Transportfan
Senior Member
It would be a restoration of the original Sheppard actually.
|
|
|
Roads: Fantasy Proposals
- Thread starter dunkalunk
- Start date
It would be a restoration of the original Sheppard actually.
Islington Express Bus
Active Member
Yeah, I assumed that was the case based on its alignment.
north-of-anything
Active Member
Hi, my name's north-of-anything, and I'm addicted to drawing redevelopment plans for the Downsview Airport.
In all seriousness, this incorporates a few different suggestions I've seen in this thread, and then some of my own ideas. The Ancaster neighbourhood has been extended to the north and east slightly, with lower density north of Hanover, and high density next to Wilson Station. Wilson Yard would expand to take up most of the space east of the Dufferin alignment, save for a potential Line 4 station and retail. Beffort Road will become the new Doris/Beecroft of the neighbourhood, framing in higher densities on the eastern side of the street. Yardside District would most likely be townhomes or low-rise apartment buildings to fit in with the adjacent subdivisions, but perhaps not.
Downsview North and Sheppard West, being in close proximity to TTC/GO stations, can be developed much more intensely, to make either a new downtown or an area with Toronto-wide attractions that don't or can't fit downtown. Sheppard Avenue is extended over the tracks, Allen/Dufferin north of Sheppard can become Dufferin/Old Dufferin, and the vicinity of the development can also increase in height without the interference of flight paths.
These changes, meanwhile, are of a smaller scale but also likely more difficult to implement. Delfield Road is tiny, but it could be extended both to the west and to the east to meet up with Cassandra Boulevard in the west and Dewey Drive in the east. This would create an alternate route in the event of an accident or other disruptions on Ellesmere and Parkwoods Village. The new road is completely optional, just put in because it irks me that there is no clear dividing line between Robertsfield and Ivorwood Crescents on the north side.
I also connected Murray Glen to form a continuous road from Warden Avenue to Deanvar Avenue. Just because.
north-of-anything
Active Member
I made more.
This low-density industrial area next to the Stockyards could possibly be turned into a development with missing-middle housing, beginning with a re-connection of Symes Road.
A new road, which I tentatively named Brewer Street owing to the breweries on the west side of Symes, cuts through the plot west to east. Three north-south roads split the area as well. Because of the continuous wall of homes along Viella, I had to use the laneways to create an additional connection.
Block E would mirror the houses along Viella, with lane-facing garages at the south end of the lot, and possibly a park at the southeast corner of Brewer/Symes. Blocks B and C would be filled with duplexes or townhouses, while Block A would have some townhouses and space for an elementary school. (There are quite a few elementary schools around, but they are all far under capacity and only Harwood is within 500 meters of this development. One or two schools would likely be relocated here instead of further splitting the catchment area.)
The extension of Brewer Street would be optional, depending on whether the existing industrial uses remain, or if the park is extended northwards instead.
This one... far less likely, and its viability probably hinges on the Eglinton West LRT being built. It converts half of the current golf course to publicly accessible parkland, and the rest into a new street grid that supports more missing middle development. Roselands Junior Public School can potentially be rebuilt along Cynthia Road, or the existing building can remain with the yard merely extending to the solid blue lines, with houses on Cynthia Road backing onto the property.
This low-density industrial area next to the Stockyards could possibly be turned into a development with missing-middle housing, beginning with a re-connection of Symes Road.
A new road, which I tentatively named Brewer Street owing to the breweries on the west side of Symes, cuts through the plot west to east. Three north-south roads split the area as well. Because of the continuous wall of homes along Viella, I had to use the laneways to create an additional connection.
Block E would mirror the houses along Viella, with lane-facing garages at the south end of the lot, and possibly a park at the southeast corner of Brewer/Symes. Blocks B and C would be filled with duplexes or townhouses, while Block A would have some townhouses and space for an elementary school. (There are quite a few elementary schools around, but they are all far under capacity and only Harwood is within 500 meters of this development. One or two schools would likely be relocated here instead of further splitting the catchment area.)
The extension of Brewer Street would be optional, depending on whether the existing industrial uses remain, or if the park is extended northwards instead.
This one... far less likely, and its viability probably hinges on the Eglinton West LRT being built. It converts half of the current golf course to publicly accessible parkland, and the rest into a new street grid that supports more missing middle development. Roselands Junior Public School can potentially be rebuilt along Cynthia Road, or the existing building can remain with the yard merely extending to the solid blue lines, with houses on Cynthia Road backing onto the property.
