TJ, the problem with the Yonge corridor is that there is no hydro corridor, rail corridor or highway median that's conveniently closeby enough for 44 North to shove a surface transit line onto, therefore we'll just have to make do with his LRT on Yonge St.
I know, but I'm trying to make nice and throw the guy a bone! It's only hypothetical anyway so let's just all agree: an LRT is better than nothing.
wow now the capacity issue becomes a common measure in protesting an extension (and tax dollar spending)..back to the topic of our yonge corridor, I think the current "relief line" is the smart track, though not officially, I bet in John Tory's mind it is.
I think you're right. I don't think it cancels the need for a DRL but it pretty clearly mitigates it and so now we've got a real quagmire because (for the billionth time in its history and the hundredth in the past 5 years) Toronto is reversing course. Toronto is not an island. If TTC says they can't build the Yonge extension without DRL and then they start studying DRL and then cancel or push back DRL, there's a domino effect. They just go along in blissful ignorance down there.
Umm... plenty of people have brought up the issues of B-Y capacity concerns, reading the SSE.
And the University of Toronto recently released a report, slamming the SSE because of its low intensification potential.
Yawn. A U of T report! Like anyone there except Keesmaat cares what "experts" like Eric Miller have to say!
Did the TTC and city council pass motions stating it can't go forward until those improvements are made? Nah. They only did that for Yonge; that's my point. Instead of imposing those conditions, they imposed a new property tax and wasted $80M cancelling the LRT contracts to make sure it happens. Why the double standard? We know why.
You want Toronto to pay 40% of this thing? This thing isn't even 40% in Toronto.
Sigh. I said FAIR SHARE. I said THE SPADINA MODEL. I didn't do the math. If it's 56% in York Region, York should pay 56%. If it's 83%, they should pay that. If it's 14%, they should pay that. i won't do all 100 numbers; I'll just assume you get what I mean by MODEL now.
Also, you need to learn how to do the multi-quote thing or cut and paste, like moi.
So, to be clear: you're in the camp that posits the extension will have massive ridership, and that's precisely why we can't build it? Honestly, I find that notion FASCINATING but at least it makes more sense than the people who think no one will ride it because York Region is all farms and horses.
The notion of who will benefit more strikes me as somewhat abstract and hypothetical. There isn't much question York Region "needs it" more, but that's because they're a suburb trying to urbanize. Denying them the necessary infrastructure strikes me as shortsighted in that "we all benefit" from this happening. Also, Toronto will reap substantial rewards from development and if it's not AS SUBSTANTIAL as York Region, so what? By your own measure, they will have plenty of ridership and there's plenty of development potential so York Region certainly has more right to cry "we deserve a subway!" than Scarborough. Quibbles about who pays for what etc. can be ironed out down the line. In the meantime, get building transit you know will work.