No, it wasn’t an elaborate April Fools Day joke…

On April 1st, the Government of Ontario announced funding a collection of transit projects across the GTHA. While many of the projects are in the central parts of the region, and there has been some criticism of this fact, these are the projects that are closest groundbreaking – some will see construction start next year. We can’t forget that we need to build a region-wide network, but we need to start somewhere.

Here’s what was announced: (more…)

Toronto has the only existing street railway/"light rail" gauge in Ontario.

Track gauge is a finer detail in the technology of rail-based transportation.  It is defined as the distance between the inside edges of the heads of the running rails.  It’s an important detail since this decides the distance between wheels on the trucks/bogies of rail cars, which can impact what systems on which said rail cars can and cannot run.

What makes this topic interesting in Toronto and the GTA is that the TTC has its own unique gauge: 1495mm.  This applies to both the streetcar and the subway networks of the TTC, but excludes the SRT (which is currently standard gauge. However, if the SRT is converted to LRT, as is widely expected, it would be changed to TTC gauge).  The TTC is expected to apply their unique gauge to Transit City as well, as it keeps the system flexible and has maintenance efficiencies.

Standard gauge, however, is 1435mm, and is used by the freight railways, which would include GO Transit’s rail fleet.  If one goes back in Toronto’s history, one will find two streetcar companies operating on Toronto’s streets, one at standard gauge and the other at the TTC’s, a result of meeting a legal requirement at the time.

There are now many communities in Ontario talking about LRT in their future networks.  These include not only Toronto, but also Hamilton, York Region, Region of Peel, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa, and even London. (more…)

DRL Map by C. Livett, adapted from Network 2011 DRL plan

On Wednesday, Toronto city council voted to study the possibility of fast-tracking construction of the long-dormant Downtown Relief Line — perhaps even putting it ahead of plans for extending the Yonge line further north. Not only was the Yonge North extension approved in principle with previous conditions attached, but council also moved to study the Downtown Relief Line in detail and suggest having it moved from Metrolinx’s 25 year plan to the 15 year plan.

And they want to replace the technical name ”Downtown Relief Line” with something more imaginative and marketable. Ideas, anyone?

According to an article in the National Post, Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre), who proposed asking Metrolinx to review its priorities, said the downtown relief line might be a solution to the overcrowding that is expected to result from extending the Yonge line north.

“The residents of Toronto deserve better, the riders of the TTC deserve better,” said Mr. Thompson. “From a perspective of cost, the downtown relief line is cheaper, it is more efficient, it provides a utility that is needed.”

Over at Spacing Toronto, Sean Marshall wrote an article noting the opposition within the TTC to the Yonge extension and staffers’ views that the DRL should be “a last resort”. However, with the Yonge extension becoming a more likely reality, if the DRL is already in place when the Yonge extension is completed, it would relieve future overcrowding on the Yonge line as a result of the new stops. As well, the new subway line would put off or even altogether negate the need for an expensive and awkward second renovation of Bloor-Yonge station, the worst bottleneck in the subway system, and relieve crowded streetcar routes on Queen and King. (more…)

(This post has been crossposted to Transit Toronto and Bow. James Bow)

It’s strange how the prospect of a plan to significantly improve and expand public transportation infrastructure in the Greater Toronto Area leaves me more discouraged than hopeful. But that’s the tone of the little voice that’s starting to speak at the back of my mind as I hear that Metrolinx, the regional agency set up by the McGuinty government to study the future transit needs of the GTA, is set to release a $55 billion plan chalk full of ambitious transit expansion proposals.

The problem is, this is the second grand plan to be released by the provincial player in two years. In July 2007, McGuinty shifted the political landscape with his ambitious MoveOntario 2020 proposal. This plan called for $17 billion in spending between 2008 and 2020 to build LRT lines, busways and subway extensions across the Greater Toronto Area and in Kitchener-Waterloo. The great advantage of the plan is that it implemented proposals that various cities had had on their books for a while. McGuinty promised that Queen’s Park would cover the municipal third of the capital cost, and it promised to fasttrack various environmental assessments to get shovels in the ground as soon as 2009.

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Are subways better for Toronto, or is light rail the way to go?

This question has polarized the community more than any other in recent memory.

Subways offer a speed and a capacity advantage, and have traditionally been the preferred choice for rapid transit construction in the city. But, modern subway lines are usually built with stations greater than 1 km apart to keep speeds up. This makes mid-block access a bit more difficult. Light Rail Transit, which proposes to run sleek, modern streetcars in transit-only lanes on the surface, offers a cost advantage and, indirectly related, a advantage in the placement of stations. Since they are less expensive and since speeds are lower anyway, LRT stations can be placed closer together. This means that it won’t be a long trek to a destination which isn’t at a main intersection.

Your ability to walk, how you rank speed and ease of access, and your opinion about how much capacity is needed will define where you stand on the endless waltz that is the LRT vs Subway debate, but one difference between the two still has the jury deliberating.

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