Metrolinx: Sheppard East LRT (In Design)

[nfitz]

When council voted in favour of bringing back Transit City in March, they also added a motion to study extending the Bloor-Danforth subway from Kennedy to SCC - wouldn't that make rebuilding the SRT as an LRT line redundant?

Other cities have built light rail that parallels existing subway.

 

[ShonTron]

If Ford wasn't so damned stubborn, the Sheppard Subway could have been extended to Victoria Park while LRT work progressed on Eglinton, SRT replacement and Finch. I would have preferred that over the SELRT, which again goes forward ahead of all else.

Ford would have come out much better too.

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Did they specify when in 2014 construction will start?

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Did they specify when in 2014 construction will start?

Election time.

 

[Palma]

Election time.

But what will change then in 2014. All of a sudden there ill be more money? These transit projects have been approved by council and will now be approved my Metrolinx.. From now till 2014 there ill be preliminary work so that in 2014 the actual construction will start. There is no turning back

 

[EnviroTO]

It really won't be an election issue. They are planning on having financing, design, and tendering done in 2013. Construction starting in 2014 really means by the time the election is over everything would be signed and expensive to undo.

 

[andrewpmk]

But what will change then in 2014. All of a sudden there ill be more money? These transit projects have been approved by council and will now be approved my Metrolinx.. From now till 2014 there ill be preliminary work so that in 2014 the actual construction will start. There is no turning back

Economic cycles. There is a good chance that the economy will be better by 2014 which means that the provincial budget deficit will be smaller, and more funding will be available. The Sheppard light rail line will be an election issue even it requires millions in cancellation fees (see Mississauga gas power plant).

The problems with Transit City are too long to list: slow light rail lines which stop at every street corner, low capacity, too many transfers/discontinuous lines (4 transfers to get from Sheppard/Morningside to Humber College), lack of connection to Pearson Airport (huge employment area) in phase 1... For a city as big and rapidly growing as Toronto and with some of the worst congestion in North America, it is horribly inadequate. If Transit City is built we will waste billions replacing the overcrowded light rail lines with subways 20 years from now.

 

[gweed123]

Other cities have built light rail that parallels existing subway.

I think spending over a billion to upgrade a line to LRT and then spend over a billion to build a subway that ends up in the same spot is a redundant duplication of service.

If they're going to do that, do the refurb as a spur of the Stouffville line, double track the section between Kennedy and the spur, and run a DMU service until it can be electrified, and then build the B-D extension. At least then the duplication is on two different levels (i.e. eventually regional rail vs local subway).

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Economic cycles. There is a good chance that the economy will be better by 2014 which means that the provincial budget deficit will be smaller, and more funding will be available. The Sheppard light rail line will be an election issue even it requires millions in cancellation fees (see Mississauga gas power plant).

The problems with Transit City are too long to list: slow light rail lines which stop at every street corner, low capacity, too many transfers/discontinuous lines (4 transfers to get from Sheppard/Morningside to Humber College), lack of connection to Pearson Airport (huge employment area) in phase 1... For a city as big and rapidly growing as Toronto and with some of the worst congestion in North America, it is horribly inadequate. If Transit City is built we will waste billions replacing the overcrowded light rail lines with subways 20 years from now.

That's what we did for Yonge and Keele or are these other street somehow better and deserving of special treatment?

 

[Voltz]

It really won't be an election issue. They are planning on having financing, design, and tendering done in 2013. Construction starting in 2014 really means by the time the election is over everything would be signed and expensive to undo.

Yes but that won't stop Ford and his minions from campaigning on the issue, promising subways and spewing and that BS they just finished hurling during the recent debate. Plus enough morons may still believe them.

 

[JoeParez]

This map shows Eglinton and Scarborough as two projects. Does this mean the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown is back to separate projects with a connection at Kennedy?

Granted, with the extension of SRT to Sheppard East (and according to the map, at least the possibility of surface extension along Sheppard to Morningside on the Sheppard LRT tracks), it may simply be that the line is getting too long to be one line - but the idea of losing the "no transfer" option at Kennedy is a disappointment.

Edit: the report to the board only uses the "Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown" term in reference to the Ford MOU. Everywhere else, it's "Eglinton Crosstown" with a separate "Scarborough RT" reference.

So I'd say we are looking at Kennedy being a terminus for three separate lines.

Steve Munro states that it will probably be "through routing" -- but it's treated as two separate projects:

Steve: No, it is still designed for through routing of some service from the SRT to Eglinton. However, from a construction point of view, they are separate projects and the SRT conversion will finish before the Eglinton line opens to Kennedy.

 

[M II A II R II K]

They should then convert the existing Sheppard Line to take the LRTs for one continuous route.

Also for sure they should go ahead with the BD extension to SCC or even as far as Sheppard East. It would act as an express like line down to Main Street Station where everyone gets off there and transfers to the new Lakeshore ALRT to get downtown and not have to sit through endless stops on the Danforth just to get to the Yonge Line and then transfer again.

And plus the T1's no longer being used on Sheppard can go towards the BD extension.

 

[TOareaFan]

It really won't be an election issue. They are planning on having financing, design, and tendering done in 2013. Construction starting in 2014 really means by the time the election is over everything would be signed and expensive to undo.

Airport expansions, helicopter purchases, gas plants and - yes - subways come to mind as projects in my lifetime that were, at least, that far along and, at least, that expensive to "undo" yet someone found a way!

 

[rbt]

Economic cycles. There is a good chance that the economy will be better by 2014 which means that the provincial budget deficit will be smaller, and more funding will be available.

Better? Counting off years between recessions it would seem like 2014/2015 is due to be the start of the next US recession.

 

[Electrify]

They should then convert the existing Sheppard Line to take the LRTs for one continuous route.

Also for sure they should go ahead with the BD extension to SCC or even as far as Sheppard East. It would act as an express like line down to Main Street Station where everyone gets off there and transfers to the new Lakeshore ALRT to get downtown and not have to sit through endless stops on the Danforth just to get to the Yonge Line and then transfer again.

And plus the T1's no longer being used on Sheppard can go towards the BD extension.

Pretty much this.

Light rail/LRT/trams/streetcars and subways/metros/heavy rail/HRT are the same things, the differences is are in how they are operated. If our streetcars and subways both used the same power source, they would fit on each other's tracks and go.

Get some dual mode trains, or modify Sheppard to use ground level or conduit power and having a continuous line on Sheppard would not pose a problem.

Also, I think if the Bloor-Danforth line is extended in the east, it should be to connect with the Eglinton GO Station.