Fate of the SRT

[Dan416]

That's what I've been saying for years drum. Anyone who's ridden the SRT knows it. It's a shame the Scarborough councillors were bought off so easily.

 

[Amphibius]

Unless things changes, the SRT will be converted to LRT finally.

The extension north is supposed to be underground.

I prefer to see the SRT converted to subway to do away with transfers and allowing one ride and room for increase of ridership.

Will the tunnel north be able to accomodate HRT cars in the future? Same as with Eglinton LRT, if the potential for subways is there someday we should be planning ahead from now.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Will the tunnel north be able to accomodate HRT cars in the future? Same as with Eglinton LRT, if the potential for subways is there someday we should be planning ahead from now.

The potential for subways is there now. If they just extended Danforth to STC with a stop at Lawrence, it would be just as useful as it is now. Barely anyone uses Ellesmere and Midland, and I have my doubts they will be missed that much.

For more coverage, they could run a BRT route on Danforth Road/McCowan all the way from Main St. Station to Centennial GO station or further. Scarborough Town Centre really is a logical place to terminate the line, but I guess the City is just really bent on no more subway development.

 

[nfitz]

Barely anyone uses Ellesmere and Midland, and I have my doubts they will be missed that much.

The biggest problem with these two, is that they are so close to each other. For all intents and purposes, they both serve the intersection of Ellesmere and Midland. The combined ridership of these two stations in over 5,000; about the same as Leslie, Old Mill, and Summerhill; should we close those three as well?

 

[ShonTron]

See, if this was to be a subway extension, I'd envision a stop at Eglinton at Brimley/Danforth Road, Lawrence and Danforth/McCowan, and on McCowan just north of Ellesmere to serve Ellesmere and the mall. (This would be the ideal point for a McCowan north LRT and an Ellesmere LRT to converge, even a Malvern-Sheppard East LRT).

If this was to be Mark-II or LRT, I would close one of the two - if we to look at existing stops, Midland would be the keeper. If extensive work at Ellesmere were to actually integrate that station with the street and the buses, then Ellesmere would probably be the keeper. That said, the 57 Midland bus is pretty fast-an extra bus or two to boost service levels and it'd be covered well anyway.

 

[Second_in_pie]

The biggest problem with these two, is that they are so close to each other. For all intents and purposes, they both serve the intersection of Ellesmere and Midland. The combined ridership of these two stations in over 5,000; about the same as Leslie, Old Mill, and Summerhill; should we close those three as well?

Well I guess they could put one station around there, but a subway definitely shouldn't have both of them. Actually, why are there 2 stations there anyways?

 

[drum118]

Will the tunnel north be able to accomodate HRT cars in the future? Same as with Eglinton LRT, if the potential for subways is there someday we should be planning ahead from now.

It should be.

I still say extend the BD to STC and then stop at Skeppard/Markham with provision to go north at a future date from day one. I said this long before TC surface.

You extend the Eglinton line to the east.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Ellesmere and Midland are both used but useless. They see a few hundred walk-in patrons every day combined. More riders arrive by car than by foot, and these car-origin riders can use another station. Virtually no Ellesmere riders use Ellesmere, and the few Midland bus riders that use Midland can stay on the bus for less than 10 minutes and be at Kennedy...sometimes the Midland bus is actually faster than the RT due to one less transfer and zero traffic on Midland.

 

[nfitz]

Virtually no Ellesmere riders use Ellesmere ...

But would they if they were just feet away from a subway station - rather than the very long hike they have to take to get to the second-nearest stop (ironically, there is no sidewalk leading to the nearest stop - eastbound at least).

 

[scarberiankhatru]

But would they if they were just feet away from a subway station - rather than the very long hike they have to take to get to the second-nearest stop (ironically, there is no sidewalk leading to the nearest stop - eastbound at least).

Ellesmere riders would use a subway station around Ellesmere & Midland if the bus made a proper connection, but they would also use a subway station at STC if the bus connected there. The main point is that Midland and Ellesmere are both very acceptable as collateral damage should a subway extension to STC not run that way.

 

[nfitz]

The main point is that Midland and Ellesmere are both very acceptable as collateral damage should a subway extension to STC not run that way.

Though presumably there should be some kind of higher-order transit along Kennedy or Midland one day.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Though presumably there should be some kind of higher-order transit along Kennedy or Midland one day.

Kennedy LRT! I actually think it's in either the TTC's or Metrolinx's books. I'm pretty sure a Danforth Road/McCowan BRT from Main St. up to Markham is also in the books as well.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Though presumably there should be some kind of higher-order transit along Kennedy or Midland one day.

There already is...the GO line. Though it's currently just about the worst higher order transit imaginable, there's no reason it can't be improved, both with a few more stops and higher frequency.

 

[Amphibius]

It should be.

I still say extend the BD to STC and then stop at Skeppard/Markham with provision to go north at a future date from day one. I said this long before TC surface.

You extend the Eglinton line to the east.

I have some ideas regarding the SRT conversion. For starters build a brand new Kennedy subway station underground and reconfigure the B-D tracks to run through it instead. This will allow for easier turning radius to get northeast. The existing E-W Kennedy could then become useful ROW for the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT/Premetro, freeing up that line to operate exclusively along that corridor.

To Scarborough Centre:

We could then expand on the existing N-S section of the SRT ROW and existing Lawrence East Stn. I'm sure modifying the existing infrastructure would be cheaper than building everything from scratch. North of Lawrence around midblock the line then veers underneath the Stoufville GO Line and makes a stop directly at Ellesmere/Midland. Cutting through the industrial properties on the northeast side, the line eventually merges with the existing elevated ROW (which could inevitably house express BRT/LRT from Sheppard), running beneath it. A Brimley/Triton stop is optional.

Future Extension into Malvern:

Scarborough Centre Stn shifts to the east with exits now out to McCowan Rd and the GO bus terminal/mall entrance. The TTC bus terminal could remain as is or too be relocated eastwards. McCowan Stn eliminated. Bellamy, Markham Stns easy walking distance north of Ellesmere. Line would then proceed to cut through the parklands east of Markham Rd at-grade northeasternly towards Progress Centennial College. Then runs parallel to the 401 before burying under Neilson to Malvern TC terminus, stopping at Sheppard East en route. Malvern TC could essentially become a transit hub offering excursions to the Zoo, UTSC, Durham, and Markham/Cornell.

This could work either as light rail or heavy rail rapid transit, though the latter would reduce overall no. of transfers thus travel times.

 

[CDL.TO]

Public Notice Open House
The City of Toronto and the TTC are holding an Open House to present and receive your comments on the following:

* The preferred SRT extension alignment
* Station and Maintenance Facility locations

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
6:30pm to 9:00pm
Saints Peter and Paul Banquet Hall
231 Milner Avenue

http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/scarborough_rapid_transit/index.htm