[ShonTron]

Option 4 sounds like it's the best solution (grade separated at major intersections), with Option 2's stop spacing (basically Jane, Scarlett, Royal York, Islington, Kipling, Martin Grove, East Mall, Renforth Gateway, Carlingview and Pearson).

I'd like to see some grade separation as well, at least where it gives a good bang for the buck. Calgary does this well in the outer sections of its LRT, particularly on the northeast-west line, which has a lot of median running.

 

[Steve X]

I'd like to see some grade separation as well, at least where it gives a good bang for the buck. Calgary does this well in the outer sections of its LRT, particularly on the northeast-west line, which has a lot of median running.

The northwest line run in the middle of a highway like Allen road but in a much more suburban environment. Worst design ever for attracting customers on foot. It's like the Mississauga Transitway at Dixie and along Eglinton. It explains why ridership is so low there.

The actual cost of grade separation isn't included in the Calgary NW lines which is why it's so cheap compared to their West line. I don't expect grade operation means making a station like Science Centre along every major intersection.

 

[W. K. Lis]

There is plenty green space on the southwest corner of Martin Grove and Eglinton for the LRT to go under the intersection to a stop at that corner. It would reduce traffic congestion, which currently happens with the 32 Eglinton West buses.

And there would still be space available for the bicycle path and pedestrian trail on the south side of Eglinton, west of Martin Grove.

 

[salsa]

There is plenty green space on the southwest corner of Martin Grove and Eglinton for the LRT to go under the intersection to a stop at that corner. It would reduce traffic congestion, which currently happens with the 32 Eglinton West buses.
View attachment 66171

And there would still be space available for the bicycle path and pedestrian trail on the south side of Eglinton, west of Martin Grove.

There are some really nasty intersections here, particularly Eglinton & Eglinton, and Willowridge Rd. They should be redesigned.

 

[BurlOak]

A new Metrolinx report provides five alternative options for Eglinton West extension.


View attachment 66146


http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pd...oardMtg_RER_and_SmartTrack_Integration_EN.pdf

There are many questions that arise from this presentation

1. How can all options say 3 stops at airport, even though Option 1 has an extra dot between Renforth Gateway and Pearson?
2. The roads are almost perfectly spaced for 1km station spacing. Jane, Scarlet, Royal York, Islington, Kipling, Martin Grove, Renforth, Convair, Silver Dart, Pearson. Based on that, option 2 spacing seems to be the best. However, is a station really needed at East Mall or Rangoon - were the projections really that high for those stations/stops?
3. They are willing to consider and underground line which would be about 12km long. The cost of option 1 is $1.3B, while Option 5B (underground) would be about $4.0B. Meanwhile, option 5A (elevated) would be about $1.8B to $2.0B. With Option 2 spacing, but elevated, the cost would be about $200M more (conservatively $50M per station and 4 extra required). For 10% more than the elevated option with reduced spacing, we could get a rapid line with ideal spacing. Why not consider it?
4. How come 5 years ago Jane was viewed as being a major route requiring an LRT going from Steeles to Bloor, and now 60% of the options (3 of 5) do not even have a station/stop there?

Maybe they are getting closer to the correct solution (7 + 3) and grade-separated. But can't they just study the proper solution at the beginning instead of spending years posturing and playing politics.

 

[sixrings]

Option 2 Speed and Access Balance at grade FTW... Please build ASAP

 

[muller877]

There is plenty green space on the southwest corner of Martin Grove and Eglinton for the LRT to go under the intersection to a stop at that corner. It would reduce traffic congestion, which currently happens with the 32 Eglinton West buses.
View attachment 66171

And there would still be space available for the bicycle path and pedestrian trail on the south side of Eglinton, west of Martin Grove.

I believe they want to be north of Eglinton once they get past the 427 intersection. They can stay north with very few intersections until the Renforth Gateway where the BRT is also north of Eglinton. With the stream/river just west of all the mess of intersections it may need to be a flyover starting east of Martin Grove and ending just before the first underpass. If they add time to any of the lights in this area it will make the mess even worse.

 

[muller877]

Maybe they are getting closer to the correct solution (7 + 3) and grade-separated. But can't they just study the proper solution at the beginning instead of spending years posturing and playing politics.

Totally agree on the 7+3 option for stops. But I don't think they require grade separation other than a few intersections. A bit of an overkill for some of the roads here. And with far-side stops the LRT can basically go as fast with or without grade separation.

They probably have to grade separate Weston (too steep of a hill). And elevate at Jane for the same reason. Martin Grove/427 will also need a solution to avoid the transition from a centre alignment to a northern alignment. Other than maybe Kipling I don't think the other intersections are big enough to warrant some grade separation.

This assumes the LRT has signal priority and we know how well Toronto does on that. They can't even get a southern alignment on QQ to run efficiently.

 

[BurlOak]

I don't like the idea of grade-separating 80% of the line.

Grade-separate Jane. Martin Grove needs to be grade-separated too. Then 427 need it as well. Islington is pretty busy, so it requires grade-separation. It may not be 100% necessary at Scarlet and Royal York, but it would help greatly. The tracks would be about 8m to 10m above grade so for each grade separation, it takes about 400m to climb up to elevation, then 100m for a station, then 400m to descend back to grade (assuming 3% grade and smooth vertical curves). This takes up almost the entire block. With grade-separation, the entire line can run on auto-pilot. It also improves reliability greatly by completely eliminated traffic-transit conflicts.

