TJ O'Pootertoot
Senior Member
Only RHC and part of Langstaff will see development like North York Centre. The rest will see very little.
As I said in the past, the line north of Steeles is not going to see the density or development like what is taking place at NYC or plan from it north to Steeles as the Region dose not or cannot change that area for various reasons. The NIMBY have opposed more density for this area. Thornhill is a historical area and very little in the way of density can take place there.
Now tell me where all these so call riders going to come from to support this extension?? I am looking at beyond 25 year window.
Since you're first paragraph is incorrect, it's easy to answer your question.
This is the new secondary plan Markham has for the Yonge/Steeles area...
...the bottom right is the Yonge/Steeles corner and then Yonge goes north off to the left, basically up to Clark. Of course, World on Yonge is already under construction so this isn't a 25-year window; this is already underway.
The Vaughan side of the street is similar, now occupied largely by car dealerships just begging for redevelopment. I couldn't find a good graphic online but you can see the city's presentation here.
This conceptual drawing shows the Yonge-Steeles corridor with two 40+-storey towers straddling a site now home to a crappy strip mall and Taco Bell. (Steeles, going off to the right, Yonge up to the top, more or less.)
...so that's 50K residents NOT including Langstaff and RHC (about another 50K there).
Toronto's planners seem more reticent to dive in, so far. But there's already some apartments along that stretch and it's easy to drive along and see other prime locations.
The Thornhill heritage district is protected, yes, but that's only a few blocks that are basically unaffected since the nearest stations will be at Clark and Langstaff.
And, as I've said multiple times, there are STILL big benefits just to moving those YRT/GO riders north. Drivers, still entangled in that pesky War on the Car, should be happy to see all those buses gone. (In addition to traffic, it's better for road resurfacing, carbon emissions etc. too). It is, in short, a far more efficient way, to get people from where they are coming from to where they are going which is, last I checked, the point of transit.
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