Rob Ford's Transit plan

[TOareaFan]

Mayor Miller was on the Fan590 at 9 this morning and the host was all over Ford's plan trying to goad Miller into trashing, both, Ford and the plan.

 

[Calrissian]

Mayor Miller was on the Fan590 at 9 this morning and the host was all over Ford's plan trying to goad Miller into trashing, both, Ford and the plan.

Did Miller offer any comment or opinion at all?

 

[Ed Drass]

Fan590? Was Miller supposed to be talking about how to get to Leafs games by transit?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I am sitting on a VIVA purple right at this minute and is stuck in one mother of a traffic jam. Sorry, but weaving buses aren't one bit faster than a streetcar.

AoD

 

[Calrissian]

I am sitting on a VIVA purple right at this minute and is stuck in one mother of a traffic jam. Sorry, but weaving buses aren't one bit faster than a streetcar.

AoD

Are you sure??? But look it how fast all those cars are speeding by you!! Boy, what you wouldn't give to be in one of those babies, eh? Rob Ford; GENIUS.

 

[TOareaFan]

Did Miller offer any comment or opinion at all?

He obviously was opposed to getting rid of streetcars but, appropriately, did not target Ford directly....he sorta said "any candidate who is suggesting funding subways as opposed to streetcars is misleading the electorate" (not his words but sorta the message he was delivering).

 

[TOareaFan]

Fan590? Was Miller supposed to be talking about how to get to Leafs games by transit?

Not far off....the general theme was about sports and transit.....sporting facilities the city needs and where they should be in relation to transit.....not shockingly, he was using BMO Field as an example of good sports planning......served by 3 different streetcar lines (Harbourfront, Bathurst and King), good bus service (he gets to the matches via the Duffering bus apparantly) and one GO line (two if you count east and west lakeshore as separate lines)....really wanted to phone in to see if he had any thoughts on a Liberty Village/King West GO station that would expand that accessibility to the Milton and Georgetown lines.

He is, absolutely right (BTW).....for those who have not been to BMO for a TFC match, it really is impressive how many people arrive at the stadium/area via those modes of public transit.....it really proves his point that delivering people to high volume events does not necessarily mean subways. ....a good mix of streetcars/trains/buses can do the job.

He kept getting dragged into a discussion about where a 2nd NHL team would play if there was one. I think, in order, he ranked Woodbine Live, Downsview and somewhere in Etobicoke as the top 3 (although there was some talk of a site in the port lands).

 

[SixPoints]

He is, absolutely right (BTW).....for those who have not been to BMO for a TFC match, it really is impressive how many people arrive at the stadium/area via those modes of public transit.....it really proves his point that delivering people to high volume events does not necessarily mean subways. ....a good mix of streetcars/trains/buses can do the job.

This is true. If you ever travel on the GO either before or after a TFC match you'll see numerous fans who travel this way. I was suprised by it at first but it makes perfect sense (why would you want to drive down there or even drive to a subway if you're out in the burbs.

 

[ssiguy2]

Comparing the streetcar in New York to Toronto is not valid. New York already has amongst the largest subway systems in the world. The NYC line will be for local transit unlike TC which is touted as rapid transit.
TC is a glorified St,Clair and that's enough to make any sane person horrified with it's slow moving streetcars and stellar on time, on budget record.
Transfer City deserves to die a slow and painful death.
Toronto is already served by good local transit it's the rapid part that is missing.
TC is no faster than a bus with limited stops and POP. What I also find odd is that speed doesn't seem to be an issue for the TTC why not simply make the median lanes bus only as opposed to streetcar only. A few different coloured lanes and Bob's your uncle.
Transfer City is slow, disjointed, and expensive and should just be considered another City Hall pipe dream. It didn't have to be any of those things but it is. It could still be salvaged by not by either Ford or Smiterman. Yet another lost decade for Toronto.

 

[nfitz]

Comparing the streetcar in New York to Toronto is not valid. New York already has amongst the largest subway systems in the world. The NYC line will be for local transit unlike TC which is touted as rapid transit.

Rapid transit is primarily local transit.

TC is a glorified St,Clair and that's enough to make any sane person horrified with it's slow moving streetcars and stellar on time, on budget record.

Now you are just making stuff up. the new Transit City LRTs will be a lot faster than St. Clair, because the stops and traffic lights are much further apart. It will be a minimum of 23 km/hr ... the same speed and stop spacing as the existing LRT along Queensway. The stretch of LRT from Jane to near Don Mills will 30 km/hr ... subway speeds.

Transit City deserves to die a slow and painful death.

Why. Anyone can see it's a far better plan than the excrement that Rob Ford delivered, which perhaps should be called "Transfer City" because of the extra transfers people will have to take to use it.

Toronto is already served by good local transit it's the rapid part that is missing.

Which is why rapid transit like Transit City will be constructed. You should pay attention.

TC is no faster than a bus with limited stops and POP.

If the bus was in a BRT ... or there was no traffic. Do you suggest building a BRT down the middle of Eglinton between Laird and Jane?

Perhaps you should read about the plan, before you criticize it. You clearly do not understand what Transit City is, if you think it will run at the same speed as St. Clair.

 

[rbt]

TC is no faster than a bus with limited stops and POP. What I also find odd is that speed doesn't seem to be an issue for the TTC why not simply make the median lanes bus only as opposed to streetcar only. A few different coloured lanes and Bob's your uncle.