Towered
Senior Member
Anyone know why a friggin' wall was built in the middle of Symes Road just north of St. Clair? It's so irritating.
As for that Jane-Eglinton plan - it's good, but itsn't that whole area a giant flood plain?
north-of-anything
Active Member
I suspect the friggin' wall was built in the middle of Symes Road to keep friggin' industrial traffic out of the friggin' residential area.
For Jane-Eglinton, I'm not familiar with the topography of that area, but I assumed that keeping the development closer to the intersection would be safe, considering there is existing development immediately to the south. Looking over the area again... yeah, it's probably too risky to develop.
north-of-anything
Active Member
So with Northcrest and Canada Lands Company gathering feedback for this development, I decided to make one last road layout. The key feature here is the former runways, which quite a few people want to preserve. I started out by designating most of the runway space as greenspace, then by drawing Dufferin Street mostly straight through (I didn't want to infringe on the Wilson Yard). After that I worked from there.
West of Downsview Park Station, I connected Grandravine to Tuscan Gate instead of Sheppard, and laid down a few streets in T intersections to discourage through traffic. On the airport lands, I had a number of roads cut through much of the area (e.g. Chesswood and Garratt) but only Dufferin Street exits the development at both ends. I chose to extend Home Road to Dufferin so there would be a signalized intersection right where Dufferin crosses the runway parkland. Ideally, Regent Road and possibly Beffort Road would be disconnected from Dufferin to make it a more desirable route than parallel collector roads.
Since Dufferin would now be re-connected, the stretch north of Sheppard can be renamed to Dufferin as well, while Allen Road continues west to Carl Hall Road to provide a partial east-west route.
Johnny Au
Senior Member
There's already a short stretch of Dufferin north of Sheppard just to the east of Allen Road.
Perhaps that stretch could be called Old Dufferin Street and the new Dufferin Street would occupy the stretch of what is now Allen Road north of Sheppard.
north-of-anything
Active Member
Either that, or the old Dufferin Street would become an access road for the existing residences, like is the case for some other roads in Toronto that have had their alignments changed - like Scarlett Road where it crosses the Humber River.
ericmacm
Active Member
Figured I'd kickstart this thread again with a fun project I have been working on. I've been outlining what I would eventually like to see in regard to long-term future 400-series highway expansions in Southwestern Ontario, centred around Chatham, London, Sarnia, and Windsor. These highways mostly follow pre-existing road corridors and would mostly just require upgrading and grade separation.
Windsor-Lakeshore - HWY 422 & Windsor-Leamington - HWY 433: This shows two different highways for the Windsor-Essex region, an extension/upgrade of the E.C. Row Expressway into HWY 422, and an upgrade/widening of HWY 3 into HWY 433. These corridors are both quite busy for commuters and I believe will eventually see upgrades into full highways. As it stands currently, there is major work planned to expand the existing roads already. The E.C. Row is currently planned to be extended with new interchanges at Banwell and Manning Roads. As for HWY 3, prep work for twinning the road from Essex to HWY 34 just east of Leamington is currently underway. I see both of these roads eventually being used enough to justify full upgrades into 400-series highways, especially with industrial agricultural expansion in Kingsville/Leamington and suburban growth in Lakeshore.
London-St. Thomas & London Ring Road - HWY 428: This image identifies a ring road configuration for the London area, while also providing a commuter link to St. Thomas, which would be an extension/upgrade of Veteran's Memorial Parkway both northward, along HWY 28 North of London coming down to HWY 402 on various highways, and southward to the St. Thomas Expressway, looping around and up again to HWY 401. This might be one of the most needed highways in Southwestern Ontario, given London's extensive sprawl that shows no signs of slowing. The VMP is slowly being extended North past the airport, and there are plans to eventually grade-separate the existing sections of the VMP, but there are no current plans for expansion along the north of London or south into St. Thomas. Any ring road project is currently under the jurisdiction of the City of London, but at this point, I believe the province will need to step in and build a ring road that closes in the north of London before it is too late.
Chatham-Sarnia - HWY 440: This shows a new highway that connects Chatham directly with Sarnia, an upgrade/widening of HWY40 into HWY 440. This road follows the existing HWY 40 corridor with some bypasses and deviations north of Chatham and south of Wallaceburg. There is a decently-sized commuter population that currently uses this road, and it serves large industrial facilities in the petrochemical sector. There is currently some work planned for this corridor, with the section going through Sarnia planned to be widened, as announced in the recent provincial budget. This highway would also serve as a faster link between Essex and Lambton counties, providing an alternative to the hassle of going through the US. I don't realistically see this coming to fruition until we see more population growth in both Chatham and Sarnia, but it is a big missing link in the provincial network that will eventually need to be addressed.
