News   Jul 12, 2024
199 Church Showcases Heritage Facade and Artwork at Street Level
 954     0 
News   Jul 12, 2024
Six Points Plaza Redevelopment Advances With 36-Storey First Phase
 834     0 
News   Jul 12, 2024
Trading Spaces: Can Real Estate Conversion Help Boost Housing Supply?
 338     0 

Toronto Crosstown LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

Employment density plays an important role in dictating transit investment. But yes, parts of Eglinton have piss poor density; our valleys/park areas accentuate this. Though Eg also has pockets of very high density (e.g Flemingdon and Thorncliffe). On the whole though, it's an important route worthy of grade separation...Sheppard, not so much.

Sheppard is fringe because at Yonge it's almost 15km from the lake. It's also north of the 401.
 
44 North said:
Employment density plays an important role in dictating transit investment. But yes, parts of Eglinton have piss poor density; our valleys/park areas accentuate this. Though Eg also has pockets of very high density (e.g Flemingdon and Thorncliffe). On the whole though, it's an important route worthy of grade separation...Sheppard, not so much.

Sheppard is fringe because at Yonge it's almost 15km from the lake. It's also north of the 401.
Click to expand...

Just because you keep calling it a "fringe" does not make it a fringe area. This is not your Toronto from 1965 when Bloor was the main east-west avenue, times have changed and many many people have migrated northerly. I am not saying Sheppard is equal to Bloor but what i am saying is that Sheppard is no longer a fringe either.

Ironically, the initial Sheppard Line traverses through some of the lowest-density stretches along the avenue. Other than the cluster around Yonge...
*Low-density Willowdale, Did not even justify a station
*Bayview was nothing, a site of a mall about to be abandoned
*Leslie was a hospital, an IKEA, and a Canadian Tire warehouse
*Finally at its terminus Don Mills do you see some real density.

Of course all the changed and now each subway stop has become a density hub.

Contrast this to currently dense clusters along Sheppard with no subway.
* Victoria Park Employment Lands
* Warden contains some density but has potential for so much more
* Birchmount is a super-dense Apartment complex cluster similar to Don Mills
* Kennedy is another residental cluster + retail as well
* Agincourt GO Station will be a major interchange after GO All-Day operation.

Then the rest of sheppard is low density...Especially east of McCowan its pure 905. Add to that the proposed Scarborough RT extension to Progress & Sheppard and you have No need for LRT EVER.

If such a low density stretch of Sheppard can transform into what we see today, what will a currently dense stretch of Sheppard look like?
 
Toronto1 said:
Eglinton does have pockets of high density, but Thorncliffe isn't one of them. Thorncliffe is on Overlea Boulevard which, due to the presence of the valley, is nowhere near practical walking distance to Eglinton Avenue.

Flemingdon exists along Eglinton Avenue, but its main axis is Don Mills Road. Again, most people living in Flemingdon Park would have to take a bus to reach Eglinton in a reasonable amount of time, if they didn't drive.
Click to expand...

And an Eastern DRL that ends at Eglinton would serve both those area's better than an Eglinton Line would.
 
accura407 said:
Ironically, the initial Sheppard Line traverses through some of the lowest-density stretches along the avenue. Other than the cluster around Yonge...
Of course all the changed and now each subway stop has become a density hub.
Click to expand...

Density hub is stretching it a bit. Bessarion surely isn't a hub of anything.

accura407 said:
If such a low density stretch of Sheppard can transform into what we see today, what will a currently dense stretch of Sheppard look like?
Click to expand...

You're right, Sheppard between Yonge and Don Mills is inexplicably a dense urban thoroughfare. I was driving along that stretch mid-afternoon the other day and I maybe saw five people walking. I might've seen a cyclist, too!

So what's your argument? That the subway should only be built to spur redevelopment? That only through almost two decades of rezoning and forced densification that the subway is justifiable? Maybe all the rezoning and condos are a result of the city trying to get a return on a poor investment?
 
Last edited:
44 North said:
Density hub is stretching it a bit. Bessarion surely isn't a hub of anything.



You're right, Sheppard between Yonge and Don Mills is inexplicably a dense urban thoroughfare. I was driving along that stretch mid-afternoon the other day and I maybe saw five people walking. I might've seen a cyclist, too!

