sixrings said:
Most 905 commuters who use GO I would GUESS would not be in favour of adding additional GO stops in Toronto. For instance a few lines could stop at Eglinton to allow 905ers off and also 416ers on. However I would GUESS that most 905ers wouldnt like the additional stops since it might slow down their trips to union. Are you suggesting otherwise? I think many Torontonians would be happy with some extra GO stops in Toronto...
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I don't think anyone except for a small minority would be opposed to an extra stop somewhere along Eglinton or even Bloor, but it would still require the use of a TTC streetcar to go far enough West to get into the actual downtown area since I'd assume the GO stop would be somewhere near the Don Valley. Not exactly walking distance from U of T if you're trying to get to class.

Woodbridge_Heights said:
One would think that a substantial (assuming) time savings will be more attractive to riders than a one fare ride is. In practice I think one seat/one fare rides are viewed as a more advantageous than time savings.

Hopefully with PRESTO TTC can share fares with GO so that riders can transfer between the two at minimal cost.
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I'm normally an optimist, but when it comes to transit and co-operation between transit agencies in the GTA, I don't have much hope. Let's be honest, here... If TTC finally integrates Presto so that I can take a YRT bus, a GO train, and a TTC streetcar all on my Presto card, would you think there will honestly be any cost savings? They're just going to charge either cash fare or the price of a single ticket/token as if it were bought in bulk.

At the end of the day, the convenience factor of the card may make people ignore the fact that they're paying an additional fare just to go a few blocks (similar to how credit cards make people not realize how much they're spending), but I'd still be conscious of the fact that I'm blazing through my "wallet" very quickly.

The only true co-operation I've ever seen between transit agencies has been between YRT and GO, where if you prove that you're either going to or coming from a GO train/bus you only pay 50 cents on the YRT/Viva. That's great and all, but I don't expect the TTC to play along at all.
 
xtremesniper said:
The only true co-operation I've ever seen between transit agencies has been between YRT and GO, where if you prove that you're either going to or coming from a GO train/bus you only pay 50 cents on the YRT/Viva. That's great and all, but I don't expect the TTC to play along at all.
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I wouldn't even call that cooperation, IIRC GO pays the local agencies for those discounts (MT has them too) because without them their parking lots would be more overflowing than they are now.
 
gweed123 said:
Interesting how they state that a DTRTES report will be available in Spring 2011. It's almost summer, where's the report? :p
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Reading a nicely packaged, persuasive Viva report that mentions a forthcoming but overdue Toronto report on the DRL really makes the whole case, doesn't it??

It's a simple thing and hardly a deal-breaker but the idea of designing the new stations so people get on the SOUTH cars is a clever little solution to the dwell time issues at Bloor.
 
TJ O'Pootertoot said:
Reading a nicely packaged, persuasive Viva report that mentions a forthcoming but overdue Toronto report on the DRL really makes the whole case, doesn't it??

It's a simple thing and hardly a deal-breaker but the idea of designing the new stations so people get on the SOUTH cars is a clever little solution to the dwell time issues at Bloor.
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I found the point about the south end loading interesting as well. I wonder if this is something that should be applied to future projects as well. Determine what the major stations will be (ie the ones with the heaviest on and off numbers), and stagger their primary loading areas to help distribute the load.
 
gweed123 said:
One of the things I'm looking at doing in my TMP (a work in progress) is running the Richmond Hill line along the west side of Don Mills neighbourhood instead of the east, and then running it along the CP line for a bit, and then turning south just before Bayview. This will have it come in on the other set of tracks that run along the Don River under the Prince Edward Viaduct.

I did this because it would create a much more usable connection at Eglinton, in such a way that if the Don Mills station was entirely on the west side of Don Mills, and south of Eglinton, that the west end of the platform would almost be at the rail tracks. The end result would be a semi-decent transfer station between the two lines.

This transfer, coupled with the transfer between the Lakeshore route and Main St station, would probably divert enough downtown passengers off local transit to bring the DRL into grade-separated LRT range. Grade-separated south of Eglinton, and then down across Queen (the Richmond Hill line would serve the Union crowd), then back up Roncesvalles to Dundas West, then Georgetown corridor to Weston Rd and Eglinton.