I believe they want to be north of Eglinton once they get past the 427 intersection. They can stay north with very few intersections until the Renforth Gateway where the BRT is also north of Eglinton. With the stream/river just west of all the mess of intersections it may need to be a flyover starting east of Martin Grove and ending just before the first underpass. If they add time to any of the lights in this area it will make the mess even worse.

I had the elevated line switching from the north side to the south side somewhere between Kipling and Martin Grove (station on the SE corner of Martin Grove and Eglinton). The line line would go under the hydro corridor then over the Mimico Creek and Eglinton and pass under the north spans of the 427 bridges.

 

[jcam]

They probably have to grade separate Weston (too steep of a hill). And elevate at Jane for the same reason. Martin Grove/427 will also need a solution to avoid the transition from a centre alignment to a northern alignment. Other than maybe Kipling I don't think the other intersections are big enough to warrant some grade separation.

Best bet would be to punch the line out from a portal in the hillside going towards Jane. I imagine if you're moving ahead with Crosstown West, you'd want to hasten the tunnel from Mount Dennis to east of Jane so it can be done at the same time as the Mount Dennis station. Maybe do it as a change order to the CrossLinx project or do it as standalone before the rest of the line.

As for the grade separations, I saw somewhere someone note that because the Islington/Eglinton intersection is in a bit of a dip, you could actually keep the LRT relatively level and go OVER the intersection.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Eglinton Road Closure February 19-21

Photography Drive Bridge Demolition

From this link:

What is happening?

The first step in the construction of the Mount Dennis Station requires the demolition of the Photography Drive Bridge deck, which was closed in 2002. The Photography Drive Bridge is located over Eglinton Avenue West between Black Creek Drive and Weston Road. Eglinton will be closed between these streets during the demolition.

How:
Beginning in February 2016, a crew will move equipment on-site and prepare the bridge deck for demolition.

Toronto Hydro will remove street lamps and reuse them elsewhere.

Asphalt, concrete and steel girders will be removed from the bridge and recycled.

Jersey barriers will be installed to redirect traffic and to protect workers.


When:
The bridge demolition will be from 9 pm on Friday, February 19, for 50 continuous hours to 11 pm on Sunday, February 21.

Demolition could be rescheduled due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances.


Where:
Our crew will be visible along Eglinton Avenue West in the vicinity of Black Creek Drive and Weston Road.


Traffic and Transit Details:
For the safety of workers, motorists, and residents, Eglinton Avenue West between Black Creek Drive and Weston Road will be closed during the bridge demolition.

Eastbound through traffic on Eglinton will be rerouted south on Weston Road and north on Black Creek to continue east on Eglinton continue west on Eglinton

Message boards and paid off-duty officers will be used to alert motorists during the closure.

Access to the No Frills will be maintained from Black Creek Drive. The Eglinton access to No Frills will be closed for the weekend.


Pedestrians:
The sidewalks on the north and south sides of Eglinton between Weston Road and Black Creek will be closed during the demolition.

As always, please take care when travelling near construction areas.

​

- See more at: http://www.thecrosstown.ca/news-med...-drive-bridge-demolition#sthash.SdR14nTa.dpuf

I think there's a typo in the heading. Should be Eglinton Avenue West, and not Eglinton Road. Wrist slap.

 

[vic]

Does anyone know if there will be any bus routes extended / diverted to connect to the Crosstown?

Specifically, I'm thinking of the 168 Symington bus, which now terminates at Avon Loop (Weston Rd. and Rogers Rd.). Maybe they should consider extending the route approx 1.2km up to Mount Dennis station at Eglinton Ave. and Weston Rd., since that's a major hub and all....

 

[W. K. Lis]

Does anyone know if there will be any bus routes extended / diverted to connect to the Crosstown?

Specifically, I'm thinking of the 168 Symington bus, which now terminates at Avon Loop (Weston Rd. and Rogers Rd.). Maybe they should consider extending the route approx 1.2km up to Mount Dennis station at Eglinton Ave. and Weston Rd., since that's a major hub and all....

Go to Chapter Three of the Addendum to the EPR, at this link. For the complete reports, see link and link.

It'll change by the time the Crosstown LRT opens, of course.

168 Symington
would be extended from the Avon Loop to the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal, both ways via Weston Road and Eglinton Avenue. Peak service would operate every 4 minutes.

 

[muller877]

Go to Chapter Three of the Addendum to the EPR, at this link. For the complete reports, see link and link.

It'll change by the time the Crosstown LRT opens, of course.

Is there any plan for a bus-only access/egress on the north side of Eglinton? It looks like all the bus access will be on the south side which will add longer times to every bus route

I'm thinking at Keelesdale Rd so it can go under the LRT and then head directly to the bus terminal.

With this left turn (stop light) being so close to Black Creek they will have to time it with traffic. That light is over a minute long and given the number of busses coming out of here that's serious additional time for each bus (and will add to bunching on Jane)

 

[W. K. Lis]

From the updated EPR.

They are proposing to extend the new Photography Drive to connect with Industry Street, which connects with Black Creek Drive.

Then look at this link.