Windsor-Lakeshore - HWY 422 & Windsor-Leamington - HWY 433: This shows two different highways for the Windsor-Essex region, an extension/upgrade of the E.C. Row Expressway into HWY 422, and an upgrade/widening of HWY 3 into HWY 433. These corridors are both quite busy for commuters and I believe will eventually see upgrades into full highways. As it stands currently, there is major work planned to expand the existing roads already. The E.C. Row is currently planned to be extended with new interchanges at Banwell and Manning Roads. As for HWY 3, prep work for twinning the road from Essex to HWY 34 just east of Leamington is currently underway. I see both of these roads eventually being used enough to justify full upgrades into 400-series highways, especially with industrial agricultural expansion in Kingsville/Leamington and suburban growth in Lakeshore.
London-St. Thomas & London Ring Road - HWY 428: This image identifies a ring road configuration for the London area, while also providing a commuter link to St. Thomas, which would be an extension/upgrade of Veteran's Memorial Parkway both northward, along HWY 28 North of London coming down to HWY 402 on various highways, and southward to the St. Thomas Expressway, looping around and up again to HWY 401. This might be one of the most needed highways in Southwestern Ontario, given London's extensive sprawl that shows no signs of slowing. The VMP is slowly being extended North past the airport, and there are plans to eventually grade-separate the existing sections of the VMP, but there are no current plans for expansion along the north of London or south into St. Thomas. Any ring road project is currently under the jurisdiction of the City of London, but at this point, I believe the province will need to step in and build a ring road that closes in the north of London before it is too late.
Chatham-Sarnia - HWY 440: This shows a new highway that connects Chatham directly with Sarnia, an upgrade/widening of HWY40 into HWY 440. This road follows the existing HWY 40 corridor with some bypasses and deviations north of Chatham and south of Wallaceburg. There is a decently-sized commuter population that currently uses this road, and it serves large industrial facilities in the petrochemical sector. There is currently some work planned for this corridor, with the section going through Sarnia planned to be widened, as announced in the recent provincial budget. This highway would also serve as a faster link between Essex and Lambton counties, providing an alternative to the hassle of going through the US. I don't realistically see this coming to fruition until we see more population growth in both Chatham and Sarnia, but it is a big missing link in the provincial network that will eventually need to be addressed.
Haljackey
Active Member
Neat ideas!
Agreed on cutting the EC Row Expressway (or what you call 422) short and routing it back to the 401. There isn't a need for 2 parallel freeways since the 401 alone can handle the traffic well.
I can't see the need for Highway 3 to become a freeway. At the very most it could be built to RIRO (Right In, Right Out) expressway standards similar to Highway 11 or 35/115.
-----
For London, you need two amendments:
People are going to cut through the back roads still if what you call the 428 doesn't directly connect to the 402. Having it meander is going to tell every GPS to avoid it.
As for your St. Thomas connections, it will never happen unless London becomes a regional municipality or absorbs St. Thomas one day. The same can be said for the route north of the city as much of that is outside of the current city limits.
The western end of the St. Thomas Expressway could meet the 401 differently as I showed above. I can't see two N/S freeway connections here, that's just too much so you could maybe sell it on a E-W connection.
-This still doesn't satisfy anyone from St Thomas that wants to access the 402 but maybe one day another freeway could be built along the western edge of London and connect to it. I believe a cooridor was protected for a possible route one day, but it would start out like the VMP is now (with intersections).
One day as well, another freeway running parallel to Highway 4 could run north up to Highway 7, or diagonally possibly. It would bypass Stratford to the south and then hook into Highway 7/8 and become an extension of the Conestoga Parkway into Waterloo Region.
-Sufficient traffic exists to run a parallel route to the 401 from London to Waterloo Region. This would also help lessen the need for the missing flyover connections at the Highway 8 and 401 interchange.
-----
Having Highway 40 at freeway standards south of Chemical Valley isn't needed. A twinned Highway 40 south to Chatam is all that's needed, similar to what they're doing with the twinning work on Highway 3 right now.
Agreed on cutting the EC Row Expressway (or what you call 422) short and routing it back to the 401. There isn't a need for 2 parallel freeways since the 401 alone can handle the traffic well.
I can't see the need for Highway 3 to become a freeway. At the very most it could be built to RIRO (Right In, Right Out) expressway standards similar to Highway 11 or 35/115.
