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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

Good points. Personally, I think that densification and additional parking don't need to be mutually exclusive. I'd love to see the sea of parking at stations like Appleby developed into a mixed use community with a central "main street" pedestrian plaza leading from the main road to the GO station. It would have restaurants, bars, and stores. In behind them and a few storeys above them would be parking structures, and above that you could have 10-15 storey apartments/condos, using the roof of the parking structure as the "ground floor park area". It would basically be two giant structures on either side of the plaza, with towers built into them at certain locations.

Basically, you'd be maintaining the parking capacity, but integrating it into a community.
 
alexanderglista said:
You are completely right about Oakville GO station. Currently, there is an application in to the Town of Oakville for 3 towers across the street from the GO Station (http://oakville.ca/business/6810.html), but there is no reason why towers shouldn't be built closer. It really is a shame Oakville is so anti-high/midrise development. It will be interesting to see how fast Metrolinx moves on infill stations. Is it within the 10 year RER service plan or beyond?
Click to expand...

Don't write off Oakville. This is the vision for around the GO station:

0ehXGbI.png


They just completed an EA to finalize the alignment of the roads will be to facilitate this kind of development, so the image above will change. This is the roads concept:

PMqzV1p.png
 
ShonTron said:
I think infill stations in the 905 suburbs can make it easier to redevelop those existing stations that are prime for intensification. For example, Oakville Station is at a point now where most of the remaining surface lots could be redeveloped for condos and/or offices and commercial. A new station at Ford Drive, in an area that is much less development-friendly, could replace those parking spots. The Ford Drive station could cater to 9-5 park-and-ride commuters, while Oakville could be the urban station with frequent, 7 day/week, 20 hours/day train service with the transit connections and walk-up ridership.

In come cases, infill stations could have more parking than the original stations they replace.
Click to expand...
Don't forget that the existing Oakville Stations will be relocated to the east side of Trafalgar Rd within the next 10 years or so. This will free the existing site for redevelopment

The new locations is supposed to be a mix development. Parking needs to be underground, but Metrolinx wants that 100' setback using parking structure to do it.

Infill stations on "ALL" GO Lines is a "MUST" and not all have to be full size stations. Ford, Dovel will work for Oakville as infill stations.
 
I don't really agree with tolls as they are grossly unfair. Some person can drive from Windsor to Quebec and not pay a dime but some poor slob who lives right off the Gardiner or DVP will be hit with a toll.

Gas taxes are the way to go...........the more you travel, the more you pay no matter where you are going. They also help encourage people to get smaller and more fuel efficient cars which uniformly also have lower emissions. Gas taxes are super easy to implement and have no operational or start=up costs unlike tolls/toll booths. I can see them for brand new pieces of infrastructure like the 407 but not on existing ones or improvements to existing ones.

The key to their success and more importantly making them politically palatable, is having the extra services that their revenues will provide starting the very day the tolls come into effect. If they don't them people will, and with good reason, think they will go into a slush fund and be spent on a new playground or public art which is not what they were intended to do. If, for example, they introduced them on the same day they lowered GO fares or brought in fare integration then people would see immediate concrete results of their tax dollars.

The only thing missing is political will and that is sadly lacking in Toronto.
 
ssiguy2 said:
I don't really agree with tolls as they are grossly unfair. Some person can drive from Windsor to Quebec and not pay a dime but some poor slob who lives right off the Gardiner or DVP will be hit with a toll.

Gas taxes are the way to go...........the more you travel, the more you pay no matter where you are going. They also help encourage people to get smaller and more fuel efficient cars which uniformly also have lower emissions. Gas taxes are super easy to implement and have no operational or start=up costs unlike tolls/toll booths. I can see them for brand new pieces of infrastructure like the 407 but not on existing ones or improvements to existing ones.
Click to expand...

Except gas taxes are also unfair - especially in rural areas given the distances involved are a fact of life, not a choice. And comparing the provincially maintained 401 vs. the city maintained Gardiner/DVP is not exactly on point. The limited public good is road capacity, not gas per se.

And speaking of GO, we have yet another fatality, this time at Port Credit/LSW. Like honestly, can we do something about that?

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
And speaking of GO, we have yet another fatality, this time at Port Credit/LSW. Like honestly, can we do something about that?

AoD
Click to expand...

It feels like there are more recently. Are there stats that back that up? Is it a cyclical/time of year trend? Are there just more trains causeing mroe incidents?
 
We dont know the circumstances of the events that took place today, but recently there have been cases of people wondering and hanging around train tracks. Unfortunately in those cases, there's not much we can do since society is filled with some foolish people who will never get it no matter how many times you drill it into their heads that they shouldnt be around train tracks (especially in the middle of the night).
 
There's no guarantee of suicide prevention, but there are far fewer 'misadventure' events on the TTC subway than on GO, because the fencing is much more secure and even the most adverturesome youth knows that if caught 'playing' on the subway track by transit security, it's a big deal. The railways are gradually installing cameras, and the fencing is getting a little more consistent. But I think there is room for considerable improvement in physical barriers at least for the 'casual' trespasser.

I wonder if ML or train crews have seen any change along the Weston Sub since the new fences and walls went in.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
There's no guarantee of suicide prevention, but there are far fewer 'misadventure' events on the TTC subway than on GO, because the fencing is much more secure and even the most adverturesome youth knows that if caught 'playing' on the subway track by transit security, it's a big deal. The railways are gradually installing cameras, and the fencing is getting a little more consistent. But I think there is room for considerable improvement in physical barriers at least for the 'casual' trespasser.
Click to expand...

I think simple grade-separation makes all the difference in the world. (along w/fences). In its absence, every road crossing is a potential point of entry, either right at the intersection of track + road or wandering down the tracks.

To be clear, we can neither eliminate suicides in our society, nor can we eliminate all by any one method. However, we can make some choices more difficult and particularly reduce impulsive choices.

In terms of misadventure, again, a greater barrier to entry is one key; another is making sure that there are reasonable alternative points of crossing. Where crossing from community to another, particularly for major shopping or a High School is in high demand, it not enough to scold folks for making a poor choice; a better one must be provided that is reasonably convenient. I notice the Port Credit area seems to be particularly problematic; and it is also an area w/an at-grade crossing.
 
I'd like to know what percentage of ped/train incidences on Ontario trackage are intentional (i.e suicides) vs misadventure. I assume it's like 80/20 or 90/10, but I guess there's little data on this.
 
44 North said:
I'd like to know what percentage of ped/train incidences on Ontario trackage are intentional (i.e suicides) vs misadventure. I assume it's like 80/20 or 90/10, but I guess there's little data on this.
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It used to be closer to 50/50 up until a few years ago, likely somewhat more towards intentional now. But it's just as likely those numbers are off. The problem is most incidents lack clear evidence of intent(a suicide note, knelling before a train, etc.) and therefore you can not prove without any doubt one way or another exact what the intent was. Also that matters little to the police, their primary concern is in determining if there was a criminal act that occurred.
 
nfitz said:
Suggestions? Maybe criminalize suicide? High voltage electric fences?
Click to expand...

Excellent idea - call it harsh, but at least the fatality will occur outside of the tracks by the way of electrocution through intrusion.

Amare said:
We dont know the circumstances of the events that took place today, but recently there have been cases of people wondering and hanging around train tracks. Unfortunately in those cases, there's not much we can do since society is filled with some foolish people who will never get it no matter how many times you drill it into their heads that they shouldnt be around train tracks (especially in the middle of the night).
Click to expand...

Their foolishness is one thing - having lines shut down because of their foolishness is another, and it is the latter I am concerned about.

AoD
 
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