Now you understand why Premier Mike Harris killed the Eglinton crosstown
- Thread starter happ
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Any major transit infrastructure development takes years. If Harris had gone ahead, we’d all be using it now. For the Eglington crosstown, I think the biggest mistake is making it LRT with above ground areas. Should have just been a subway all the way with compatibility to the rest of the subway system. Yes, higher initial costs, but future expansion, as well as lower equipment costs for future car purchases would balance that out.
Fortunately Harris's Conservative predecessors who shut Yonge St. top to bottom and Bloor through the core to get us those two subway lines weren't as stupid as the Duffer. They were Progressive Conservatives.
Yonge around Gerrard, w\ the Rio Theatre — and — Bloor at Avenue Road looking North. A little to the east they ran the buses along the sidewalks during the dig.
If everyone thought that way then Vic park, Warden, And Kennedy Stations wouldn't have been built.
The problem was when they cheaped out and went with the RT. That killed continued subway expansion.
No, the problem is when they waste resources.
Build a subway only when the population density is there to support it.
Otherwise use LRT.
If they had of continued the one stop per year policy this argument wouldn't be happening.
But stupid councillors killed it.
Was supposed to be a 3 stop subway extension which is far more optimal than an LRT. Especially with winters heading into snowier and cooler years ahead. Why are the people of Scarborough less entitled to quality mass rapid transit in your books?
'Entitled'?
Who is 'entitled' to mass transit in general?
Build it where there are enough people to buy tickets and fund it.
Its basic economics, not entitlements.
Do you think transit should be based on 'entitlements' or economics?
Sad day when the hard core right wants the city to pay for what they describe as entitlement and turns their back on economics.
Mike Harris did not kill the eglinton subway back in the 90's.
Metro Toronto council did that.
Harris basically said that he was going to contribute x dollars (down from 3x as promised by Bob Rae) and that was it. Metro Toronto could decide for itself if it wanted to build Sheppard and Eglinton (and the city would have to make up the shortfall itself), or just Sheppard, or just Eglinton.
The morons at Metro Toronto voted to build just Sheppard. Mel Lastman (then Mayor of the former City of North York) was going to get his subway come hell or high water. (The rumour was that he was getting death threats from his "friends" who had speculated on the land along Sheppard based on the windfall that would come with a subway.)
Little Francis Nunziatta, the then Mayor of the former City of York, the poorest city in Metro Toronto never had a prayer against Lastman.
Metro Toronto council did that.
Harris basically said that he was going to contribute x dollars (down from 3x as promised by Bob Rae) and that was it. Metro Toronto could decide for itself if it wanted to build Sheppard and Eglinton (and the city would have to make up the shortfall itself), or just Sheppard, or just Eglinton.
The morons at Metro Toronto voted to build just Sheppard. Mel Lastman (then Mayor of the former City of North York) was going to get his subway come hell or high water. (The rumour was that he was getting death threats from his "friends" who had speculated on the land along Sheppard based on the windfall that would come with a subway.)
Little Francis Nunziatta, the then Mayor of the former City of York, the poorest city in Metro Toronto never had a prayer against Lastman.
As to the disruption associated with the construction of the LRT (the poorman's subway), such is life. I'm glad to see that after 20 years of nothing to address the transit woes in this city that they are finally doing something. Seems to me that they have been doing a pretty good job with detours and work around.
Large projects like this take time and money, but that's the nature of the beast. The end result will be great. (Well, as great as an LRT will be.)
Hopefully I see a Queen Street subway in my lifetime.
Large projects like this take time and money, but that's the nature of the beast. The end result will be great. (Well, as great as an LRT will be.)
Hopefully I see a Queen Street subway in my lifetime.
The Queen subway is going to be a bust, the subway should be on King:
1.) King is already congested to the point that for transit to move they’ve effectively had to make King St. Car free in the downtown core.
2.) St. Andrew ( King & University ) and King ( Yonge & King) subway stations are among the busiest as they service the downtown business core. Osgoode (Queen & University) along with Museum on the University line are basically dead, with Queen ( Yonge & Queen) is average.
3.) streetcars in King are already packed with people from Liberty village having to wait for streetcars as many eastbound streetcars are filled before King & Dufferin
1.) King is already congested to the point that for transit to move they’ve effectively had to make King St. Car free in the downtown core.
2.) St. Andrew ( King & University ) and King ( Yonge & King) subway stations are among the busiest as they service the downtown business core. Osgoode (Queen & University) along with Museum on the University line are basically dead, with Queen ( Yonge & Queen) is average.
3.) streetcars in King are already packed with people from Liberty village having to wait for streetcars as many eastbound streetcars are filled before King & Dufferin
IMO, they should build a subway line under Adelaide or Richmond because it would be less disruptive to traffic, businesses and existing lines on Queen and King. Potential stations on Richmond or Adelaide line would still be walking distance to both Queen and King.
It does amaze me that they don't run streetcars on Adelaide since there are already rails on it.
I wonder how much money has been spent on transit plans over the past 4 decades that went nowhere? There would be the countless consultants, the time council spent reviewing, debating, etc.
It has got to be millions, if not close to a billion.
Below is a link to an article of yet another planned subway extension (no doubt costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce) back in the 80's.
Trouble is that Toronto can come up with ideas but no one or group has the balls to execute something because they are bickering over the small details and entrenched in their own political camps.
Yes, there has been additions to the system, but it has been much, much less than what could have been done.
Another note is that in this extreme cold weather it appears that the above ground tracks are causing major problems and shut downs. Again, more money goes into fixing or outright replacing things whereas if you spend a few bucks more at the time to put it underground and you save in the long run.
I think once Toronto figures it out there will be flying cars and no need for transit...
It has got to be millions, if not close to a billion.
Below is a link to an article of yet another planned subway extension (no doubt costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce) back in the 80's.
Trouble is that Toronto can come up with ideas but no one or group has the balls to execute something because they are bickering over the small details and entrenched in their own political camps.
Yes, there has been additions to the system, but it has been much, much less than what could have been done.
Another note is that in this extreme cold weather it appears that the above ground tracks are causing major problems and shut downs. Again, more money goes into fixing or outright replacing things whereas if you spend a few bucks more at the time to put it underground and you save in the long run.
I think once Toronto figures it out there will be flying cars and no need for transit...
Where? No link visible on my screen.
Because of the constant fucking-over by the senior level of government Toronto's still building decades-overdue first lines. The car-dependent burbians clamour for line-extensions they likely won't use, if only because they feel slighted. But what we really need are infill lines — mass transit for the masses who live, work and need to get around downtown, where the streets already cannot handle the cars. The relief line from the NE across Queen-King to the NW; a Carlton-College line; an Eglinton line and a Lawrence one, each with North and South arterial arms to complete the urban transit grid. Not to mention completing the premature Sheppard and ScarBurrow lines we will certainly need someday.
If the folks who live in Vaughan and Markham and Peel feel under-served, they'll at least have a functional City they can hope to travel to and in, and they can certainly lobby their transit commissions to improve the service and connections to ours.
D'oh!
https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/the-way-we-were-everything-old-is-new-again-at-the-ttc
that dude at the Sun who reports on different stuff from the past.