So what's your argument? That the subway should only be built to spur redevelopment? That only through almost two decades of rezoning and forced densification that the subway is justifiable? Maybe all the rezoning and condos are a result of the city trying to get a return on a poor investment?
Click to expand...

We all need to stop forcing Sheppard to be something that it is not. Although transit and especially the subway can be strongly linked to new development, subways exist first and foremost to move large volumes of passengers. In the suburbs, that means drawing people from a larger geographical area and feeder bus routes.

Sheppard doesn't need to transform into College in order for the subway to be called a success. In this part of town, the benefit of condos is that they allow the population to grow without depending on greenfield developments. Being situated along a subway line that was needed anyway is the icing on the cake.

Think of the Sheppard subway as just one part of a growing network. As transit in the suburbs becomes more and more convenient, ridership will grow through latent demand. In this part of town, which is so close to employment nodes in the 905 area, allowing free transfers between transit systems will go a long way toward boosting ridership too.
 
I apologize for calling Sheppard "fringe" and making it sound like I believe it's unworthy of any investment. I do believe it's worthy of investment...just not as anything related to costly subways.

IMO, the only affordable way to make a quasi-circuitous rapid transit line - that echoes something akin to the TTC's 1969 plan or Network 2011 - is to use elevated Skytrain technology. Or at the very least, street-grade LRT.
 
Last edited:
Bombardier has come with a very interesting LRT technology that may be applicable to Toronto which does not require any pantographs. It is a sort of third rail/LRT hybrid and looks very interesting and can run on regular roadways as the power supply is on active when the trains are on that specific spot.
It has a recharging system and due to having no overhead wires maintenance costs are lower.
I don't know the cost of the system but if it is the same price as LRT it would be an excellent idea if Toronto ever builds any at grade LRT as it gets rid of the visual blight that is LRT overhead power lines.
Take a boo............. primovecity.bombardier.com and go to media centre and then push videos to take a look at it.
According to the Hamilton LRT websit, they are looking at it.
 
tabeesh said:
Soil testing on Eglinton

http://www.thecrosstown.ca/news-media/whats-new/soil-testing-for-tunnelling-and-stations
Click to expand...


yep.
img00007201110311211.jpg
 
This cant happen soon enough, This is i think the most important transit expansion to happen in Toronto in decades! i live at Eglinton west and i can assure you that the traffic on this street is some of the worst in the city. Its becoming like an all day rush hour gridlock. Not only is it a major east west corridor , you got cars entering the city from allen road highway which connects to the 401. you cant turn down many of the side streets between 7am and 7pm which keeps vehicles on Eglinton. All i hear is horns honking outside my window, its crazy!
 
Shooting down to Yonge and Eglinton on underground light rail will be a breeze compared to the time consuming loud roaring crowded buses that i take now. I wonder about the future of this great city sometimes, like how can we possibly take in more cars on our roads then there already is, imagine millions more people moving here depending on cars, we cant handle it as a city. Eglinton is vital, we also need more transit announcements right now, with shovels in the ground by next year, i feel like anything else is self defeating due to how long it takes to build underground rappid transit.
 
i too live on eglinton and truthfully i rarely see the allen southbound as a problem. however the north bound allen sometimes forms 30 car line ups from both the east and the west. Its deffinately more of a problem from the west though. I wish the allen north bound could be either tolled, closed completely, or closed coming from the west. Then again theres always the option to make the allen a road with traffic lights from lawrence to eglinton which would connect with all the paralel bridges that are over it.
 
^^^ Yes true but if you are going southbound on alllen trying to get to eglinton anywhere near rush hour or holidays it takes forever, anywhere between eglinton and yorkdale mall on Allen road is ram packed, you move a few inches here and there.

Yonge and Eglinton will become the new yonge and bloor in terms of pedestrian life, transit transfer point, and some new tall towers!
 
Roots_Energize said:
^^^ Yes true but if you are going southbound on alllen trying to get to eglinton anywhere near rush hour or holidays it takes forever, anywhere between eglinton and yorkdale mall on Allen road is ram packed, you move a few inches here and there. !
Click to expand...

This is true but it sure is handy at off peak hours. And even when it is full it doesnt destroy Eglinton like the northbound ramp does. It doesnt cause any extra congestion. It could be taken out but it just as well could stay to be used sparatically. The north bound allen on the other hand causes a diservice to Eglinton.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top