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Fate of the SRT

What do you believe should be done about the SRT?

  • Total voters
    190
I suppose another alternative would be to add more lines with ICTS, to make it not so orphan technology, and instead update the SRT line to accommodate Mark 2 cars. And plus at least there'd be the assurance that any and all ICTS lines would be off the road.
 
sixrings said:
So someone from STC will not be able to travel to sheppard via LRT going west bound.... That to me doesnt seem to make much sense.. I would have thought that once the SRT/LRT went to STC it would immediately turn north on MCcowan and connect to SHEPpard there. Guess that wouldnt make any sense....
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There was never any plan to go north on Sheppard. The objective of the extension is to serve Centennial College and Malvern.
 
Personally, I do support a rail link between STC and MTC (and on this one I part ways with my SOS friends) in conjunction with a Bloor-Danforth extension from Kennedy to STC. However, I really can't support the SRT extension as currently planned. It's ridiculous. Once again they insist on one-size fits all. They could've easily mixed 2-car and 3-car LRVs sending 2-Car LRVs to Malvern and short turning 3-Car LRVs at McCowan. Or if they didn't want that they could simply run 3-car LRTs the whole way. The fact that they are running down Sheppard to the carhouse, shows that there aren't many obstacles to 3-car operations. Since there really was no projected demand north/east of McCowan that could not be met by at-grade LRT for the forseeable future, how can they justify the expense of grade separation and the attendant denial of service to Bellamy, Markham and Milner? They expect people to walk up a steep hill, 400m from Markham to take the LRT which is placed at the furthest end of Centennial's campus along Progress. Try that in the winter.

All they did is traded the third rail for overhead catenary. Great job. That gives us no stops for 3 important intersections and a ridiculous terminus at Sheppard and Progress (a ridiculously misplaced end point...it's the Kennedy Station of Malvern). What routes are going to use that bus terminal in Phase 1? And who will use it in Phase 2? If they ran some of this at-grade they could have used the money saved to reach Malvern and built the bus terminal in a place that makes sense.
 
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^ Yeah ... they did all planning for the SRT extension under an implicit assumption that it will be an ICTS line that requires full grade separation.

Then at the last moment, they decided to convert it to LRT, unify the fleet, and reuse the carhouse ... this is good.

But, they did not examine any new alignment options that might become possible when LRT technology is selected. The latest design document shows two options for a service connection between SRT extension and SELRT, but both of them can be used for carhouse movements only. None is suitable for interlining / branching.

Moreover, if SRT remains a part of closed-fare system while SELRT uses proof-of-payment, then interlining is impossible until PRESTO rolls in.
 
RedRocket191 said:
Amalgamation is the best example of how, in practise, reality is far from ideal.
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None of the municipalities expressed a really strong opposition to it. Yes, there was some criticism and concerns were expressed.

But, say, old Toronto Council voting on a resolution that asks the Province not to proceed with amalgamation, and passing it with a 75% support? Or, most of chancellors in one municipality threathening to resign en masse?

If anything like that happened, the province would listen.
 
As I recall, the popular referendum in the old Metro municipalities got a 75% "NO" mandate. That's about equivalent to the resolution you speak of...
 
RedRocket191 said:
As I recall, the popular referendum in the old Metro municipalities got a 75% "NO" mandate. That's about equivalent to the resolution you speak of...
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OK, I did not know that.

But, was it a formal referendum, or just an opinion poll (or even a few polls)?
 
Rainforest said:
OK, I did not know that.

But, was it a formal referendum, or just an opinion poll (or even a few polls)?
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From the City of Toronto's own history website, click on this link:

Although Harris enjoyed support from powerful allies in business and the media, the affected municipalities and their citizens generally opposed the move, as represented by a 1997 referendum in which 76 per cent of Metro's population voted against his plan. Nevertheless, Harris, whose political support mainly came from outside Toronto, created his new 'megacity.'
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I emailed Lito Romano about the SRT(LRT) project and this is what I suggested:

Attn. Lito Romano,

I attended one of the open houses concerning the Scarborough Rapid Transit and Kennedy Station Improvemnts and would like to comment on Ellesmere Station Plans. The tunnel just north of Ellesmere Station is going to need a major overhaul to accomodate the longer LRT cars I believe and I would like to suggest that the Ellesmere SRT(LRT) platform be below ground as well. If the future SRT were below grade with a center platform it would make this station more accessible if an elevator were added to it. The station itself with the attendent could be on the surface making it easier to add a bus bay for a future bus route such as a Progress Ave. bus could dock there.

The pedestrian tunnel could still be there but the stairs would go in the direction of north/south so the tunnel wouldn't conflict with the below grade LRT tracks.

And this is how he replied to me:

Thank you for your attending the recent open house and sharing your comments on the planned SRT.



I have forwarded them to our project team for review and consideration into the final design.



Sincerely,



Lito Romano

Community Liaison Officer

Strategic Partnerships -Transit City

Toronto Transit Commission

416-397-8699 lito.romano@ttc.ca


I really appreciate the design of a lot of the stations since moving here to TO a few years ago from Vancouver and I hope they improve more of the stations that I feel aren't as well designed.
 
Their was an article in May 21st/10 edition of the Scarborough Mirror,(I like this community paper because their is almost always transit news). David Nickle reported that 'The TTC should spend another $65 million to create a tunnel for light rail vehicles from the Scarborough RT repalacement to the Sheppard East Maintenance and Storage Facility, rather than run the cars past the Chinese Cultural Centre on Progress Avenue, Toronto's executive committee has recommended'.

I think a tunnel for the non-revenue track up progress would be better for the area as well so the cars can make it to the storage and maintenance facility at Conlins Rd and Sheppard. If LRT were on the surface it would make it harder for people who drive to access this community centre.
 
GTS said:
I think a tunnel for the non-revenue track up progress would be better for the area as well so the cars can make it to the storage and maintenance facility at Conlins Rd and Sheppard. If LRT were on the surface it would make it harder for people who drive to access this community centre.
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Why would a mixed traffic LRT track make it difficult to drive when there are only a handful of vehicles using it per day? We're talking about 20 trips per day using this bit of track?
 
GTS said:
I think a tunnel for the non-revenue track up progress would be better for the area as well so the cars can make it to the storage and maintenance facility at Conlins Rd and Sheppard. If LRT were on the surface it would make it harder for people who drive to access this community centre.
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Exactly. Having it harder for people to drive to community centre would mean they could use transit instead.
 
GTS said:
If LRT were on the surface it would make it harder for people who drive to access this community centre.
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How? Why? You just wait at the light and turn when you have to. Access from Sheppard to Progress would not change at all.
 
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