Faster = less access for the locals. Are we building transit to get people from downtown/Scarborough to get to Humber College faster or are we building transit to help out people along Finch to get to places faster? How do we rate a faster trip? From stops A to B or from their home to their actual destination?

All I read on this forum is faster transit to make stats to look great. What good is the 401 if it had a 200 km/h speed limit but no interchange to access the highway within Toronto? It really depends on the area. Finch West isn't Sheppard East. One model fits all doesn't work very well.
 
Faster = less access for the locals. Are we building transit to get people from downtown/Scarborough to get to Humber College faster or are we building transit to help out people along Finch to get to places faster? How do we rate a faster trip? From stops A to B or from their home to their actual destination?

All I read on this forum is faster transit to make stats to look great. What good is the 401 if it had a 200 km/h speed limit but no interchange to access the highway within Toronto? It really depends on the area. Finch West isn't Sheppard East. One model fits all doesn't work very well.

It’s a tradeoff, and no two are alike, I agree. If the predominant need is local, build local. Just don’t call it an LRT or pretend it is part of a bigger network that is trying to bridge greater distances.

I don’t have data, but I bet that in equivalent terms, at least one lane of the 401 express lanes is nothing but cars that go from 427 to 404 or beyond with no interest in local exits. Probably two lanes’ worth. So your 200 km/h interchange free line would actually be quite welcome. Planners have to accommodate other users, so there are tradeoffs, but one needs to be aware of these various perspectives and try to stay fact based.

If all the needs on Finch are local, for a billion dollars we could buy an infinite number of buses and let people ride for free for the next 40 years. Obviously, we are looking for value added when we invest in something of higher order ie LRT.

I’m just saying that we seem to trade off speed very readily in discussing LRT, and that is unwise if we are trying to market transit. It’s an opportunity wasted especially when we are trying to wean people out of automobiles for cross city trips.

- Paul
 
Finch West and Eglinton West light rapid transit lines will both be rapid transit. Faster than the single-occupant motorists, when completed.
I agree. WAY faster then them all.
It seems Metrolinx likes to use the terms Light Rail Transit and Light Rapid Transit interchangeably, which I feel is not good. Although when you say LRT and BRT together in their full names, some people can get confused by the inconsistencies.
How do you figure? It will be far faster than the current buses that run on the same street.

Dan
I have lost track of the precise facts here.... can anyone recite the planned velocity for Finch compared to velocity of our subway system and/or the current Finch bus? And/or downtown streetcars?

I’m sure it is true that the LRT will be faster than current bus. However I have a theory that the average person’s view of transit will be relative to the best, or perhaps to an existing norm, rather than relative to what it used to be.

In Toronto the prevailing gold standard for transit speed is our subway system. LRT’s that compare unfavourably to subway will be seen as mediocre, even if they are faster than bus and damn good value overall.

I’m not arguing for building subways everywhere, but I am arguing that those people who critique transit proposals (as professionals or just for fun) need to look at things from the average Joe’s viewpoint.

Our LRT designs need to have a need for speed. Mediocre is not good enough, even if it is faster than before.

- Paul
Faster = less access for the locals. Are we building transit to get people from downtown/Scarborough to get to Humber College faster or are we building transit to help out people along Finch to get to places faster? How do we rate a faster trip? From stops A to B or from their home to their actual destination?

All I read on this forum is faster transit to make stats to look great. What good is the 401 if it had a 200 km/h speed limit but no interchange to access the highway within Toronto? It really depends on the area. Finch West isn't Sheppard East. One model fits all doesn't work very well.
It’s a tradeoff, and no two are alike, I agree. If the predominant need is local, build local. Just don’t call it an LRT or pretend it is part of a bigger network that is trying to bridge greater distances.

I don’t have data, but I bet that in equivalent terms, at least one lane of the 401 express lanes is nothing but cars that go from 427 to 404 or beyond with no interest in local exits. Probably two lanes’ worth. So your 200 km/h interchange free line would actually be quite welcome. Planners have to accommodate other users, so there are tradeoffs, but one needs to be aware of these various perspectives and try to stay fact based.

If all the needs on Finch are local, for a billion dollars we could buy an infinite number of buses and let people ride for free for the next 40 years. Obviously, we are looking for value added when we invest in something of higher order ie LRT.

I’m just saying that we seem to trade off speed very readily in discussing LRT, and that is unwise if we are trying to market transit. It’s an opportunity wasted especially when we are trying to wean people out of automobiles for cross city trips.

