[sixrings]

You can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglinton_West_line

Still no numbers are being provided and what about the plans that existed before network 2011? Also imay be reading it wrong but it appears that the bus way is only suppose to be from where the subway ends (keele) to Pearson via the richview corridor which to this day makes sense.

 

[car4041]

Still no numbers are being provided and what about the plans that existed before network 2011? Also imay be reading it wrong but it appears that the bus way is only suppose to be from where the subway ends (keele) to Pearson via the richview corridor which to this day makes sense.

You might want to re-read this quote from the article, which makes it pretty clear that the whole thing was originally proposed as a busway because ridership didn't warrant a subway.

The initial Network 2011 report stated that the proposed rapid transit line would be a busway, and not a subway. The busway would be the most cost-effective alternative since Eglinton West corridor sits in the vacant Richview Expressway corridor, though in the future it could be expanded to a subway if ridership warranted.

Maybe we could put this discussion to rest. My main point was just that decades-old plans aren't necessarily relevant to the present-day situation. Sometimes plans are based on incorrect predictions (like the wildly inaccurate employment numbers projected for Scarborough Centre) and other times they reflect political pressure rather than sound transit planning. These factors affect current plans too, of course, but regardless, there's not much grounds to say that if something was proposed in 1985, it must automatically be necessary today.

 

[junctionist]

Whenever I read about transit expansion on Eglinton in the context of Network 2011, I wonder how can you build a BRT line on Eglinton when there are only two lanes in each direction in the central section. How could that idea have been taken seriously by planners, unless they envisioned turning Eglinton into a transit mall?

 

[car4041]

Whenever I read about transit expansion on Eglinton in the context of Network 2011, I wonder how can you build a BRT line on Eglinton when there are only two lanes in each direction in the central section. How could that idea have been taken seriously by planners, unless they envisioned turning Eglinton into a transit mall?

Yes, I wonder what the idea was. Could the Belt Line corridor have played a role? (Not that I'm saying that's a good idea, I know it's a few blocks north.)

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Until it is built, nothing is certain. I do not think that anything other than the tunnelling will be done prior to the next Municipal election and I am certain that transit will be a major election issue. Although I agree that the LRT technology is quite firmly set, I can still see a lot of potential changes depending on the results of the next campaign and election.

What are you suggesting? That Ford will win the next election, and pull a Harris? I know I take a bit of a leap in saying this, but even he's not that stupid.

IMHO, the continued chatter is just fanboys wanking. Everyone seems to want to appoint themselves as the be-all and end-all 'expert' that really knows how this thing should be built.

 

[car4041]

What are you suggesting? That Ford will win the next election, and pull a Harris? I know I take a bit of a leap in saying this, but even he's not that stupid.

I took BurlOak's point to mean that the tunnel from Keele to Laird is a definite, but other aspects of the plan could still change. For example, if Ford got re-elected, he could have another go at putting Eglinton East underground.

 

[BurlOak]

What are you suggesting? That Ford will win the next election, and pull a Harris? I know I take a bit of a leap in saying this, but even he's not that stupid.

IMHO, the continued chatter is just fanboys wanking. Everyone seems to want to appoint themselves as the be-all and end-all 'expert' that really knows how this thing should be built.

Based on that past dozen posts, it appears that to "pull a Harris" means to cancel an unwarranted politically motivated subway with very little transit demand.

I do not think Ford, or anyone else, will cancel the Crosstown. What I do think is that Ford, or some other non-Councillor mayoralty candidate, will make this an issue and propose anything different from the current Transit City proposal just to gain support from Scarborough and the other former boroughs. Elevated and/or cut-and-cover through Scarborough, along with through routing with SRT and a DRL up to Eglinton seems like something that could feasibly be promised and delivered. Of course we could wind up in a similar situation in 3 years time where the Mayor, and the public, and Council, do not see things the same way.

 

[rbt]

Whenever I read about transit expansion on Eglinton in the context of Network 2011, I wonder how can you build a BRT line on Eglinton when there are only two lanes in each direction in the central section. How could that idea have been taken seriously by planners, unless they envisioned turning Eglinton into a transit mall?

A transit mall on Eglinton may have been a reasonable thing to do.

People (tax-payers as Ford likes to call 'em) would freak out if we spent $4.3B to create a 15km long 2-lane road for private automobiles. Somehow it becomes a reasonable expenditure to preserve a 15km long 2-lane road for private automobiles.

 

[Palma]

The busway plan then became a subway plan due to politics, because Sheppard East was getting a subway.

And Sheppard East was not political?. A subway is warranted north (Sheppard) yet a subway running central (Eglinton) is not? Guess Bloor subway should not have been built when it was and instead a subway running further north should have been. Does this make sense? No it does not. There is greater density at Eglinton and south then there is north of the 401. And that is pretty obvious

 

[Palma]

I took BurlOak's point to mean that the tunnel from Keele to Laird is a definite, but other aspects of the plan could still change. For example, if Ford got re-elected, he could have another go at putting Eglinton East underground.

And councillors will somehow have a change of heart?

 

[ssiguy2]

Regardless who is in power at City Hall or Queen's Park in a few years, Eglinton is a go.
I do think, however, that there will be further discussions about the DM to Kennedy section and wanting it made into a total grade separated line and with good reason. Needless to say that will involve some form of elevation and if it becomes a totally grade separated line then I think you will see continued pressure to scrap LRT technology.

 

[car4041]

And Sheppard East was not political?. A subway is warranted north (Sheppard) yet a subway running central (Eglinton) is not?

Of course Sheppard was also political.

 

[dowlingm]

There will be some undergrounding east of Brentcliffe where road conditions warrant it - the Kennedy approach and Don Mills junction are definite underground bits.

 

[ladyscraper]

I wonder how construction is coming along? They are digging the tunnel already, right?

 

[rbt]

I wonder how construction is coming along? They are digging the tunnel already, right?

I don't believe TBMs have been delivered (this fall).

They are digging launch points and performing soil testing around stations as required.