I'd also like to point out that transit supporters need to come together. LRT is a great technology when implemented properly. Its not that different from street cars - which is what the Chow team hates to admit - and its not that poor of a form of transit as the Ford team has made it out to be.
LRT is most properly used for smaller, local transit service to connect to heavier rail systems. Berlin is the best example of this, and I keep telling Torontonians to focus on Berlin. Similar size city (around 5-6 million), lots of streetcars (trams) and heavy subway and electrified commuter rail lines that are much better at delivering regional rail than GO. Its the perfect example to draw from, because Toronto is already growing beyond Berlin's size, yet Berlin has a world class transit system that is eons above Toronto's current structure.
Finch LRT is a completely logical idea. Its local transit and connects to the TTC subway, and its a few km long, not a city-wide backbone transit line. It is the way light rail was designed to be, its a fantastic project. The problem is that Finch LRT should be secondary, if funding isn't available, to a DRL subway line in the core.
Eglinton LRT really should have been a third rail, heavy subway system as it is a cross-town line that is meant to grow with the city as a major city-wide transport corridor; however, its been debated, its funded, its in construction. It shouldn't be up for debate again, and as a mostly underground central section can absolutely function well by being on time for a good portion of its length.
Scarborough Subway is already a done deal, it shouldn't be up for debate. Subway makes so much more sense for Scarborough. Replacing the RT with LRT brings the exact same problem up again in 20 years: transfer at Kennedy, different rail cars and technology means massively more post-construction investment expense to keep up the line when a subway extension would just be updated as the Danforth subway receives new rail cars in the future. And then there is the issue that the vast majority of Scarborough residents utilize the RT and will utilize a future subway extension or LRT system by bus connections. That means LRT will retain RT's issue of bus-LRT-subway-yonge subway or other connections as opposed to bus-subway-other connections.
Scarborough subway is quicker, cuts out an unnecessary transfer, and it delivers lower maintenance costs into the future since its integrated with an existing subway line.
Toronto does not need to relive these debates. They lead nowhere. On transit, Chow is just so wrong its painful to watch an otherwise good politician want to head down such a regressive, argumentative path. Toronto's transit debates end up as a joke more often than not when it really doesn't need to be.
Toronto is a city that willingly and increasingly wants to use transit to get around, but its politicians and chattering class won't allow the city to build a world class, Berlin like transit experience for its citizens. There is nothing more painful than to see such an emerging world class city like Toronto with the will to use transit, but can't even muster enough political will to build even a Philadelphia quality regional rail network, which is a city that increasingly doesn't use transit.
Last edited by Dr Nevergold; Apr 8, 2014 at 1:57 AM.
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