GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

[salsa]

There's a PDF available with more information on the announcement.

Metrolinx has initiated a two-stage open market procurement process consisting of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) followed by a Request for Proposals (RFP), to select a development partner (The “Developerâ€) to undertake a mixed use development project on the Development Site. The eventual development will seamlessly integrate a mixed use development with new GO station infrastructure (including parking facilities) to be owned and operated by Metrolinx. The station infrastructure (“Station Infrastructureâ€) to be designed and constructed by the Developer includes the following:

• New station building and related transit infrastructure: A LEED Gold transit station building of approximately 2,000 sq. ft., passenger pick-up and drop-off area and bus bays/loop.
• Structured parking facility: A structured parking facility providing increase of 420 spaces parking for GO customers in addition to replacement of the approximately 380 existing surface parking stalls located on the Development Site, corridor lands and the closed City-owned ROW lands for a total of 800 GO customer parking spaces.
  

Metrolinx wishes to achieve through the selection of a Developer, the development of a mixed use transit oriented development and infrastructure within the Port Credit GO Station area:

• Enhanced connectivity between different modes of transportation and an enhanced user experience through improved parking and the introduction of new amenities and services within an adjacent mixed use development;
• Creation of a mixed use community with a higher land use intensity which will benefit from enhanced access to transit and will create a vibrant place to live, work and play, and which will also act as a gateway between the Development Site and the broader Port Credit community;
• Achievement of design excellence which will be realized through a high-quality public realm; and
• The generation of revenue for Metrolinx in the form of recurring revenue and/or upfront payments.

 

[Jonny5]

There's a PDF available with more information on the announcement.

So what passes as a "mobility hub" is essentially one condo on top of a parking lot and a lawn bowling park.

 

[DarnDirtyApe]

It does say "mixed use development" so the question will be how strict Metrolinx will be that The Developer allocates a material portion of the site to commercial use. Of course, they are planning to double the number of parking spaces so one questions the commitment to reducing reliance on the park and ride model...

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

Port Credit GO was always marked to be a mobility hub, this is just a big deal because it's a Metrolinx (government) asset being developed privately but in cooperation with public objectives. It's the new Union Station office tower agreement on a smaller scale.

 

[TOareaFan]

Port Credit GO was always marked to be a mobility hub, this is just a big deal because it's a Metrolinx (government) asset being developed privately but in cooperation with public objectives. It's the new Union Station office tower agreement on a smaller scale.

It also has a bit of significance in that they will be bringing money in. A quick scan of the pdf tells me they are looking to sell the lands outright to someone with a good proposal. So, perhaps, a double win....more density right at a station and some cash in the door. In this regard it is a bit different than the bus terminal at Union cause in that land swap (effectively a sale-leaseback) public money is going out not coming in.

 

[innsertnamehere]

from what I managed from the report Metrolinx is waiving land costs for the developer if they pay for a new parking structure and a station renovation.

 

[muller877]

from what I managed from the report Metrolinx is waiving land costs for the developer if they pay for a new parking structure and a station renovation.

May be a good deal (depending on the costs it avoids...a parking structure isn't cheap). I wonder if this is a way to reduce the costs of the DRL. TTC pays for the tunnel and developers pay for building the stations (TTC expropriates land around the potential stations and then transfers them to developers).

If Port Credit is successful what other stations will metrolinx be duplicating this model? (Cooksville?)

 

[innsertnamehere]

TTC stations are far too expensive to have developers finance them.

Most station lands the TTC will be using will be in the $10-15 million range at most, you can't cancel that and get a developer to pay the $150-$200 million required to construct a station.

 

[drum118]

Feb 28
More up on site

 

[gweed123]

There's a PDF available with more information on the announcement.

Interesting that there's no mention of the Hurontario LRT in that blurb. They only mention bus bays.

 

[Tuscani01]

Interesting that there's no mention of the Hurontario LRT in that blurb. They only mention bus bays.

It's mentioned several times throughout the document:

Local Area Plan identifies an objective of ensuring the greatest height and density to
occur in close proximity to the GO station and future
LRT transit stop, and contemplates the potential for a
building height of up to 22 storeys on the western portion of the Development Site.

Seamless integration of modes on the Development Site, functioning as a junction point between GO
Transit, Mississauga Transit, and
the future Hurontario-Main LRT;

Integrated transit hub with GO train, bus and planned Hurontario-Main LRT stop

Benefitting from four road frontages and excellent rail,
bus and (planned) LRT transit access, the Development
Site provides a high degree of flexibility in terms of a future mixed use development.

In particular, that the greatest height and density occur in close proximity to the GO station
and future LRT transit stop at Hurontario Street and Park Street, and contemplates a potential building height
of up to 22 storeys on the Development Site

 

[gweed123]

It's mentioned several times throughout the document:

Thanks. It had be worried there for a second! In that case, I think this development will be a good thing. An integrated transit terminal there would be a huge plus.

 

[Jonny5]

So will the James North GO station have dedicated GO tracks in and out past the yard? Back in the 80's it was notorious for long delays from freight train movements because the freight operators simply had zero care about blocking a GO train. My father used it daily and noted it was at least four times a week they would be delayed 10 to 15 minutes in our out. He eventually gave up and just drove to Burlington station every day, which was a net shorter commute in the end anyway, even when the train left Hamilton on schedule.

 

[mdrejhon]

So will the James North GO station have dedicated GO tracks in and out past the yard? Back in the 80's it was notorious for long delays from freight train movements because the freight operators simply had zero care about blocking a GO train. My father used it daily and noted it was at least four times a week they would be delayed 10 to 15 minutes in our out. He eventually gave up and just drove to Burlington station every day, which was a net shorter commute in the end anyway, even when the train left Hamilton on schedule.

