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Downtown Rapid Transit Expansion Study

Optimal solution should be...

  • The construction of new rapid transit lines ; Downtown Rapid Transit (DRT) line

    Votes: 193 76.3%

  • Expanded GO Rail capacity (including additional GO stations in the City of Toronto)

    Votes: 15 5.9%

  • Improvements in streetcar services to enhance shorter-distance transit accessibility downtown

    Votes: 4 1.6%

  • Others (Some/all of the above, other ideas)

    Votes: 41 16.2%
  • Total voters
    253
In theory, a branch of DRL East can serve as a Scarborough subway line.

Let's say the DRL line goes up to Eglinton / Don Mills. From there, one branch continues up Don Mills towards Seneca College and Steeles. The other branch goes under the CP line up to Ellesmere, then under Ellesmere to Brimley, and then to STC. That would create a one-seat ride from STC to downtown.

Unfortunately, it would be very hard to secure funding for that scheme. We still can't figure out how to fund DRL Phase I, let alone two branches north of Eglinton.
 
As far as I am concern, the DRL needs to start at least at Steeles, if not Hwy 7 to take the pressure off the Yonge line 100% for a few years until all that new development comes on line from Eglinton to Steeles.

With the amount of development plan/underway at Eglinton and between Sheppard-Finch, let alone to Steeles, the Yonge line ridership will be back to what there today when fully completed within the next 20 years or less.

The DRL will remove about 15,000 riders at peak time off the Danforth section and be faster to the core depending on the alinement. It needs to stay away from Union, as that area will not be able to handle the pedestrian flow unless various streets are close off the traffic.

Don't support the current thinking of Metrolinx as where it should go, as it still an extra 1/2 transfer to get GO riders to where they want to go in the first place, as well a longer trip.
 
drum118 said:
As far as I am concern, the DRL needs to start at least at Steeles, if not Hwy 7 to take the pressure off the Yonge line 100% for a few years until all that new development comes on line from Eglinton to Steeles.

With the amount of development plan/underway at Eglinton and between Sheppard-Finch, let alone to Steeles, the Yonge line ridership will be back to what there today when fully completed within the next 20 years or less.

The DRL will remove about 15,000 riders at peak time off the Danforth section and be faster to the core depending on the alinement. It needs to stay away from Union, as that area will not be able to handle the pedestrian flow unless various streets are close off the traffic.

Don't support the current thinking of Metrolinx as where it should go, as it still an extra 1/2 transfer to get GO riders to where they want to go in the first place, as well a longer trip.
Click to expand...

That basically means having the Don Mills rapid transit built, if you want it to reach Steeles. But light rail or heavy rail? Which means waiting for the study report.
 
drum118 said:
As far as I am concern, the DRL needs to start at least at Steeles, if not Hwy 7 to take the pressure off the Yonge line 100% for a few years until all that new development comes on line from Eglinton to Steeles.
Click to expand...
I'm sure as soon as York Region smells a subway heading in their direction as far as Eglinton, they'll be finding ways to have it extended far north of Steeles in no time. I'm surprised they haven't pushed to have the Danforth line extended to Markham ... give them time I suppose.
 
nfitz said:
I'm sure as soon as York Region smells a subway heading in their direction as far as Eglinton, they'll be finding ways to have it extended far north of Steeles in no time. I'm surprised they haven't pushed to have the Danforth line extended to Markham ... give them time I suppose.
Click to expand...

Which is fantastic. I wish we had a municipal government that was as committed to rapid transit expansion.
 
nfitz said:
I'm sure as soon as York Region smells a subway heading in their direction as far as Eglinton, they'll be finding ways to have it extended far north of Steeles in no time. I'm surprised they haven't pushed to have the Danforth line extended to Markham ... give them time I suppose.
Click to expand...

How much time do they need? Markham has double the population of Vaughan so how is it they are getting a subway extension there before Markham?
 
nfitz said:
I'm sure as soon as York Region smells a subway heading in their direction as far as Eglinton, they'll be finding ways to have it extended far north of Steeles in no time. I'm surprised they haven't pushed to have the Danforth line extended to Markham ... give them time I suppose.
Click to expand...

Running the Stouffville line as a GO REX line would be infinitely more practical (and less expensive) than extending B-D up to Markham. My God, taking a B-D extension from Markham to Bloor-Yonge? You'd almost need to pack an overnight bag!

No matter which alignment is chosen, it would still be between 21 and 23 stations between Bloor-Yonge and Markham Centre. That would be almost as long as riding the current B-D from end to end (31 stations). It would actually be about the same time, because many of the suburban stations would be much farther apart than most of the B-D stop spacing.
 
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This is turning into a fantasy thread. It is wildly, wildly optimistic to think there will be money to go as far as Eglinton in the next 10 years, and anywhere north of that in the next 50.
 
Palma said:
How much time do they need? Markham has double the population of Vaughan so how is it they are getting a subway extension there before Markham?
Click to expand...
York Region is funding that extension, and Vaughan and Markham are both part of York Region.
 
DRL west only need go as far as Roncesvalles, to service Queen St, and have a new Lakeshore connection to it at Roncesvalles, and a Parkdale one for the Georgetown Line which would also negate the need for a DRL to connect with Dundas West since the GO Lines connects there anyway.
 
Palma said:
How much time do they need? Markham has double the population of Vaughan so how is it they are getting a subway extension there before Markham?
Click to expand...

Because the Minister of Finance was from Vaughan and had developable land there. Who you vote for does make a difference.
 
gweed123 said:
No matter which alignment is chosen, it would still be between 21 and 23 stations between Bloor-Yonge and Markham Centre. That would be almost as long as riding the current B-D from end to end (31 stations). It would actually be about the same time, because many of the suburban stations would be much farther apart than most of the B-D stop spacing.
Click to expand...

You can ride the current B-D end to end in less than hour. That's less time than a lot of GO commutes.

In fact, it's faster than my commute from Christie Station to Markham Centre, since it's a line that would serve that exact purpose.^-^
 
So extending the Danforth line to Markham, 20+ stops is OK, but extending Bloor line to MCC, ~ 10 stops, is not?

And people say I live in a transit fantasy land.
 
An integrated connection at Kennedy and/or Danforth Junction to go would make that viable because it would be expresslike all the way though. MCC can also work if there's a similar connection at Kipling.
 
Coruscanti Cognoscente said:
So extending the Danforth line to Markham, 20+ stops is OK, but extending Bloor line to MCC, ~ 10 stops, is not?

And people say I live in a transit fantasy land.
Click to expand...
I never said would support it. I said I'm surprised that York Region hadn't pushed it.

I'm surprised that Ford hasn't tried to eliminate the Dundas streetcar. Doesn't mean I'd support it.
 
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