Metrolinx Delays Transit Plan. Again.

Well, you know, planning is real, you know, hard and stuff. Gee, it's lunchtime already.

If anyone's truly interested in getting their input, whether it be on content or governance, into the Regional Transportation Plan, I'd recommend connecting with the Metronauts community.

Some of the reader comments in the G&M article actually bring up a good point (a rarity)...why the focus on Eglinton? What about north/south lines to service the city as it grows north? Or, why not put the rail down along Lawrence?

Eglinton is being focused on because there is a lack of a high quality, continuous east-west transit route in the city other than the Bloor-Danforth Subway. North-south, we have the Yonge and Spadina Subways (both being extended), the Stouffville, Richmond Hill, Barrie, and Georgetown GO lines, and in Sauga, there are plans for LRT on Hurontario. The crosstown Eglinton Line would allow access from Scarborough, all across the city, and provide the much needed rapid transit link to the Airport (other than the Blue-22) and provide connections to the 403 Transitway being planned in Mississauga.

It should also be noted that part of the delay is also attributed to the fact that if it were to be released this week, as planned, public consultation would have taken place in August... by pushing it back to September, consultation can then take place in October, which is a much more friendly time to get people out to meetings.

Oh for feck sake let's junk the whole thing and get the Vancouver Translink crowd in to run the show. They seem to be able to manage heavy rail, buses, urban rail and even commuter ferries (and we could use a Toronto-Niagara ferry...)

"why not put the rail down along Lawrence?"

east of Bayview would be very interesting - I'd love to drive a TBM right under the moneyed set who agitated for speedhumps on the Post Road, which impedes ambulances heading for Sunnybrook.

im with mark

maybe they should hire people from beijing to build the subway systems here.. cheaper labour for sure.. just like how we built the railway

Hard Call. I think it is all about future-proofing the system and allowing for expansion. If we are connecting to the airport via Eglinton, I really hope that we go the subway route as that is more about capacity and speed - even if it is 3-5x the price and twice as long to finish ((where's the money coming from? property taxes will need to be nudged - compared to many suburbs we pay a bargain)). The thing about a subway is that it not only moves a lot of people fast and is far more rugged during traffic/weather problems, it also attracts density like no other transit link can. Though Sheppard Line is only a stub, it has attracted a whole pile of density and downtown-ish amenities - and there are developers tripping over themselves to push that further beyond the the Yonge intersection - good on them. Eglinton could use that, especially between Keele and the Airport. There are many things we should compromise and be frugal with, transit main arteries should not be one of them.

Some problems with Lawrence as the E-W high density route

East from Leslie and West from Black Creek Eglinton is generally wide enough to support surface level rail (whether that's Light or Heavy Rail) not true of Lawrence/Dixon.

You want to try and build something of a grid, which you get with Lakeshore/Bloor/Eglinton/Finch. If you did Lakeshore/Bloor/Lawrence-Dixon/Finch then you have unoptimal spacing as you move North.

Eglinton extends/connects easily into the dense residential/employment areas of Mississauga and can be set up to catch car commuters coming off the 401, Dixon bumps into the airport, going west into Brampton/Missisauga is much more difficult and you lose the opportunity to siphon car commuters off the 401.

Despite common perception, LRT is not just a poor man's subway, it has advantages of its own.

An LRT can be built in less than 4 years, whereas subways tend to take over a decade, that is if they aren't canceled by a change in government mid-way. A very real concern, we have had that happen a number of times to our city.

Anybody want another 4 km stubway?

But above all, LRT service will do wonders to make Eglinton into a true Avenue which is walkable and has medium-density throughout, rather than isolated clusters of condo towers that the subway tends to promote.

If Metrolinx wants a cross-town super fast express route, do it in a hydro corridor, or a rail corridor instead.