Sheppard East LRT

[skyfirenet]

22 hours ago, wil9402 said:

Redeveloping Sheppard East will increase ridership a lot, well over what Finch East ridership is now, since it will be lined with mixed used buildings compared to Finch which is mostly residential.

Naturally, local access to the 401 between Yonge and McCowan will also be eliminated to ensure ridership numbers climb.

[wil9402]

1 hour ago, skyfirenet said:

Naturally, local access to the 401 between Yonge and McCowan will also be eliminated to ensure ridership numbers climb.

Sure, the new population traveling to/from points along Sheppard will have the option of driving and using the 401. However, the 401 is a very slow drive at peak times, and even weekends at certain points between Yonge and McCowan. The 401 westbound is jammed from Morningside as early as 6:30am to well past 9am. Using Sheppard westbound in the morning is just as fast, or even faster than using the 401. If these motorists are given the option of higher order transit along Sheppard, I'm sure some would use it over being stuck on the 401.

[Xtrazsteve]

1 hour ago, wil9402 said:

Sure, the new population traveling to/from points along Sheppard will have the option of driving and using the 401. However, the 401 is a very slow drive at peak times, and even weekends at certain points between Yonge and McCowan. The 401 westbound is jammed from Morningside as early as 6:30am to well past 9am. Using Sheppard westbound in the morning is just as fast, or even faster than using the 401. If these motorists are given the option of higher order transit along Sheppard, I'm sure some would use it over being stuck on the 401.

It depends if their destination is along or near Sheppard. Many drivers are headed to Mississauga, Vaughan or beyond won't ever use it. You assume most cars are headed downtown, but I'm convince they aren't. Even if we get a speedy high speed subway averaging 100km/h (meaning trains travel at least 200km/h plus stopping), it won't attract most of the 401 motorists. It's not like if you leave your car at the beginning of the line and when you get off there's another car at the other end.

A lot of those residence living in those condos along Sheppard don't work downtown or along Sheppard. Heck some don't even work in the 416. A subway or LRT is nice, but they can't use it. 

[wil9402]

1 hour ago, Xtrazsteve said:

It depends if their destination is along or near Sheppard. Many drivers are headed to Mississauga, Vaughan or beyond won't ever use it. You assume most cars are headed downtown, but I'm convince they aren't. Even if we get a speedy high speed subway averaging 100km/h (meaning trains travel at least 200km/h plus stopping), it won't attract most of the 401 motorists. It's not like if you leave your car at the beginning of the line and when you get off there's another car at the other end.

A lot of those residence living in those condos along Sheppard don't work downtown or along Sheppard. Heck some don't even work in the 416. A subway or LRT is nice, but they can't use it. 

First off, I am not assuming all the cars are headed downtown. Secondly, when I speak of motorists that have the option of using transit on Sheppard over the 401 I am talking about those who start/end their trips on Sheppard and are generally travelling within the city. I am not speaking about those who are just passing through the area on the 401.

 

My overall point that I'm trying to make is that higher order transit whether it is subway, LRT or BRT makes more sense on Sheppard East versus Finch East. It supports the city's planning objectives and extends an already existing rapid transit line even if it means a transfer has to be made between the two. Why would you want to build an LRT that parallels a subway line 2km to the south?

[Xtrazsteve]

24 minutes ago, wil9402 said:

First off, I am not assuming all the cars are headed downtown. Secondly, when I speak of motorists that have the option of using transit on Sheppard over the 401 I am talking about those who start/end their trips on Sheppard, and are generally travelling within the city. I am not speaking about those who are just passing through the area on the 401.

 

My overall point that I'm trying to make is that higher order transit, whether it is subway, LRT or BRT makes more sense on Sheppard East versus Finch East. It supports the city's planning objectives and extends an already existing rapid transit line even if it means a transfer has to be made between the two. Why would you want to build an LRT that parallels a subway line 2km to the south?

I don't think the demand for start and end trips along Sheppard are that high. The whole point of transit city as we know was to encourage local development so people could shop, work, entertain, pick up kids and meet with people all along the same LRT corridor. A subway doesn't give developer that many opportunity with a few stations oppose to many LRT stops. Too bad many of those folks out there don't understand or care about this concept.

As for rapid transit. A network of LRT lines is a very good idea. If demand supports it, I do support a line on Finch, Sheppard, Ellesmere and Lawrence. It's better than putting all the eggs in one basket and building one subway line. I don't like the idea of funneling everyone on one subway line. Something goes wrong with the Yonge line for example, everyone is screwed. It becomes chaos. Of course I disagree with building everything is Scarborough and leaving everyone with nothing. I think it would be a good idea for people to see how well Eglinton, Finch and Hurontario lines operate first. It will give people a better sense of LRT before they conclude to subways. It will also remind subway supporters of Scarborough why they have nothing built in 2021/22 when these three LRT lines are completed in the GTA. If in luck we'll see the Scarborough subway construction start up.

 

[Ed T.]

On 2017-06-24 at 6:33 PM, wil9402 said:

The city's Official Plan lists Sheppard East from Yonge to McCowan as an "Avenue". An "Avenue" are streets the city wants to redevelop to be lined with mid rise buildings that blend with the existing neighbourhoods and can used for new residential and commercial uses. The majority of these "Avenues" are currently located on existing or future/propsed rapid transit routes (parts of Yonge St., Bloor/Danforth, Eglinton, Kingston Rd, etc.) as the increased development needs to be serviced by better transit than just buses in mixed traffic. Finch East is not an "Avenue" as there is very little land that can be redeveloped to make it one.

A lot of the official Avenues are not on any current rapid transit line, nor on any rapid transit line likely to be built in the foreseeable future (assuming LRT is rapid transit in the first place). You are also assuming that an avenue will automatically generate rapid transit demand along the avenue corridor, which is a dubious proposition.

Anyway I'm not holding my breath waiting for anything to be built in Scarborough other than the currently-committed line along Eglinton, and maybe a replacement for the SRT. Anything better would have to wait for the next election(s), and those aren't looking too promising right now.

[skyfirenet]

7 hours ago, Ed T. said:

Anyway I'm not holding my breath waiting for anything to be built in Scarborough other than the currently-committed line along Eglinton, and maybe a replacement for the SRT. Anything better would have to wait for the next election(s), and those aren't looking too promising right now.

And when it comes to the Eglinton, I'm still uneasy over the section east of Don Mills getting done after the next election.