They did a long time ago. Median lanes for King and St. Clair, outer lanes for Don Mills and a few other streets.

Doesn't work. Drivers used the transit (and cab) only lanes and the only people who could legally enforce it, weren't interested in enforcing it.

Believe it or not, St. Clair was the cheap way. The method you propose essentially requires doubling the police force. Why do I say doubling? Because increasing it by 30% since the mid-90's did not suddenly get enforcement of the King and St. Clair transit only lanes.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Comparing the streetcar in New York to Toronto is not valid. New York already has amongst the largest subway systems in the world. The NYC line will be for local transit unlike TC which is touted as rapid transit.
TC is a glorified St,Clair and that's enough to make any sane person horrified with it's slow moving streetcars and stellar on time, on budget record.
Transfer City deserves to die a slow and painful death.
Toronto is already served by good local transit it's the rapid part that is missing.
TC is no faster than a bus with limited stops and POP. What I also find odd is that speed doesn't seem to be an issue for the TTC why not simply make the median lanes bus only as opposed to streetcar only. A few different coloured lanes and Bob's your uncle.
Transfer City is slow, disjointed, and expensive and should just be considered another City Hall pipe dream. It didn't have to be any of those things but it is. It could still be salvaged by not by either Ford or Smiterman. Yet another lost decade for Toronto.

Transit City light rail vehicles will use pantographs, like the high-speed bullet trains around the world, not trolleys. The Transportation Department is the department in charge of the traffic lights, not the TTC. They are the powers-that-be that refuses to implement true transit priority. The light rail vehicles will have built-in governors that will limit the top speed to no more than 70 km/h, even though they could exceed that speed easily.

 

[Ansem]

A few Ford Transportation Plan facts...in a way Ford Fans should appreciate.

-Downtown buses would cost more to run than the new streetcars, and would increase traffic
-Subway from Kennedy to STC would cost more than the current plan
-Subway from Downsview to STC would cost more to run than the current buses
-The successful sale of $1Billion worth of air rights on Sheppard would cause more traffic than currently exists in the area
-The bike plan ...blahblahblah, you don't care about the bike plan...no new bike lanes or something, except maybe downtown if they complain enough
-The road plan costs $700M, but doesn't mention a single road
-Ford plans to steal that $700M from York Region...good, suburban families with dogs and pools and crossover vehicles
-The Eglinton LRT Ford plans to cancel would have reduced traffic congestion on Eglinton, made the Allen more accessible, and made travel across midtown feasible for both upstanding drivers and transit riding dirtbags/hippies

In summary: Higher cost! More Traffic! Something about Lexus-Leninists! Can Rob Ford be trusted with your money?

MUAHAHAHA


I have the perfect video that reflects your post

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[nfitz]

They did a long time ago. Median lanes for King and St. Clair, outer lanes for Don Mills and a few other streets.

Doesn't work. Drivers used the transit (and cab) only lanes and the only people who could legally enforce it, weren't interested in enforcing it.

Outer lanes work. I take the bus up Don Mills all the time. Most drivers stay out of the curb lane. The bus frequently passes row of vehicles stuck in the middle two lanes. I also used to take this route in the 1980s ... same direction, same time of day. Back then, before the bus lanes, the bus would often sit stuck in traffic on Don Mills in rush hour.

And I have seen the police enforcing it.

It certainly makes my commute faster; shame there wasn't some kind of left-turn bus-only lane from Overlea to Don Mills though ... that's the only good bottlneck I can think of.

What's your basis for trashing this ... in the suburbs.

 

[GenerationW]

Sarah Thomson's plan is better.

Couldn't agree more, but I think too many people are put off by her toll proposal for her to be electable.

But enough to vote for Ford? If he got his way (according to his plans at face value) he really would take this city back to 70's era thinking and planning - he would be such an embarrassment for this city, that any hope for real international status would go out the window. .

If I recall, the 70's was a time when NDP councilors in the old City of Toronto wanted limited development downtown. So Ford is an NDP throwback?

That seems rather rude. He proposed a subway network for Toronto, that puts all the subways in one part of town. How can that be right? I suppose it might be right if you live in Scarborough ... but calling someone asinine, because they think that just building subways in Scarborough is not right.

I wasn't aware that the Sheppard stretches of Downsview Station to Yonge and Don Mills to Victoria Park were annexed by Scarborough.

A few Ford Transportation Plan facts...in a way Ford Fans should appreciate.

-Downtown buses would cost more to run than the new streetcars, and would increase traffic
-Subway from Kennedy to STC would cost more than the current plan
-Subway from Downsview to STC would cost more to run than the current buses

Well then why don't we replace all of our subways and bus routes with streetcars?

Now that Rossi, and Smitherman have officially shifted to the right, Pantalone can lock up the centrist, and left votes.

Not after proposing to phase out his pet project -- the vehicle-registration tax. He is reading the tea leaves and trying to get a foot in the door.

If Rob Ford was so pro-subway, why didn't he just say make the entire Transit City network as heavy-rail subway? No? Because it would much too expensive. So he would do the minimum, and without Eglinton (the tunnels of which are to be built to handle both light rail and heavy rail).

And why didn't he even mention a Downtown Relief Line to replace the streetcars he would get rid of?

Can't put that all on Ford. No one besides Thomson is really pushing a DRL, which is a damn shame.