Rainforest
Senior Member
Because LRT provides higher passenger capacity than bus lanes. Bus lanes simply cannot provide adequate capacity to provide good service on high volume bus corridors such as Eglinton, Sheppard, Finch, etc, because of the limited capacity of buses. However, subways are prohibitively expensive to build (it would cost about $40 billion to build all of Transit City as subway, which is money we do not have) and their very high capacity is not needed. The Transit City plan provides better service to a larger area (and thus more customers) than the alternative of one or two fairly short subway lines with overcrowded feeder buses (even if they run in reserved lanes), even though subway is faster (though not by much, if the subway stops frequently).
I am not suggesting that we build LRT on every major artery right away, I am just saying that building a parallel relief line is an option, which is prohibitively expensive, if an LRT line reaches capacity.
I share the concern about bus lanes and their capacities. And the cost of adding bus lanes can be nontrivial if the road has to be widened and properties acquired. Once those costs are incurred, it might be more effective to build LRT which has higher capacity limit and lower operation costs.
On the other hand, multiple LRT lines are not always better than one subway line; that depends on the area. Speaking of Finch E / Sheppard E / Ellesmere, if the ultimate goal is to build an LRT line on each of those streets, those 3 LRT lines would cost substantially more than the extended Sheppard subway (because there would be 3 of them, and each would be much longer than the subway). Hence, they would take longer to build (longer to get the funding).
The best option I can think of for this corridor, is to push Sheppard subway further east (to Agincourt, if STC is unaffordable at this time), and operate multiple bus routes running east and north off that terminus. That means that residents of Finch E and Ellesmere (east of Kennedy) who need to travel west, will have a direct bus connection to the subway. Many residents of Markham will have a direct bus connection to the subway, as well. The scheme would work even better if frequent GO service from Agincourt Stn to Union is established.
The above scheme would not work if we build Sheppard East LRT as planned(to Don Mills). Those who live near Sheppard E will use that line, but others will not be eager to take a bus to transfer to LRT to transfer to Sheppard subway.
Since Sheppard East LRT is already funded and construction is about to start, I would not call to cancel it. Such cancellation would risk the allocated funds, and create confusion amongst the general (not transit-minded) public. A better course is a call for upgrade of the western portion of the line (Don Mills - Agincourt) from LRT to subway, and keep the rest as LRT. Since the construction starts conveniently from the east (a carhouse near Meadowvale is planned), there is a chance to keep building the LRT and at the same time push the subway forward, till they meet at Agincourt.
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