GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[Markster]

Both of those stations: the following quote is from the presentation.

So they're not gone, just not slated for 2024.

Yeah, I hadn't gotten to the end of the document when I wrote that!
Park lawn is specifically called out for future consideration.

And then it goes on to say:
"The remaining 24 stations that did not undergo initial business case analysis are identified for future
consideration in the context of longer term regional transportation planning."
Which basically means that none of the stations are truly, completely, forever ruled out. But conditions will need to change for them to be reconsidered.

From a true RER standpoint, it's a bit annoying that all the lines coming in from the West still only share a station at Union, despite Bloor, Liberty Village, and Spadina all having multiple lines run through. If GO is to become a real way to move around the city (and not just into the city), they will need to give people ways to transfer between lines without a lot of backtracking.

 

[steveintoronto]

Tory is going to cling to the SmartTrack name until after the next election. Then they'll make an announcement that it's being "folded into" RER.

So one has to wonder...who called this announcement, and then called the other party to participate? Is this the tail wagging the bone?

From a true RER standpoint, it's a bit annoying that all the lines coming in from the West still only share a station at Union, despite Bloor, Liberty Village, and Spadina all having multiple lines run through. If GO is to become a real way to move around the city (and not just into the city), they will need to give people ways to transfer between lines without a lot of backtracking.

Yeah...I had to think long and hard on that, until realizing that to have every line service every station it runs through will slow them all down, not to mention costs of infrastructure. It baffled me to no end that the Milton line doesn't stop at Bloor, until realizing that it intersects at Kipling. So for all but perhaps 1% of the passengers, it's a hindrance rather than help. The fact that Liberty Village is on the hypothetical 'Somewhat Smart Track', as is St Clair, it makes a lot of sense.

Now the *real* question: Where does UPX fit into all of this?

Still catching up on posts, this may now be corrected by some other posters, but be aware of the CBC coverage:

The SmartTrack would share stops in Liberty Village and St. Clair and Keele, as well as four east-end stations:

• the Don Yard/Unilever area, between Cherry Street and Eastern Avenue
• Gerrard Street East near Carlaw Avenue
• Lawrence Avenue East between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue
• Finch Avenue between Kennedy and Midland.

Ontario's Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca made the announcement from Toronto's Liberty Village neighbourhood with Mayor John Tory.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/del-duca-transit-tory-1.3645256

 

[Adjei]

Since today's event was about new stations in Toronto (specifically the west side of Toronto) it should not be a surprise that it did not include any mention of new stations that would (if built) not be in Toronto.

I am not talking about the stations in Toronto. Look at this document which lists the stations being considered for new GO Stations:

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pd.../20160628_BoardMtg_Appendix_2_Stations_EN.pdf

 

[robmausser]

For those of you who don't like PDF's heres the juicy bits.

 

[Northern Light]

In the RER report from the June 28 mtg.

Construction of the Gormley Station is ongoing and progressing well;
the station is expected to open for partial train services on the first week of December 2016.

 

[steveintoronto]

Just to add a note of sobriety on all the hoopla:

The four new GO stations will be brought forward for approval to the Metrolinx board at the next meeting on June 28. Approval also depends on Toronto city council approving the city's financial contribution to the stops.

Del Duca and Tory last joined forces to announce details of the extension to the Bloor-Danforth subway line in Scarborough.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/del-duca-transit-tory-1.3645256

Ah yes, the Scarborough subway. And no-one knows yet where the budget for that is coming from....

And in case many have overlooked this, best you catch up:
By Jennifer Pagliaro TorStar City Hall reporter
Thu., June 9, 2016

Mayor John Tory voted in favour of allowing residential homes to be built next to a GO Transit maintenance yard at the urging of allied Etobicoke councillors, ignoring the chief planner’s warning that the move threatens the mayor’s own signature SmartTrack transit plans.

Both senior city staff and officials from the provincial transit arm Metrolinx warned council that changes to allow residential development on a sliver of employment lands (zoned for industrial, commercial and institutional use) next to the rail facility in south Etobicoke would affect provincial plans for expanded, electrified GO service known as Regional Express Rail (RER).