To the best of my understanding, not initially, but eventually.

The situation is much better for the CN trackage (JamesNorth/StoneyCreek trackage) than for the CP trackage (Hamilton downtown trackage), so there will be much less interference between freight trains and GO trains.

For the corridor expansions, I am not 100% sure, but some of the costs, I believe, are bundled in as part of the $150 million of upgrades relating to Confederation GO station -- the station on Centennial Parkway in Stoney Creek. The actual station itself only constitutes $35M of that; the rest are line upgrades.

The March 3rd, 2015 Metrolinx meeting minutes, on page 10, mentions that an EA will start in 2015 for corridor expansion between Burlington and Aldershot. This probably will help allday service to Hamilton. This doesn't include corridor expansion between Aldershot and JamesNorth (but this might be part of the still-yet-unfunded $150M Stoney Creek expansion).

One thing I don't see covered is rail-to-rail grade separation, which is currently unfunded. The Metrolinx-used tracks are the southmost tracks at Aldershot, but those would become northernmost tracks at JamesNorth if it avoided the freight tracks. However, Metrolinx designed JamesNorth with the Metrolinx tracks on the southmost side since that's where station access and Metrolinx-available corridor expansion room is located. So, a rail-to-rail grade separation may eventually be needed for reliable 30-minute all day service at JamesNorth and/or Centennial Parkway (using the Lewis layover as a staging area). The rail-to-rail grade separation is needed somewhere along the corridor before JamesNorth, to get the Metrolinx tracks from the lake-facing side (north rails at JamesNorth, south rails at Aldershot) to the outwards side (south rails at JamesNorth) on the opposite side of freight trackage. Perhaps when all-day service to Hamilton begins, Metrolinx might start with hourly service (sharing a freight track between Aldershot and JamesNorth), to see how demand and schedule reliability starts out, and start an EA for rail-to-rail separation somewhere near the Hamilton Junction. Or if CN service is sufficiently infrequent, they may go all-out with 30 minute all day service, if there's minimal risk of schedule disruption for the whole Lakeshore line. (If extending all day Lakeshore West trains to Hamilton JamesNorth instead of Aldershot, a train delay in Hamilton can cascade all the way to Lakeshore East; so there's a strong incentive to do a rail-to-rail grade separation before sending every Lakeshore West train all the way, even if there is just 1 freight train per day).

____

Meanwhile, while driving home yesterday from Aldershot GO station towards Hamilton, I was greeted to quite a sight near the Hamilton Junction: A long 100-car freight train AND a GOtrain moving in parallel, in the same direction, on the double-track heading south towards Hamilton on the curve between Aldershot and Hamilton! The GOtrain was moving on the east (inner track of lake curve) and the freight train was moving on the west (outer track of lake curve). So it appears that two trains are allowed to move in the same direction on the double-track. Maybe there may be enough operational efficiency between Aldershot and JamesNorth to permit hourly service, at the minimum. There's at least less congestion/track crossing heading into JamesNorth than downtown, so less chance of delays.

 

[smallspy]

The March 3rd, 2015 Metrolinx meeting minutes, on page 10, mentions that an EA will start in 2015 for corridor expansion between Burlington and Aldershot. This probably will help allday service to Hamilton. This doesn't include corridor expansion between Aldershot and JamesNorth (but this might be part of the still-yet-unfunded $150M Stoney Creek expansion).

The EA will cover the stretch from Burlington West - a little bit west of Burlington Station - to Bayview Junction. I'm not entirely sure why they've decided to use the GO station names, since they aren't the accurate locations in this case.

One thing I don't see covered is rail-to-rail grade separation, which is currently unfunded. The Metrolinx-used tracks are the southmost tracks at Aldershot, but those would become northernmost tracks at JamesNorth if it avoided the freight tracks. However, Metrolinx designed JamesNorth with the Metrolinx tracks on the southmost side since that's where station access and Metrolinx-available corridor expansion room is located. So, a rail-to-rail grade separation may eventually be needed for reliable 30-minute all day service at JamesNorth and/or Centennial Parkway (using the Lewis layover as a staging area). The rail-to-rail grade separation is needed somewhere along the corridor before JamesNorth, to get the Metrolinx tracks from the lake-facing side (north rails at JamesNorth, south rails at Aldershot) to the outwards side (south rails at JamesNorth) on the opposite side of freight trackage. Perhaps when all-day service to Hamilton begins, Metrolinx might start with hourly service (sharing a freight track between Aldershot and JamesNorth), to see how demand and schedule reliability starts out, and start an EA for rail-to-rail separation somewhere near the Hamilton Junction.

It seems that saner heads have prevailed, and have impressed upon Metrolinx that a grade separation isn't likely to be needed at Bayview Junction or anywhere south on the stretch to James North Station for quite some time.

Meanwhile, while driving home yesterday from Aldershot GO station towards Hamilton, I was greeted to quite a sight near the Hamilton Junction: A long 100-car freight train AND a GOtrain moving in parallel, in the same direction, on the double-track heading south towards Hamilton on the curve between Aldershot and Hamilton! The GOtrain was moving on the east (inner track of lake curve) and the freight train was moving on the west (outer track of lake curve). So it appears that two trains are allowed to move in the same direction on the double-track. Maybe there may be enough operational efficiency between Aldershot and JamesNorth to permit hourly service, at the minimum. There's at least less congestion/track crossing heading into JamesNorth than downtown, so less chance of delays.

Why wouldn't they be able to run in parallel? The tracks are signalled for both directions, after all.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.