How did that meeting go? was there anything interesting? I wanted to attend by my schedule didn't work out. maybe post a summary in the GO service thread?
Haha, honestly that thread terrifies me. It's huge and a majority of GO riders don't take the only line I care about anyway.
Their planning to start all day service on Richmond Hill, very very soon.
How was the meeting, do they plan for more stations? Will it be hourly, or half hourly?
Are they already done the EA on that or are they around the same progression as Stouffville?
As for both the above questions about how the meeting went, it was very smooth. There was a (very) brief presentation with slides, there were poster boards up for more details, and there were quite a number of GO reps and contractor reps to ask questions to.
Right after the presentation they separated everyone into roundtables based on topics like Parking / Traffic, Local Transit Integration, Noise / Vibration, etc. and rotated (though most stayed at their tables) every 20 minutes.
It was informative, though they don't seem to have too many answers to specific questions right now so I don't know what the frequency intervals will be for the line. That said, it was really nice to have GO reps around to really hound them for the horrible parking lot exit arrangement that currently plagues Unionville station.
EDIT: One additional note. I was told that the Markham meeting was very civil and generally everyone was in support of the expansion plans despite some very minor concerns. However, it was a completely different story down at Agincourt a few days before. Apparently it was rowdy, people were being extremely rude, and the majority were totally against expansion plans at all because of this so-called 416/905 divide that makes them feel like the GO line is just there to service people north of them.
In reply to that, I reminded the reps that they should really consider (and they are) local transit integration so that the line is much more useful to people who have access to the TTC as well.
Yeah, xtremesniper, the all-day is in The Big Move and the Yonge/7 terminus is identified by Metrolinx as an "anchor mobility hub" so while it's not happening tomorrow, the improved service is probably not as far off as you think. I understand what you're saying about the limitations and agree but it's really a question of making a whole multi-modal station there. It's also one of the services the devlopments there are depending on to achieve modal share targets (and to unlock phasing).
http://www.metrolinx.com/mobilityhubs/en/map/mobility_hubs_map/MHP_RichmondHill-LangstaffGateway.pdf
Now that you mention it, I think I recall seeing it in the Big Move plans. But that was years ago and I believe that after a budget shortfall they re-did a lot of their priorities and I don't recall ever seeing it mentioned again. After I stopped taking the Richmond Hill line because it's so horribly slow and inefficient, I guess I stopped paying as much attention to the line.
Back on topic though, it's rather nice to think that people will be willing to take either GO or TTC depending on where their destinations are, but unless there is amazing fare integration then it's not happening. Why? Because people like to stick to what they know, and when they do that they end up investing in it via a monthly pass.
If I have a monthly pass for the TTC because I usually go to Bloor or something, why would I change my habits and take the GO on the day that I happen to be going to Union for a hockey game? It won't happen for the majority of people.