Those expansion plans are directly linked to Tory’s own chief campaign promise to create a localized heavy-rail service using existing GO rail tracks, with additional stations in Toronto, which he calls SmartTrack.

“The Willowbrook yard is a critical, critical facility for delivering on RER and SmartTrack,” the city’s chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat told council Wednesday. “In the absence of the opportunity to expand that facility, it is very difficult to, in fact, expand the transit uses along our heavy rail corridors in the region.” [...]

https://www.thestar.com/news/city_h...-to-rail-yard-threatens-smarttrack-plans.html

It seems John wants it every which way.

 

[wopchop]

So ... Park Lawn not included in 10 year plan eh? Am I reading that correctly?

 

[Johnny Au]

Given that Kirby station is confirmed, perhaps the walls of that station could be painted pink to acknowledge a certain video game character.

Likewise, Breslau station should have "Wroclaw" written underneath in smaller letters.

 

[andrewpmk]

So ... Park Lawn not included in 10 year plan eh? Am I reading that correctly?

I presume that there is not yet enough funding to build it.

Also having the Spadina station serve only the Barrie line is strange. This station should serve all lines and needs to be a pretty big station which will cost quite a bit of money to build.

 

[RandomBusGuy]

The reasons for not including Park Lawn and Highway 7 - Concord are included in the RER Update.

Highway 7 –
Concord (east of Keele St.)

Higher construction costs; potential ridership catchment is limited by the new subway to
the west; the potential for addition of new riders is offset by significant negative
impacts to upstream riders.

Park Lawn (near Lakeshore Blvd. W)

Considered as alternative to Mimico GO station; potential performance is similar to
Mimico GO station; advantages of marginal additional ridership from this location are
outweighed by the high capital costs of new network and station infrastructure.

 

[crs1026]

The reasons for not including Park Lawn and Highway 7 - Concord are included in the RER Update.

Park Lawn (near Lakeshore Blvd. W)

Considered as alternative to Mimico GO station; potential performance is similar to
Mimico GO station; advantages of marginal additional ridership from this location are
outweighed by the high capital costs of new network and station infrastructure.

I guess "Local transportation is a bloody mess and getting worse as each new condo opens" doesn't fit into any of the evaluation criteria.

- Paul

 

[salsa]

Amazing.

 

[rbt]

From a true RER standpoint, it's a bit annoying that all the lines coming in from the West still only share a station at Union, despite Bloor, Liberty Village, and Spadina all having multiple lines run through. If GO is to become a real way to move around the city (and not just into the city), they will need to give people ways to transfer between lines without a lot of backtracking.

I expect this is for 2 reasons, first is that GO really likes to build things in stages to see if actual behaviour occurs as predicted. So, will these stations get any traction at all?

Second, very very few people current disembark at stations other than Union during AM rush. If few are going from A to non-union B on Lake Shore then they probably aren't going to transfer at these other stations in the short-term either. If 95% of trips are satisfied by the stop being a single-line then that's probably for the best.

If they get a measurable number of inter-line transfers at Union, these stations can be expanded to become multi-line stops. Gradual expansion through numerous independent tenders fits well with how they like to do things.

 

[minilude]

If you look at Metrolinx report on the new stations, highway 7 is not included. How can they keep York U station but not build this station which would connect with the viva brt and also future 407 transit way.

This location itself is an industrial land but good location for connections. However in 2017 VIVA BRT is going to divide into two segments - Orange on west of Yonge and Purple on east of Yonge, which probably not a strong case for connecting Barrie GO to Markham employment cluster (too many transfers). For connection to Vaughan Centre that's the subway (though it's quite far for York U GO to York U subway station) and Promenade Centre there should be some existing infrastructures.

 

[ShonTron]

Kirby Station has really weak justification:

• Kirby (near Keele St.)
o Located in area subject to new development; low forecast ridership, subject to additional work with municipality and landowners
o Subject to corridor service planning and further analysis of service implications

But it's in Minister Bobblehead's riding, so of course it was included.

As for York University, it's supposed to close once Downsview Park opens.