City
What the TTC might have looked like in 2011
As 2011 enters its final six weeks or so, it might be fun — or in fact quite painful — to look back to 1985 and what the TTC hoped its transit system would look like by now. We've actually already written about Network 2011 in relation to the transit policies of our last crop of mayoral hopefuls, but it seems like a good time to return to the topic given the challenges that face the current expansion of the system.
I won't rehash all the details of the plan and how it came to be, but here are a few highlights. As the map above shows, Network 2011 called for the construction of three new transit lines in the city.
- Sheppard Avenue line from current-day Downsview Station to the Scarborough Town Centre
- A Downtown Relief Line (DRL) cutting across the east end from Donlands to Union Station
- A dedicated busway along Eglinton West to Renforth Drive that would eventually be converted into an LRT line or full subway
From the beginning, there was much opposition to the Network 2011 plan. Some critics argued that a lower density corridor like Sheppard would be better served by LRT (yes, that debate has been going on for some time), while others thought that a DRL would lead to undesirable intensification of downtown neighbourhoods along its path.
Those objections, however, aren't the main reasons why only a fraction of the plan ever came to be. Because the project inevitably required capital from Ontario, changes in power at the provincial level eventually conspired to put an end to its ambitious proposal.
Originally put forward under the Bill Davis led Tories, when David Peterson's Liberals came to power, the plan was put under study and eventually modified (amongst other changes, the DRL was scrapped and a link between the Yonge and Spadina lines was proposed). That wouldn't take either.
When Bob Rae's NDP came into power, emphasis was put on shorter subway lines on Sheppard and Eglinton and extension of the Scarborough RT and the Spadina line up to York University (the later of which is only now being built). These plans would also be modified. When Bob Rae was knocked out by Mike Harris in 1995, the Conservatives moved quickly to kill the Eglinton Line.
When it all shook out, the only piece of the Network 2011 plan that ever got built was the Sheppard Subway Line. While construction is finally underway to take the subway to York University these days, Rob Ford's plan to extend the Sheppard Line, a component that was a part of the these 1985 plans, looks like it might have already hit the skids.
When Peterson's Liberals re-envisioned Network 2011, one of the changes they made was to stipulate that they'd only fund the project if Mel Lastman could secure private investment in the line. Ultimately Lastman never had to make this happen because the NDP and, later, the Conservatives committed to getting the line built (in some form or another). Ford, on the other hand, faces just this task. This Liberal government appears as skeptical as the one that held power back in the late 1980s.
Given this troubled history of transit expansion and the recent announcement that Ford's line will have to be opened one station at a time (presumably due to a lack of funds), does anybody think the Sheppard stub will be extended much? Here's betting it won't be anything to get excited about.
Also worth reading on Network 2011:
- Network 2011 — To Think What Could Have Been from Tranist Toronto
- Mark Osbaleston in Unbuilt Toronto 2: More of the City that Might Have Been
Discussion
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I get sad when I ride it. I get sad when I think about how great this city would be if TTC improved. I get sad when I see two 504 streetcars go by at 12:15am when I'm just a little too far to run and be seen and then I have to wait another 45 minutes for another car to appear.
The whole damn thing is sad sad sad.
Clearly, it's all politics. That makes me sad.
But look on the brightside! If you lived anywhere else in Ontario transit would be a million times worse. Toronto has AMAZING transit compared to the burbs! In Durham Region routes are constantly being cancelled and the ones that do exist only run every half hour or every hour, and it costs $2.90! Toronto is a city where you can actually live without a car, it's awesome.
With all these condos being built Toronto will have to start building more subways, it's inevitable. You can't have ~150 new highrises going up with no increase in transit, otherwise the city would cease to function. The developers should have had to pay a special transit tax to build a building, to cover the increased transit that would have to be built to accommodate the increased density in the area.
And for all its problems, the TTC is still a pretty decent system compared to many cities in the world. We like to whine but let's not go overboard.
In Cityplace and west to Liberty Village alone there are quite a few building coming up FAST! It is going to be an absolute disaster when they are fully occupied. At the rate of building going up to the rate of transit moving forward, its looking very scary.
That being said, yes it is very sad that the subway plans were cancelled, but, thankfully, the expressways that were to be built with them were also cancelled (check out Metro's master transportation plans from the 50s/60s). It's a poor substitute, but at least they can never be built unlike the subways/RTs.
Granted, some are interesting and, add positively to the streetscape, but we'd be way better off with a fully realized transit system. With all the buildings recently built, under construction, and proposed, there are a hell of a lot of funds out there from developers. It'd be a service to the buildings' residents, and the city at large.
Crazy Idea.....I also thing to be an employee of the City of Toronto you must reside in the city of Toronto.
Learn to read. I actually took a swipe at the left too. Oh, and btw... Ford cancelled Transit City, which would have implemented much of what was being talked about for DECADES. Go take a flying leap, you fool.
Toronto's big mistake was not only the idiocy of filling in tunnels and opening stubways, but in ignoring the modern breakthroughs in LRT, condemning the city to pipe dreams that would forever be cancelled when too costly (as Ford will soon find out).
Had the city taken its legacy gift of surface rail as a starting point and built from there using inexpensive (if not quite as fast) LRT, there would be a first rate set of rails crisscrossing the city by now, underground in the core and on the surface everywhere else.
Depressing indeed.
Also, with every development, we lose a public parking lot for drivers. If the public transport doesn't improve significantly, all the people using these parking spaces will still need to drive to the city. So where will they park? Invest in TTC, or build high rise parking for these commuters, how else are they going to get to work??
They should stop scrapping plans after millions have been spent in research. So it might cost a few million more than expected... scrapping the plan only to spend even more on the next one (repeatedly) becomes redundant. There's a certain point where following this research investment, you're already financially committed, so unless it's a totally ineffective plan, just get it done.
I was late for work becasue there was another delay today on the TTC. It's a depressing and annoying way to start off a work day.
I would of rode my ebike to work if not for the rain today, it has been one of the main reasons I have been able to avoid using the TTC altogether.