The real advantage of having it within grade-separated LRT range south of Eglinton is that it can be in-median on both Jane and Don Mills north of Eglinton, forming a continuous wider U. The 'relief function' would be handled by the express GO routes, leaving the LRT DRL to serve more of a local function, while still providing some relief.
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GO themselves have contemplated such a reroute of the Richmond Hill trains in the past, but the stop at Eglinton would be even harder to construct on such an alignment than it would on the current CN alignmnent due to the local geography. Instead, stations would have been built at Don Mills and Laird. And of course, there is the persistent issue of having to run on CP, even if only for 2 kilometers.

It still doesn't address the issue with potential connections further down the valley however.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
smallspy said:
GO themselves have contemplated such a reroute of the Richmond Hill trains in the past, but the stop at Eglinton would be even harder to construct on such an alignment than it would on the current CN alignmnent due to the local geography. Instead, stations would have been built at Don Mills and Laird. And of course, there is the persistent issue of having to run on CP, even if only for 2 kilometers.

It still doesn't address the issue with potential connections further down the valley however.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
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I have no doubt that building a station at Eglinton on the CP line would be a difficult engineering feat, however it can be done, even if the station needs to go directly overtop of Eglinton. As for the CP tracks issue, presumably these tracks would also be used by the Midtown line, so hopefully the issues with CP can be worked out. I realize that it's a big IF, but it doesn't hurt to try.

And for the connections further down the valley, the reality is that building any type of station between just south of Eglinton and just north of Gerrard is pretty much pointless, and it would be pretty inaccessible. My thinking though is that the stop at Eglinton on the Richmond Hill line and the stop at Main St on the Lakeshore (and Stouffville) lines will divert enough people off of the Bloor-Danforth Subway and the Yonge subway heading into downtown that the DRL wouldn't need to be built as HRT.
 
nfitz said:
Good question - the TTC page indicates there will be public consultation - and this hasn't happened yet.
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Hopefully the extended wait is worth it...not gonna lie whenever these reports come out I go straight to look at the maps and pictures :p
 
TJ O'Pootertoot said:
It's a simple thing and hardly a deal-breaker but the idea of designing the new stations so people get on the SOUTH cars is a clever little solution to the dwell time issues at Bloor.
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They should have been more accurate with details. Contrary to their statement, Finch station is not north-end loaded. Stairs from the TTC bus terminal (main source of riders) lead exactly to the middle of the mezzanine. Northern end is closer to the YRT bus terminal and condos built on Yonge, whereas the southern end is closer to the Yonge / Finch intersection. Overall, the load is pretty evenly balanced.

To be fair, both Sheppard and Eglinton stations can be considered north-end loaded (they have other entrances, but their northern entrances see highest usage). But Sheppard and Eglinton stations are not explicitly mentioned in their report.
 
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Rainforest said:
They should have been more accurate with details. Contrary to their statement, Finch station is not north-end loaded. Stairs from the TTC bus terminal (main source of riders) lead exactly to the middle of the mezzanine. Northern end is closer to the YRT bus terminal and condos built on Yonge, whereas the southern end is closer to the Yonge / Finch intersection. Overall, the load is pretty evenly balanced.

To be fair, both Sheppard and Eglinton stations can be considered north-end loaded (they have other entrances, but their northern entrances see highest usage). But Sheppard and Eglinton stations are not explicitly mentioned in their report.
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My guess is that because it's a York Region report, they're focused on what they can do to improve it. They can't change the design at Sheppard or Eglinton, but they can effect how the stations inside of York Region load.
 
I think their point is that most of the riders are exiting north, towards the parking lots and transit terminal vs the buses or Finch Ave itself. I suppose that might not be true. (And, vice versa, a lot people getting on at Finch are getting off at Bloor so they stay in the northern cars...)

The bigger point is, really, that a lot of people on this board think the DRL should be the next transit project built anywhere in the GTA and the City of Toronto keeps making it clear, time and time and time again, that it's not sufficient priority for them to get their act together. York Region's arguments might be slick and simplified but they're out there while TTC is missing its own deadlines, consultations etc.
 
TJ O'Pootertoot said:
The bigger point is, really, that a lot of people on this board think the DRL should be the next transit project built anywhere in the GTA and the City of Toronto keeps making it clear, time and time and time again, that it's not sufficient priority for them to get their act together. York Region's arguments might be slick and simplified but they're out there while TTC is missing its own deadlines, consultations etc.
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You tell them TJ!
 
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