[M II A II R II K]

TTC head favours surface LRT on suburban stretch of Eglinton


Jan. 23, 2012

By Adrian Morrow

Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2311140/

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Karen Stintz argues it makes more sense to put the LRT underground only along the most congested part of the route, in midtown, while building it on the surface in the spacious suburbs. “If the decision is to go with an LRT, it should be at-grade,” she said. “If there’s a decision to put it underground, it should be a subway.”

- Any rethink on the line, however, would lead to further delays. Metrolinx, the provincial agency building the LRT, has little desire to change course. Renegotiating the plan between the city and province would take time and some already completed design work would have to be redone. Upgrading to a full subway would force Metrolinx to cancel a contract for light-rail cars.

- As a result, the province is forging ahead with a plan that draws fire from one side for falling short of a subway and from the other for sucking up precious transit dollars that could be used to expand the network elsewhere. Last month, Councillor John Parker, normally an ally of Mr. Ford’s, dubbed the plan “goofy.”

- It is also unprecedented in North America. While numerous cities – Boston, Guadalajara and Edmonton, to name three – put parts of their light-rail systems underground, the tunnels are used to get trains through dense downtowns, not suburbia like Eglinton East.

- Critics of surface light rail argue such systems can’t achieve the same speeds as a subway, but this is not necessarily true. On Martin Luther King Jr. Way South in suburban Seattle – an arterial road similar to Eglinton Ave. East – light-rail trains zip along just as quickly as Toronto’s Yonge-University-Spadina line. The reason? Stations are spaced far apart and traffic lights are controlled to ensure trains don’t have to stop at cross streets.

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