What I like most about it: Converting Sheppard into an ALRT/ICTS line. Honestly, I cannot believe I did not think of this before! One of the main problems about through running Sheppard trains and converting it into an LRT is that it would require heavy retrofitting of the tunnel, or purchasing expensive dual-mode trains. If we switched to ALRT, while you could not run at grade, converting the current tunnel would be far cheaper as you would not need to renovate it to support an overhead wire power supply.
While this begs the question as to why not just run the current line elevated, the problem is the connectivity to the SRT. I would make one adjustment though, and that is to keep it along Sheppard rather than bending it south to the 401. Unless we are to get some new super fast trains, it doesn't make sense to run a metro along a highway. I would operate two branches of the SRT: One from Kennedy to Malvern, taking the route that we all know and love. The other would be to run from Kennedy to Sheppard-Yonge. It would continue along the rail corridor north of Ellesmere, then run elevated above Sheppard to Don Mills and then underground from there.
I also REALLY like how they are calling out the stop spacing on these routes. While some of their suggestions might be a little much, especially considering the low top speeds of our trains, there really is not much need to have more than one or two intermediate stops between every arterial block. If we had trains which could accelerate to 100km/h+ and come to a stop within a 2km stretch, then having arterial stop spacing would make sense.
Perhaps what I like most of all is that someone is willing to think outside the box for a change.
What I don't like Obviously killing of the DRL. GO might be a good alternative for the short term, but Toronto desperately needs some form of lower-downtown cross route. While Ideally something right through the heart along King or Queen would be best, I could see taking down the Gardiner and using the extra space provided to build such a line there. Unfortunately the GO train, even when electrified, is too infrequent and too much of a distance to provide the needed relief, except to dedicated GO fans perhaps.
While I haven't looked at the plans for Finch, but I don't think a BRT would be best, despite the valid critiques. However running in the hydro corridor would be a good alternative. It is a stone's throw away from the main avenue, and could provide a quality rapid solution for crosstown travel. Ideally, rather than building the Sheppard subway to the east, we should have built an ALRT line following the Finch hydro corridor to McCowan, and then connect down to Scaborough Centre and the SRT.
There is a lot of talk that cross Metro Toronto travel should be covered by GO and not the TTC. While there is need for GO improvements within Toronto, the reality is that GO's mandate is to connect between the GTA regions. It is the Toronto Transit Commission's job to move people within the city limits. I'm not saying people should be able to get between Oshawa and Oakville by subway, but getting from Malvern to Rexdale should be at least competitive by TTC compared to GO. As it is, the TTC isn't even competitive getting people from downtown North York to Scarborough Centre! A Finch hydro corridor through service could meet this objective. A 4 transfer disjointed service (Finch LRT/University subway/Sheppard bus/Sheppard subway/Sheppard LRT) does not.
