[iainmcampbell]

@WislaHD it just might! The current half hour frequency of the 80 is pretty awful, more what you'd expect from Brampton or Mississauga. There's a lot of industrial use along the Queensway, but also a growing number of condo developments and a ton of bungalows on streets that don't even have sidewalks (!) that are ripe for upzoning. if we can ever get the Waterfront West LRT built, the Queensway route would connect to it, which would also drive ridership.

Unfortunately the TTC is under such a starvation budget right now that their ridership growth strategy is basically nonexistent. The first thing to do would be to start running additional service on the existing 80 bus, ie double the frequency to 15 min instead of 30, but they don't have the vehicles or service hours to spare thanks to John 'I only spend money on boondoggle megaprojects' Tory and his suburban posse.

 

[toaster29]

Definitely a case where frequency makes riding the 80 less attractive, so the ridership numbers aren't much of a surprise. Why wait 30 minutes when you can take many of the North/South busses (Kipling, Islington) at a frequency of 10 minutes or less, and get to Line 2 in under 10 minutes. I don't think it's a big problem, especially considering Line 2 isn't at capacity yet, but in the future having a Queensway LRT makes sense. I'm not sure if someone as far West as Kipling and The Queensway would want to take an LRT through all of those red lights (if headed to the core). Still think the more attractive option would be to head up to the subway. Guess it depends where the person is going.

 

[Keyz]

January 13th, 2018

 

[Jasonzed]

 

[drum118]

Needs to happen

Mayor John Tory backs costly Park Lawn GO station

 

[DopeyFish]

Nah, Metrolinx. It's not redundant. It's that the Mimico station is serving primarily 2 storey houses and 2 apartment buildings.

Already more people live in the vicinity of the where the Park Lawn station should be than the rest of Mimico and Christie site has potential to make that upwards of 3x the population if they'd wise up and build the basic necessities required. I don't even live that close to HBS and it's about as big of a no brainer as you can get.

One quick glance at the census data in 2006 makes me believe that Mimico station serves less than 10,000 people, considering most of the density is in Lakeshore area. Serving over 30,000 or serving less than 10,000 where the majority are home owners and likely own vehicles... hmmmm this is such a tough decision!

Another thing they fail to realize is because how TTC is laid out, people going downtown from even Lakeshore Village and the Queensway, if their preference is to use GO, would probably prioritize Park Lawn over Long Branch and Mimico as TTC would funnel directly into Park Lawn. If I'm at Kipling and Queensway, why would I go to Mimico GO? If I'm at Kipling and Lake Shore why would I go to Long Branch or Mimico GO? Makes zero sense. HBS GO would be drawing a lot of passengers from these areas.

 

[interchange42]

Agreed @DopeyFish. The Metrolinx analysis of the Park Lawn station location is amateurish, embarrassing even. It's all poorly selected numbers (while ignoring others), and then not applying them to the local geography anyway.

In connection with that John Tory/Mark Grimes event yesterday, there was this press release:

January 17, 2018

Mayor Tory highlights next steps to move Waterfront Transit forward

This morning in Etobicoke, Mayor John Tory highlighted the next steps that will move the Waterfront Transit Network Plan forward. These steps are outlined in a report coming to the Executive Committee next week. Mayor Tory was joined by Councillor Mark Grimes.

“Our Etobicoke waterfront has exploded with development. People want to live here, but our transit has not kept up,” said Mayor Tory. “We have a plan for transit solutions across the entire length of the waterfront to get Toronto moving. We are getting on with it and I'm confident we will get it built.”

By 2041, the waterfront will outpace most areas of the City and region in terms of growth. In this report, solutions are being advanced to create a transit network from Long Branch and Lake Shore in the west to Queen Street and Leslie Street in the east. A combination of streetcar improvements, light rail transit and dedicated right-of-way infrastructure is recommended for the network.

“The people in Etobicoke deserve more transit options. Moving forward with this plan will bring reliable, high-level transit to connect people to the rest of the city,” said Councillor Mark Grimes.

By approving this report at Executive Committee next week and then City Council at the end of January, City staff will be directed to work on design and construction of the Waterfront Transit Network Plan. Given the multi-modal components, substantial parts of the plan can be completed within a ten-year timeframe. The Mayor vowed he will be asking City staff to speed up work as much as possible to deliver this project as soon as possible.

“This report shows work is being done to move forward on building more transit, which is how we are going to fix traffic congestion in the long-term,” said Mayor Tory. “For the first time, we have a transit plan that will make sure we get on with building Waterfront transit, SmartTrack, the Relief Line, the Scarborough subway extension and to expand the City’s LRT network.”​

There's also this, from Councillor's Grimes' office re: what the short term plan to fix things in this area:

Improving access to public transit is one of the most important issues in our community, and across the city. This Thursday, I will host two open house sessions for the community regarding proposed improvements to the 66B bus on Marine Parade Drive, as well as a new proposed TTC shuttle bus route serving Mimico GO station. I will be in attendance to answer questions alongside City Transportation and TTC staff.

For any residents unable to attend, I will post the meeting materials and details on how to submit feedback on my website following the open house sessions.

Event Details

Date: Thursday January 18, 2017
Time: 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.or 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Polish Alliance Hall, second floor, 2282 Lake Shore Blvd. W.​

It will be interesting to see what the proposed temporary solution entails!

42

 

[W. K. Lis]

Here's the link.

 

[interchange42]

I got some ground level shots the other day of the progress here. With the soft late-day light, the lack of buildings onsite now, and the bleakness of the winter landscape, the site has the pall of a cold, snowy death hanging over it right now.

Glad the sun promises some eventual warmth again… I'll look for wildflowers pushing up through the earth here in the spring.

42

 

[A Torontonian Now]

Glad they're keeping the water tower. It's even more prominent in the area post-demolition.

 

[Automation Gallery]

Glad they're keeping the water tower. .

Hopefully nothing gets built taller than that

 

[DopeyFish]

Hopefully nothing gets built taller than that

Hopefully everything is taller.

That would mean lots of offices, rentals and condos which means... Vibrant retail and eateries and most importantly proper transit.

If it ends up being a plaza wasteland I will be very disappointed. Leave that junk for suburbia and let's focus on making a mini city core.

 

[ProjectEnd]

Regarding Mimico, remember that there's a ton of density planned there as well so I don't think closing that station to move it here makes sense either.

Metrolinx slavish adherence to abstract policy (1.5km stop spacing) while ignoring what's actually going on at each station is the real problem.

 

[Lenser]

Why do I have the impression that Metrolinx is a bureaucracy unto itself, one far more interested in perpetuating its own power than in co-operating with other levels of government and implementing real world transit solutions? Their decision-making process seems utterly opaque.

 

[cd concept]

Regarding Mimico, remember that there's a ton of density planned there as well so I don't think closing that station to move it here makes sense either.

Metrolinx slavish adherence to abstract policy (1.5km stop spacing) while ignoring what's actually going on at each station is the real problem.

I believe there's going to be way more density in this location than you think. I wouldn't be surprised if the Ontario food terminal gets sold and relocated. Making way for more condos, office, retail etc, because of its location to the highway, Humber river, High park, beach, lake etc ! An excellent stop for locals and tourist exit on and off. Making this location more suitable than the other !!