- Paul

The 36 bus that operates there now is so slow from what have heard from others. The FWLRT will probably be a HUGE improvement to what's there now.
Simply because of the stop spacing it won't be as fast as expected. Same with Eglinton if they choose option 1. Not against the project, just saying.
 
Really?! Subway is fast, and does it decrease access for the locals?

It's fair to say that subway access in the fast sections relies heavily on feeder buses to assist with accessibility, where the Bloor to Union portion is mostly pedestrian driven. Now consider that in the lesser accessible portions (Eglinton to Sheppard) trains run at double the speed as the more accessible portion (Bloor to Union).

So yeah, I think the number and position of stations impacts both accessibility and speed, and increasing one is often at the cost of the other.
 
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Really?! Subway is fast, and does it decrease access for the locals?
Well Danforth east has not had an easy time.
It's fair to say that subway access in the fast sections rely heavily on feeder buses to assist with accessibility, where the Bloor to Union portion is mostly pedestrian driven.

Now consider that in the lesser accessible portions (Eglinton to Sheppard) trains run at double the speed as the more accessible portion (Bloor to Union).

So yeah, I think the number and position of stations impacts accessibility.
Which is why we have the 97 Yonge. and Eglinton will still have bus service after the crosstown is complete.
 
Well Danforth east has not had an easy time.

Which is why we have the 97 Yonge. and Eglinton will still have bus service after the crosstown is complete.

But will the local buses have the same headway as the rapid transit (whatever it will be)? Every 5 minutes in the non-rush hours? Should be, but it is not. The 97 YONGE bus is every 15 minutes at noon, at LAWRENCE WEST STATION. See link.
 
I have lost track of the precise facts here.... can anyone recite the planned velocity for Finch compared to velocity of our subway system and/or the current Finch bus? And/or downtown streetcars?

I’m sure it is true that the LRT will be faster than current bus. However I have a theory that the average person’s view of transit will be relative to the best, or perhaps to an existing norm, rather than relative to what it used to be.

In Toronto the prevailing gold standard for transit speed is our subway system. LRT’s that compare unfavourably to subway will be seen as mediocre, even if they are faster than bus and damn good value overall.

I’m not arguing for building subways everywhere, but I am arguing that those people who critique transit proposals (as professionals or just for fun) need to look at things from the average Joe’s viewpoint.

Our LRT designs need to have a need for speed. Mediocre is not good enough, even if it is faster than before.

- Paul
See, this is why I genuinely think LRT is the right solution for Finch, the speed of the existing buses is not limited entirely by the surface characteristics of the route, but by the large crowding and high probability for bunching. Sure, the corridor has heavy vehicle traffic, but not to the extent that Eglinton or Don Mills has, plus there's room to build out up there. It's also helpful that the line is not acting as a spur for the Spadina Subway. While it's true the majority of people along the corridor are heading there, a good portion are still using the line for local service only. For that reason, the line needs to have a lower stop spacing requirement than the Spadina subway may require.

That being said, I still believe they could have cut out and restructured a few stops along the line, 18 stops over 11 km is far too many. An additional 200 meter walk is not going to add any more time to a person's commute when they won't have to stop at a further 3-4 stations (saving 5-6 minutes)

Really?! Subway is fast, and does it decrease access for the locals?
Yes absolutely, look at:
-the Sheppard Subway (especially between Yonge and Bayview),
-the section of the Yonge Line between Sheppard Yonge and Eglinton Avenue,
-the section of the Spadina subway between St Clair West and Eglinton West,
-the section of the Danforth Subway between Victoria Park and Kennedy
-the 1 stop Scarborough subway extension.
This isn't a bad thing though (except in the case of the SSE and maybe the Sheppard subway), because these areas of the city are not dense enough to be dependent on local traffic alone, but surface transit from the surrounding areas. It saves time for the vast majority of people while saving money for the TTC by requiring the operation of fewer stations.
 
Don't forget that with all those parking lots along Finch Avenue West and Eglinton Avenue West & East, they could be redeveloped and filled up with high density.
 
Toronto staff report up. Staff have Eglinton West LRT questions at the end of the report.

In the report it says the 4.7 billion figure is only for the portion up to Renforth. I thought someone mentioned here that it included the Pearson portion. If so then it's very expensive if its just up to Renforth.
 
I was on Highway 7, finch, Sheppard driving for today all during rush hour. Each road was basically gridlock. The real benefit of the lrt is that the train will have its own dedicated Lane so it won't have to sit in traffic. I can't stress how much that will speed things up for transit users plus I find it infuriating standing in a crowded bus with no air conditioning in gridlock while looking down at all the single occupancy vehicles.
 

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