[TheTigerMaster]

This is what I have been saying for ages.

Toronto is damn and determined to spend monstrous amounts of money on little stubs that won't make a hoot of difference in anyone's commute. While I understand what you are saying about using rail corridors as they often don't go to large population and employment centres, in Toronto's case it is necessary. Torontonians transit users have a longer commute than most cities of similar size due to the way it is laid out.

Toronto is built on a grid system and therefore getting from A to B requires going to C. The city doesn't have one street that is diagonal which makes trips much faster and more direct. This is the benefit of the GO rail system for example the Pearson route. If it followed a standard TTC route it would have to go straight west to via High Park and ten make a sharp north turn to head to Pearson..........a much longer and time consuming option.

The problem with the rail corridors in Toronto is that GO got their greasy hands on them and GO is strictly interested in service for the 905. GO doesn't acknowledge it's responsibilities to Torontonians themselves and has hence made the rail lines available to GO service only and the citizens who's city it runs thru be damned.

I suppose your rhetoric is nice, but we need to look at these things rationally. Where are there rail corridors in the city that would be at least as effective as other modes? I can't think of very many.

Furthermore, Toronto has been utilizing available corridors relatively well. A huge part of the Spadina Subway runs in one (admittedly it's not a rail corridor, but the distinction is irrelevant). And does a huge portion the Bloor-Danforth subway.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I really like this map. Some things I would change though (money less of an issue), would be to make both spadina and waterfront as subways. Also, extend spadina further north probably;

North to where? Past Vaughan Centre, it's all McMansions, industrial sites and farmers fields.

as well as extend waterfront further east to go through the portlands (which will see big development in the near future) and up through the beaches (can end at danforth/drl).

I considered extending it along Commissioners to serve the Portland since Waterfront Toronto plans massive redevelopment of the area. But we still don't know to what extent it will be redeveloped. And all of the redevelopment could take 30 years to come. Extending it east along Lakeshore wasn't an option either. It's largely an industrial strip and I don't think that the LRT would serve the community there any better than the Queen and Dundas streetcars connecting to Dundas and Broadview Stations on DRL/Toronto Crosstown.

 

[Johnny Au]

North to where? Past Vaughan Centre, it's all McMansions, industrial sites and farmers fields.

...and a high-end mega-mall, an automative mall, a major theme park, and a future hospital.

 

[innsertnamehere]

mega mall is the only thing you got going for you there. You honestly think people are going to take the subway to buy a car? Theme park is seasonal, only really 3 months of high use. Hospitals in no way justify a subway to them. Really, you would be building a $2 billion subway to a friggen mall.

 

[ShonTron]

...and a high-end mega-mall, an automative mall, a major theme park, and a future hospital.

Yes, because an auto mall really needs a subway! It might cut back on the need for courtesy shuttles, so that's a mitigating thought.

There's lots of major hospitals in the GTA without a subway and function just fine: Toronto Western (though is without accessible transit for now), Sunnybrook - and those two are major teaching/research hospitals! Let's add the new Humber River Regional Hospital (a 10 minute ride by bus to Wilson Station), St. Joseph's, Etobicoke General, Centenary, Scarborough General, Osler Etobicoke, Bridgepoint, etc. A major hospital is a justifiable trip generator and should be well-served by transit. But even large hospitals don't need a subway and subways don't need large hospitals.

And Wonderland? A seasonal theme park for which most patrons are happy to drive to? For 3-4 months a year?

Vaughan Mills? No, that doesn't justify a subway either. Mall of America in the Twin Cities, a much bigger shopping destination, got a LRT line, but it was on a linear path with the airport and other major suburbs. West Edmonton Mall might get an LRT, but not in the short term, and that's part of a much bigger plan for Alberta's capital.

 

[BurlOak]

North to where? Past Vaughan Centre, it's all McMansions, industrial sites and farmers fields.

I really like this map. Some things I would change though (money less of an issue), would be to make both spadina and waterfront as subways. Also, extend spadina further north probably; as well as extend waterfront further east to go through the portlands (which will see big development in the near future) and up through the beaches (can end at danforth/drl).

I understood this to be:
1) Convert the existing Spadina LRT into a subway.
2) Extend this Spadina line north of Bloor.

 

[M II A II R II K]

A wonderland station could be part of a roller coaster or ghost train or something. Then beyond that the King City garbage dump can get a station, as well as the Seneca College campus there, which will become part of the actual station!

 

[Johnny Au]

Remember, during the holiday shopping season (including Black Friday), Wonderland opens its parking to Vaughan Mills shoppers. Note that Wonderland's park entrance is two kilometres north of Vaughan Mills.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Never, ever go by car to Yorkdale Mall on Boxing Day. Use the subway to get to the Yorkdale Station. It'll be the same with Vaughan Mills and at other shopping malls on Boxing Day. Don't use a car on that day.

 

[innsertnamehere]

yes, because a once a year event is what should be used to account for overall ridership.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Never, ever go by car to Yorkdale Mall on Boxing Day. Use the subway to get to the Yorkdale Station. It'll be the same with Vaughan Mills and at other shopping malls on Boxing Day. Don't use a car on that day.

We'll build your subway to Vaughan Mills. Just kindly deposit $100,000 into the fare box to cover the operational costs.

 

[raptor]

Not sure where to post this, and whether this official map was ever posted here, but here we go, from http://t.co/BCyz8gvoIq:

 

[devjohnson]

Not sure where to post this, and whether this official map was ever posted here, but here we go, from http://t.co/BCyz8gvoIq:

VERY interesting. I absolutely love branding guidelines!

 

[innsertnamehere]

Interesting how they only show major stops on the Sheppard LRT..

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Interesting how they only show major stops on the Sheppard LRT..

We don't yet know what stops will be on Sheppard East and Finch West now that ML has taken over the design of the two lines. This is likely for illustrative purposes. Especially since they still showed all the stops on Eglinton.