'linx on this or M'linx should just be scrapped.....and we can have jump balls for transit funding!!!

Were the other cities/Mayors with pet transit projects given equal consideration/notice that all of that careful planning and reporting and public consultation by M'linx was really just window dressing and that they too could have the Premier make their announcements for them?

 

[ShonTron]

In that list above, the Spadina Extension and Acceleride has funding already. The Hurontario-Main Street study is still very much in conceptual stage - a technology has yet to be decided. The Georgetown corridor I believe has funding to go once the EA is complete, and I think the Mississauga busway is funded.

Also funded was the EA for Hamilton.

 

[RedRocket191]

Before someone jumps on this...I am not suggesting that this new order is not the right order....I am not capable of making that judgement - just M'linx is .......I also think that M&M should also be deferring to M'linx on this or M'linx should just be scrapped.....and we can have jump balls for transit funding!!!

Were the other cities/Mayors with pet transit projects given equal consideration/notice that all of that careful planning and reporting and public consultation by M'linx was really just window dressing and that they too could have the Premier make their announcements for them?

The projects that they picked today are, for the most part, going to be ready for construction in the next 12 months. As ShonTron pointed out a lot of the other projects already have funding.

We have to start somewhere if we're going to build a network.

 

[TOareaFan]

In that list above, the Spadina Extension and Acceleride has funding already. The Hurontario-Main Street study is still very much in conceptual stage - a technology has yet to be decided. The Georgetown corridor I believe has funding to go once the EA is complete, and I think the Mississauga busway is funded.

Also funded was the EA for Hamilton.

I think the only funding for the Georgetown corridor is the current work (the triangle, the double tracking west of Bramalea and the Mt. Pleasant, Malton and Brampton station improvements).....that work will simply facilitate the airport link and the extension of the current (very limited) off peak service that currently terminates at Bramalea...there has been no funding (that I am aware of) for any other extensions (towards M'linx' and GO's vision of full two way express service to Brampton).

I may be wrong (lord knows, I have been before...but I think that is largely because of the haphazard way this RTP is being put together....M'linx, I thought, was supposed to be a central planning and implementation agency....instead we are getting announcements from them, GO, Queen's Park, Ottawa and Toronto City Hall......honestly, can anyone say with certainty they know where any/all of these projects stand in terms of fudning/planning?)

 

[taal]

The projects that they picked today are, for the most part, going to be ready for construction in the next 12 months. As ShonTron pointed out a lot of the other projects already have funding.

We have to start somewhere if we're going to build a network.

Right, that makes sense.

But the omission of the Sheppard line seems more purposeful then not ... It's more ready then any other TC lines. If anything you'd put off announcing Finch or Eginlton. We all know how much government like making these announcements over and over again.

But again, I wonder if this points to some disagreement between the TTC and metrolinx regarding the implementation of Sheppard ... for the life of me I can't think of any other reason for not announcing it today.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

We all know how much government like making these announcements over and over again.

don't knock them. they could have alzheimer's disease.

 

[lead82]

Here's hoping for a Sheppard East subway to Scarborough extension announcement soon.

 

[waterloowarrior]

Sheppard East is getting funding, it just wasn’t announced today. The mayor and premier said as much.

Comment by Matthew Blackett
April 1, 2009 @ 5:36 pm

 

[Second_in_pie]

As long as Eglinton gets something better than LRT, I'm happy. It might be Subway (hopefully) or it could be ART (MK II fo sho.) It just doesn't make sense to be regular Streetcar ROW, both because of the amount of riders it will be getting and the length of route.

I thought if they build Eglinton as a subway (showing they care) they could build Finch W/Sheppard E (or Finch W/Finch E!) with ART, giving Toronto a beautiful number (3/4!) of fast, reliable Crosstown routes, backboned by the YUS, and supported by the other TC routes and the DRL.

The only problem with Transit City is that all the routes are needed, but there's not enough money to do them all the best they could be, and the City needs to start using the money we have now not only for Miller's election platform, but because our transit system is leaking at the seams. I swear, in 20 or 30 years, we'll be kicking ourselves for this.

 

[lordmandeep]

The dark days that gave us the Sheppard Subway and Highway 407 (A quick way across the GTA and used by thousands on Go Transit 407 routes)...
Oh, those were very dark days indeed

The 407 may be useful however the fact it was sold for the same amount as it cost or less, was

 

[DavidH]

The dark days that gave us the Sheppard Subway and Highway 407 (A quick way across the GTA and used by thousands on Go Transit 407 routes)...
Oh, those were very dark days indeed

Bull. The 407 was initiated by the NDP government. Harris's sole contribution was to sell it off in exchange for some quick political credit with taxpayers.