GTA Transit Thread

[M II A II R II K]

Dramatic OneCity proposal floated by Stintz, DeBaeremaeker


Jun 26 2012

By Tess Kalinowski

Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/transpor...eremaeker?bn=1

Two councillors leading the TTC say it’s time to move ahead on an accumulating wish list of transit projects: 175 kilometres, including six subway lines, 10 LRTs and five bus and streetcar routes across the city. The latest proposal would dramatically expand Toronto’s transit network over the next 30 years. And while it comes with a $30 billion price tag, it is well within the city’s grasp, say the councillors at the helm of the Toronto Transit Commission.

- They are calling their proposal OneCity and are asking council to approve a staff study of the plan in July. Councillors would then have until October to take the plan to their constituents before considering approval. “What this does is it clarifies for the city of Toronto what our network is, how it fits into the regional context and how we propose to fund it,” Stintz said. “The funding, if approved, is dedicated, dependable and debt-free.” If it flies, Stintz, who has denied she plans to run for mayor, will have engineered the delivery of two elements in Mayor Rob Ford’s election platform: A Sheppard West subway extension linking the Yonge line with the Spadina subway, and the extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway along the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) route.

- The funding proposal would involve getting the province to approve a regulatory change that would allow the city to capture 40 per cent of the higher property values from next year’s reassessment. That would amount to $45 per average household annually, accumulating to $180 a year on average, which would remain on property tax bills. It would mean $272 million a year in new tax revenue for the city. “Every penny will go into building and maintaining public transit. That’s going to be the test for council and the people of Toronto,” said De Baeremaeker. Toronto’s property taxes would still be among the lowest in the region, Stintz said. The $272 million would form the city’s third of an annual $1 billion transit investment, with the province and Ottawa kicking in a standard one-third each.

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[M II A II R II K]

PDF Details: http://onecitytoronto.files.wordpres...ion-print2.pdf

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Eglinton Line changes PDF: http://thecrosstown.ca/sites/default...esentation.pdf

• An off-street (elevated) route is now proposed from a portal west
of Keele Street to Black Creek

• Underground LRT is now proposed from Black Creek to Weston
Road

• An underground “Weston Rd/Mt Dennis Station” is now
proposed, just east of Weston Road

• Protecting for future GO Transit connection

• Preliminary plans are developing to retain Kodak Building

[dennis1]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

Dramatic OneCity proposal floated by Stintz, DeBaeremaeker


Jun 26 2012

By Tess Kalinowski

Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/transpor...eremaeker?bn=1

Awesome.

[M II A II R II K]

• Video Link

[LeftCoaster]

Can anyone tell me the status of the new streetcars?

I thought they were shelved while the city figured out its finances but the picture in the Canada section says otherwise.

[Innsertnamehere]

no they weren't. the budget surplus that Rob Ford triumphed, (even though it is illegal for a city to run a deficit) went to paying for part of the $1 billion price tag.

[Dr Nevergold]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tran...n-the-junction

[LeftCoaster]

Fantastic.

What is the timeline for rolling the new streetcars out?

(I know I've asked this before, so forgive me for forgetting)

[Innsertnamehere]

Early 2014 if I remember correctly.

[Dr Nevergold]

2014

[osmo]

They look great. They still have a nice classic streamlined look to them I was worried they would look like space bugs on the streets.

[DizzyEdge]

Hey guys, street car question. One of the big disadvantages thrown about when discussins street cars vs bus is that the street car can't move around obstructions, like a stalled car. How often does that actually happen in Toronto that a street car's path is unexpectedly obstructed shutting down the line? And in those cases, how quick is it usually resolved?

Thanks

[DrNest]

Those are nice plans for the larger Toronto area. And importantly it actually provides a rail link to Pearson airport. Something that is painfully lacking at present.
However, it still leaves a big void in the downtown area that is not covered by Subway. Fine if you want to travel up and down Yonge, or across Bloor, but you've got no chance subway-wise if you want to get say from Spadina to St Lawrence Market.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Hey guys, street car question. One of the big disadvantages thrown about when discussins street cars vs bus is that the street car can't move around obstructions, like a stalled car. How often does that actually happen in Toronto that a street car's path is unexpectedly obstructed shutting down the line? And in those cases, how quick is it usually resolved?

Thanks

They happen quite a bit, but the Toronto streetcar network has lots of non revenue track, so in large portions of the service area the streetcars detour to a parallel non revenue track for a couple of blocks to get around the detour.


as for the oncecity proposal, that is dead. It seems like we will be getting the "next wave" which is a sort of phase 2 of the big move. It does include a $7.3 billion dollar DRL running from Dundas West station to Pape, meaning that east-west travel in the down town core will become MUCH easier. More information on the big move can be found here:

http://www.bigmove.ca/

[MetroRailRoad]

I rember while I was in Toronto for a confrence last year the YUS line was shut down between Bloor and Union. The shuttle bus was so slow

[Ramako]

New streetcars were tested last night: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013...thurst_st.html

[MetroRailRoad]

it looks like OneCity is an important proposal espeicially if Toronto wants to be a global city. Ten subway lines (including ten existing lines) to add up to a system similar to Hong kong, London and Seoul.

[BIMBAM]

Extensive interview with the heads of Metrolinx and the Toronto Board of Trade on the transit plans and their thoughts on how to make it happen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL54HyGjMd4

[Innsertnamehere]

And good god do I hope it does.

[caltrane74]

Another Visual



Toronto is developing a mini-lower Manhattan here!! Huge Transit Huge, in the middle of Financial District Skyscrapers..
To make it complete, the third and fourth subway lines into downtown, and an electrified commuter rail, with 15 to 20 minute intervals.