City
Does it make any sense to bury the entire Eglinton LRT?
In the last week or so, Mayor Rob Ford's plan to bury the Eglinton Crosstown LRT has drawn renewed criticism. Much of this has to do with the complications and potential cost overruns associated with tunnelling the line underneath the Don Valley, but the problems don't end there. In an article on Spacing today, John Lorinc argues that should plans go through to bury the entire line, it will "be remembered as the single most expensive infrastructure mistake in Toronto history."
Those are some strong words, but the prediction doesn't seem so hyperbolic when you look at the numbers. "The $2.2 billion premium for concealing those awful streetcars from view is almost equivalent to the cost of the entire Spadina subway extension from Downsview to Vaughan city centre," Lorinc explains. "It is slightly more than what the City will spend on all repairs to road and bridges between 2012 and 2020."
Wow. And that, as Lorinc also points out, is if the project comes in on budget, which it likely won't thanks to that pesky valley.
So why is Ford so adamant about getting the LRVs underground? Is it just cosmetics, as Lorinc suggests? Is it because the province is picking up the tab? Maybe it's ideology that accounts for the decision-making on this one. Whatever the reason, there's ample evidence to suggest that the cost to benefit ratio of keeping the line underground it totally out of whack.
If there's a sliver lining, it's that the Environmental Assessments related to crossing the Don will likely put the burial of the line back before council next year. Would it be naive to think that in the face of mounting evidence against the scheme, that council will do the sensible thing and revert to the original plan?
Photo by MrDanMofo in the blogTO Flickr pool
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The only chance is if somehow his ardent voting bloc start to clue in publicly that he's not making smart decisions between now and then, but somehow he's managed to funnel Kool-Aid down the throats of most of them.
The extra BILLIONS the province will have to spend putting Eglinton entirely underground for no reason would probably pay for most if not all of the cost for a downtown relief line.
Haven't you ever heard of deference as a tactic? It maintains the status quo.
Some people are so naive.
I don't think a quick fix solution is the answer either, so even if I don't see the benefits of this in my life time, it's fine.
If the density isn't going to be there in many decades the partially above ground plan IS taking the future in to consideration.
Also enough with the Sheppard Subway. Any subway project happening in Toronto needs to be another NORTH-SOUTH line. That's the only way to relieve pressure on the ridiculously over crowded Bloor-Danforth line. The Toronto Rocket is great but that's not solving any transit issues.
A second line running from Don Mills station south through East York into the downtown core, the north from let's say Union station to Rexdale would revolutionize Toronto!
i guess this is the logic than anyonewuold come up with, when the extent of your education is half a year at brock in the early eighties, and listening to AM 640 really loud in your van for twenty years straight.
Other countries help pay for their cities rapid transit project (as well as the operation subsidies). Not Canada. Don't expect much from the federal government if the province doesn't step up.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/579531
"TTC officials this week put the cost of the eastern portion at $2.1 billion."
$2.2 billion saved from reverting back to the Transit City version of the Eglinton line would come pretty close to 100% funding for the DRL.
this city is crap. nothing ever gets done in this city. the subway system - added a few stops and useless sheppard line in the last 40 years. while other countries/cities are building infrastructure much faster and for future toronto is not even keeping up with the current situation.
i hope when they build this line (well, i'll be very old by then).. they don't build the stops every 100 meters.
Get at me BlogTO.
Second, possibly more importantly, if the tracks are at ground level the plan was for those making left hand turns, at certain intersections, to turn right and make a u-turn instead. Two of those are Scarlett, which is right next to his house, and Royal York, which he often travels on.
God forbid anything should disturb his drive anywhere.
Maybe many decades from now when the density around those areas justifies the extra cost... or we could use that money right now to add another line which would serve hundreds of thousands if not millions of extra riders in the meantime.
I personally think that better access for those who live less centrally will slow or reverse the urban/suburban income gap that seems to be happening.
Look after the core, and the rest will suffer. Something very hard to fathom seeing as you would never step foot on the frontier.
They could build a subway under Queen and remove the streetcars... which is how the current lines were started if memory serves... after they grew out of their existing capacity.
-After subway built,land is capable of higher density usage
developer pays money for
-commie apartment blocks become glass and steel condos that don't attract thugs
-more people increases tax base
-less traffic, less buses on street, decreased congestion, increased mobility -> leads to demand for corporations to set up in Toronto instead of Markham and Mississauga
Considering the above ground LRT would still be 6.2 billion, spend the extra 33% and build the tunnel. The track gauge can be switched in the future so incorporate the line into the subway system.
Proof:
-Yonge Street north of Sheppard
-Sheppard between Bayview and Leslie (http://www.mytowncrier.ca/subway-lines-spur-sheppard-condo-boom.html)
Imagine if they built the Yonge Subway as an LRT 60 years ago? Imagine the Bloor-Danforth was an LRT. Think our transit system would be better?