diminutive
Active Member
Lest I be accused of rose-eyed YSE boosterism, I do think the project could be improved and carried out for cheaper.
Get rid of Langstaff Station. 99% of it's ridership comes from park-n-ride. That's well and good and such but it's not worth spending 80m$ for 1,700 parking spots. If it's really so essential that the extension have those parking spots, build a multilevel garage at Richmond Hill Station.
Get rid of Clarke Station. Ridership is very low. Only 600ppl are expected to board in peak hour. 300 of those are transfers who could just as easily be directed to Steeles.
Scale back Steeles. They may have changed this, but the original designs for this thing were ridiculous. You don't have to have a massive underground bus terminal right next to Centerpoint's parking lot.
Maybe get rid of Cummer? It's higher ridership, but most of them bus transfers who could be redirected to the plenty-spacious Finch bus terminal.
I'm firmly of the opinion that it's not necessary to spend 80m on stations which see, at best, a couple hundred walk ins. Granted, the area is undergoing development. If in 50 years demand is different we could add in stations a la NYCC. Further, we could also simply allow higher densities in the vicinity of busier stations.
More thought should also be given to cut-covering the subway under Yonge. The road is 25m wide for most of the way with at least another 10m of setbacks. It should be possible to take 10m to build a cut.
The East Don River Crossing should also be rethought to avoid having to reconstruct all of Yonge. Alternatively, York Region should provide supplementary funding specifically for reconstructing the crossing. It's ridiculous to have the aesthetic wish list of Thornhill free ride on infrastructure funding. The a portal just north of Center Street could lead to a much simpler bridge over the valley back into a tunnel on the north side.
Get rid of Langstaff Station. 99% of it's ridership comes from park-n-ride. That's well and good and such but it's not worth spending 80m$ for 1,700 parking spots. If it's really so essential that the extension have those parking spots, build a multilevel garage at Richmond Hill Station.
Get rid of Clarke Station. Ridership is very low. Only 600ppl are expected to board in peak hour. 300 of those are transfers who could just as easily be directed to Steeles.
Scale back Steeles. They may have changed this, but the original designs for this thing were ridiculous. You don't have to have a massive underground bus terminal right next to Centerpoint's parking lot.
Maybe get rid of Cummer? It's higher ridership, but most of them bus transfers who could be redirected to the plenty-spacious Finch bus terminal.
I'm firmly of the opinion that it's not necessary to spend 80m on stations which see, at best, a couple hundred walk ins. Granted, the area is undergoing development. If in 50 years demand is different we could add in stations a la NYCC. Further, we could also simply allow higher densities in the vicinity of busier stations.
More thought should also be given to cut-covering the subway under Yonge. The road is 25m wide for most of the way with at least another 10m of setbacks. It should be possible to take 10m to build a cut.
The East Don River Crossing should also be rethought to avoid having to reconstruct all of Yonge. Alternatively, York Region should provide supplementary funding specifically for reconstructing the crossing. It's ridiculous to have the aesthetic wish list of Thornhill free ride on infrastructure funding. The a portal just north of Center Street could lead to a much simpler bridge over the valley back into a tunnel on the north side.