Transit City Plan

[Paleo]

I drove St. Clair from the western loop to Yonge St. this afternoon. I was side by side with a streetcar at Caledonia Rd but by the time I hit Yonge it was so far behind to be out of sight. I was held up at the corner on Yonge in a traffic jam caused by a fire or something for 5 minutes during which time the streetcar was still no where to be seen.

Improved local transit?

Cars move faster than subway trains too therefore building subways to improve transit is stupid.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Stintz motion just passed

 

[BMO]

Isn't the pantograph incompatible with Toronto's streetcar/LRT system?

Last summer I went to a TTC design public meeting for the new streetcars, and I had the opportunity to talk to one of the engineers from the TTC. I brought up the question of pantograph vs Pole, and he said they are converting the whole downtown system to pantograph. I am unsure of what technicalities are required for this conversion, but he seemed to think it wouldn't be too much of a hassle. The advantage of pantograph is that it is able to draw on more power because more surface area comes in contact with the wire.

 

[kkgg7]

Again you are mistaken. The LRT does not have to stop for traffic lights. But I do think that stop spacing needs to be adjusted

Are you sure? I hope I am wrong though. Then how does that work, how do cars on Eglinton make left turns? How can you guarantee the light is always green when a LRT comes to it?

I have two problems with the TC plan 1) they need to stop for traffic lights (I don't care about "priority" as it is hard to work efficiently). 2) stops being too close making it more like a bus

If these two problems are not solved, TC is by means a rapid transit and seems more like streetcars on Spadina.

 

[kkgg7]

Cars move faster than subway trains too therefore building subways to improve transit is stupid.

No they are not. Cars are subject to traffic congestion and traffic lights. Subways don't.
Do you think it takes shorter time to drive from King/Yonge to Finch/Yonge than if your take the subway, particularly during rush hours?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

TC is by means a rapid transit and seems more like streetcars on Spadina.

Highly doubtful - the problem with Spadina are quite specific to downtown - extremely frequent stops/stop rights, a complete lack of signal priority and inefficient boarding.

AoD

 

[nfitz]

And I have no clue how Lagos plans to build an LRT system out of subway cars. Maybe they're planning to do an Allen Expressway style system but that wouldn't be an LRT.

Who says they are building light rail? Their website - http://www.lagosrail.com/background/index.php - calls it rail and rail mass transit.

 

[nfitz]

I drove St. Clair from the western loop to Yonge St. this afternoon. I was side by side with a streetcar at Caledonia Rd but by the time I hit Yonge it was so far behind to be out of sight. I was held up at the corner on Yonge in a traffic jam caused by a fire or something for 5 minutes during which time the streetcar was still no where to be seen.

Wait, your saying that off-peak, it's faster to drive than take transit?

I thought everyone knew this. We don't build mass transit infrastructure for off-peak.

Improved local transit?

That's what the Globe and Mail says.

 

[EMP1729]

Are you sure? I hope I am wrong though. Then how does that work, how do cars on Eglinton make left turns? How can you guarantee the light is always green when a LRT comes to it?

I have two problems with the TC plan 1) they need to stop for traffic lights (I don't care about "priority" as it is hard to work efficiently). 2) stops being too close making it more like a bus

If these two problems are not solved, TC is by means a rapid transit and seems more like streetcars on Spadina.

I thought the system would work akin to having a level crossing, i.e automobile traffic stops to let the train pass, and not the other way around.

 

[spider]

Wait, your saying that off-peak, it's faster to drive than take transit?

I thought everyone knew this. We don't build mass transit infrastructure for off-peak.

Peak or Off Peak should make no difference to a street car on St. Clair, that's why they were given exclusive use of 2 lanes on the road. If they can't beat a car at any time of any day obviously they were the problem all along.

I want my lanes back.

 

[Solid Snake]

TTC GM Webster highlights

After GM Webster Q&A session at City hall can't say I'm a fan of him

TTC GM Webster main quotes

Webster says LRT can serve pop. densities on proposed routes up to 2050.

Even if we had three times the money, says TTC's Webster, we wouldn't build subways where they aren't warranted.

He says subways don't have greater growth value than LRT

Webster says if he had to choose between building Finch or Sheppard East LRT lines, he'd choose Sheppard East

What a bizarre answer, why so fixated on Sheppard??? Over Finch???

Webster thinks the current $8.4 billion funding envelop won't be enough for all 3 LRT lines; would prioritize Sheppard East LRT

Something's fishy here

When asked by Del Grande about a connection between Don Mills and STC, he confirmed that there's no plan to have the LRT from Don Mills to STC

Sheppard East LRT biggest flaw

We don't recommend an LRT underground as proposed in the the Metrolinx plan, says TTC's Webster. "It's simply the wrong vehicle."

TTC manager says that LRT underground "simply the wrong vehicle...it should be a subway vehicle, or a mini subway vehicle."

LRT more expensive too, he adds

TTC GM says TTC would need to buy more buses if Crosstown is only LRT line.

Webster: $1.9bln cost difference between full or partial burying of eglinton LRT.

Webster says no $ left if Eg Xtown buried. That assumes TTC designs and builds. Metrolinx says $ can be saved if private sector does project

 

[Tulse]

If they can't beat a car at any time of any day obviously they were the problem all along.

That's just silly. The LRT has to make more stops than a car does, so yeah, it's not necessarily as fast. But it would be slower still if it had to deal with traffic.

 

[gweed123]

I really like the clause that Stintz put into her omnibus. I agree with 3 of the 4 TC lines, but I think that the SELRT is so fundamentally flawed that it should stay on the cutting room floor.

I read through the Chong report today, and I have to say that as much as I don't think there's much demand for a subway east of Vic Park, they did raise some very valid points as to why the SELRT was a flawed project from the beginning.

I think that an $800 million extension to Vic Park that can be open by 2019 is worth going for.

Not gonna lie, I got pretty much exactly what I was hoping for today. I'm one happy camper.

Sorry I'm so delayed with this, I was at work all day and didn't have access to UT.

 

[rbt]

Who says they are building light rail? Their website - http://www.lagosrail.com/background/index.php - calls it rail and rail mass transit.

Ugh. The Red line is explicitely referred to as light rail transit in the Project Briefing PDF but the Blue Line LRT seems to actually mean Lagos Rail Transit.

3km of track appears to be interlined (explicitely states shared infrastructure including roadbed, structures and stations).

http://www.lagosrail.com/_downloads/Lagos Red Line Project Briefing.pdf

http://www.lagosrail.com/_downloads/Lagos Blue Line Project Briefing.pdf

 

[Dan416]

I don't know why we have to have the streetcar vs LRT debate so often. It should be a sticky.