The only way i think the DRL gets built before 2025 is if we do get the expos or some strange universe the olympics come back. Otherwise I will agree I am pessimistic and at the same time optimistic for a 2030 opening.
 
Translude15 said:
Many of you are way too pessimistic. The data supports construction of the DRL and the project already has a significant number of proponents. At this stage it's a matter of mobilizing public support and opinion which will help spur greater political action.
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Are there any politicians who've explicitly come out against the relief line?
 
sixrings said:
not that I know of but I dont see many in support of it either... more infrastructure with less taxes seems to be the illogical logic of the times.
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The political support is there but it needs to be unearthed thanks in large part to the large capital expense. JT's SmartTrack fetish doesn't help matters either. In terms of ameliorating Toronto's current rapid transit infrastructure and overall transit commute times, this is the project that will help accomplish that goal, not some pie in the sky SmartTrack proposal. The numbers for DRL Long do not lie.
 
Filip said:
Wrong.
1) Residents have asked the city to put a moratorium on development - we have been told it is counterproductive and will result in lawsuits from developers.
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That was my point, actually. What kind of a system is it when developers can take the city to court when the city tries to control development? A Council no should mean no. My only sympathy for the developers is when the City says sure, go ahead, the roads will handle it.....when they won't. The City should have had a plan before the development started. Heck, there wasn't even a drug store down there until this past fall - and the condo's have been going up for years. The Sobey's mall on Queensway should have been built on the south side of the railway tracks, before the first condo opened.

2) Adding a lane to Lake Shore is fine and dandy, but the bridge across the Humber is one lane. You can't expand the bridge because the underground garage at Palace Pier is right next to it. Your narrative about developers is incorrect. Developers have actually asked for a parking lane there, but the city said no (hence the wide space between the street, sidewalk and buildings.
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We're agreeing with each other. I was referring to the bridge as well. The whole street from Park Lawn east has choke points, the bridge being one. It makes no sense how it's laid out.

3) Yes, a WWLRT (or any sort of rapid transit improvement) is needed. The 501/504 are garbage routes that take 40 minutes to go from Roncesvalles to Spadina during peak periods. We're looking at improvements, not a return to the status quo which hasn't improved anything.
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What status quo? I was arguing for upgrading 501/504. I just think that if it were upgraded, you wouldn't need a parallel WWLRT. WWLRT would give you a quick ride downtown - but leaves people creeping along Queen and King. We need to solve the full problem in one go.

This started as a discussion about whether sending the RL to Bloor made sense. I'm still not understanding how you think doing that would serve Humber Bay. Do you want people to grind up Park Lawn by bus to Old Mill? (I don't want all those buses going by here ! ). What's needed is a fast ride to the DRL over around Liberty. I think we may be agreeing on that part.

Over on the Scarboro RT thread we are talking about why suburbanites hold such negative views of non-subway transit. Humber Bay is a good example to show Scarboro this is true city wide, not just in the east end. Let's see if we get our RER/ST stop at Park Lawn before they get any out that way. ;-)

- Paul
 
Translude15 said:
The political support is there but it needs to be unearthed thanks in large part to the large capital expense. JT's SmartTrack fetish doesn't help matters either. In terms of ameliorating Toronto's current rapid transit infrastructure and overall transit commute times, this is the project that will help accomplish that goal, not some pie in the sky SmartTrack proposal. The numbers for DRL Long do not lie.
Click to expand...

Where's the money for DRL Long though? The province is barely committed to a short core DRL (Yonge to Pape). They've not showing much interest in funding DRL Long.

Now if Tory can pivot from Smart Track and get a whack of city, provincial and federal dollars fully committed to the DRL, maybe....
 
I suspect that pivot will happen if ST continues to unravel.

If the federal government were to match provincial funding, we'd be within a few hundred million of funding RL Long. If the Feds are as serious as they claim about infrastructure funding, they really should be playing a role in funding the most important infrastructure project in Canada's biggest city in more than a generation.
 
Good Lord. Take the $8 billion proposed for SmartTrack and put it towards a Keele or Dundas West to Science Centre DRL already. It's so obvious that that's what the City ought to do. What is there left to debate?
 
Even a bare minimum Pape to downtown first phase would be a good start. The critical part is getting at least some of the line built. Future phases are easier to justify when the line already exists. Until then the average resident just views it as yet another pie in the sky proposal.
 
Translude15 said:
Many of you are way too pessimistic. The data supports construction of the DRL and the project already has a significant number of proponents. At this stage it's a matter of mobilizing public support and opinion which will help spur greater political action.
Click to expand...
The Relief Line needs a political champion.

I wonder which ambitious politician wants to be remembered as the man or women who built the Relief Line?
 
Smart Tracks should take precedent over DRL as it has a far better chance of getting federal funding over the short/medium term.

Also remember that Tory has a mandate from the people for ST not the DRL. The last election was centered on transit and Tory's plan was ST and he won. He can legitimately say that people voted for ST not a DRL.

People always bitch about politicians because they promise {and get elected in on} promises made which they turn around and renege upon as soon as they get into office. He is following thru on the centre piece of his campaign and yet has shown considerable flexibility on ST such as getting rid of the Western leg and extending the Eglinton LRT west instead. He was informed by transit and planning professionals that it was a better choice and use of scarce funds and agreed to go by their professional opinions. He is sticking to the promise he made in the election campaign and yet not blindly following it for purely ideological reasons.

There is nothing stopping Toronto from planning for a DRL but his priority should be the one he campaigned upon.
 
WislaHD said:
The Relief Line needs a political champion.

I wonder which ambitious politician wants to be remembered as the man or women who built the Relief Line?
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That would be councillor James Pasternak*.

nyrl2.jpg



*Well, it depends on which relief line you had in mind.
 

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