-----
For London, you need two amendments:
People are going to cut through the back roads still if what you call the 428 doesn't directly connect to the 402. Having it meander is going to tell every GPS to avoid it.
As for your St. Thomas connections, it will never happen unless London becomes a regional municipality or absorbs St. Thomas one day. The same can be said for the route north of the city as much of that is outside of the current city limits.
The western end of the St. Thomas Expressway could meet the 401 differently as I showed above. I can't see two N/S freeway connections here, that's just too much so you could maybe sell it on a E-W connection.
-This still doesn't satisfy anyone from St Thomas that wants to access the 402 but maybe one day another freeway could be built along the western edge of London and connect to it. I believe a cooridor was protected for a possible route one day, but it would start out like the VMP is now (with intersections).
One day as well, another freeway running parallel to Highway 4 could run north up to Highway 7, or diagonally possibly. It would bypass Stratford to the south and then hook into Highway 7/8 and become an extension of the Conestoga Parkway into Waterloo Region.
-Sufficient traffic exists to run a parallel route to the 401 from London to Waterloo Region. This would also help lessen the need for the missing flyover connections at the Highway 8 and 401 interchange.
-----
Having Highway 40 at freeway standards south of Chemical Valley isn't needed. A twinned Highway 40 south to Chatam is all that's needed, similar to what they're doing with the twinning work on Highway 3 right now.
drum118
Superstar
Sorry, but don't see the need of the London Bypass as it only good for a few locals. Not going to save time for people using 401/402.
May work for those going to/from St Thomas depending on a number of issues starting with traffic needs.
The red line is a better option as it will be faster to/from the 401/402.
One can say there is a need for a faster route from the 401 to London Centre
As for the 440, don't need an expressway as the traffic doesn't demand it. Upgrading it to 4 lanes is all it is needed.
Most roads only need to be beef up to 4 lanes that have heavy traffic, otherwise roads are find unless you are a lead foot driver.
The need of a few drivers doesn't warrant the needs to over build roads, speed $$ that could be used for elsewhere and wasting land.
May work for those going to/from St Thomas depending on a number of issues starting with traffic needs.
The red line is a better option as it will be faster to/from the 401/402.
One can say there is a need for a faster route from the 401 to London Centre
As for the 440, don't need an expressway as the traffic doesn't demand it. Upgrading it to 4 lanes is all it is needed.
Most roads only need to be beef up to 4 lanes that have heavy traffic, otherwise roads are find unless you are a lead foot driver.
The need of a few drivers doesn't warrant the needs to over build roads, speed $$ that could be used for elsewhere and wasting land.
Transportfan
Senior Member
I think you meant Middlesex County becoming a region, not London.
London is a strange city politically. It's almost big enough to be metropolitan (and is close to absorbing satellite towns like Komolka and Dorchester) but remains a county-type separated city.
Haljackey
Active Member
Ya London's city limits are messed up. It's a city of like 400k yet we have to worry about very rural issues due to the amount of farmland in the south.
The city has to put time and effort into communities like ScottsVille, Westminister and Glanworth which are all way outside of any developed area of town.
If the 401/402 was routed north of the city instead of south, we'd have no trouble building a freeway ring in the south since it's within the city limit. Instead London has grown all the way to the north so a northern leg of the ring now needs to be built in Middlesex Country.
The only ways around it are to somehow find an agreement with Middlesex Centre / Arva / Komoka / Kilworth, have the city limits expand to absorb these areas, or have the metro area-ish become a regional municiapality (you could call it the Region of London or Milddlex if you wanted to, I don't care about the name).
For those not familiar with London's weird political geography, check out the ward map. #9, 12 and 14 take up more than half of the total city's land area, but are mostly rural except for their northern bits.
I want to know what the Mike Harris government was smoking when they drew these borders lol.
The city has to put time and effort into communities like ScottsVille, Westminister and Glanworth which are all way outside of any developed area of town.
If the 401/402 was routed north of the city instead of south, we'd have no trouble building a freeway ring in the south since it's within the city limit. Instead London has grown all the way to the north so a northern leg of the ring now needs to be built in Middlesex Country.
The only ways around it are to somehow find an agreement with Middlesex Centre / Arva / Komoka / Kilworth, have the city limits expand to absorb these areas, or have the metro area-ish become a regional municiapality (you could call it the Region of London or Milddlex if you wanted to, I don't care about the name).
For those not familiar with London's weird political geography, check out the ward map. #9, 12 and 14 take up more than half of the total city's land area, but are mostly rural except for their northern bits.
I want to know what the Mike Harris government was smoking when they drew these borders lol.
Last edited:
