The Ontario government is announcing a huge program of transit improvements and funding. Details are available on the Premier’s website.
Note to those who come to this item after about 10:30 on June 15: Many comments were posted earlier today before I had added my own review of the announcement. They reflect the developing level of information (there are still some gaps) as well as some gentle urging that I get on with writing about this.
Whether it’s just an election promise or a real plan for transit improvements in southern Ontario, Queen’s Park’s announcement today raises the bar very high. Not only will Ontario fund 2/3 of the cost of transit capital works, the sheer number of lines and services, including several nobody ever thought to see in print, sets this apart from all previous announcements.
There have been a few.
Bill Davis killed the Spadina Expressway, started major provincial subsidies of transit, but was sidetracked into developing transit technology rather than building transit lines.
David Peterson, desperate to be re-elected with a majority government, announced a network of lines back in the days when planning consisted mainly of drawing new subway lines on the map of Toronto. The voters thanked him for his efforts and elected Bob Rae.
Bob Rae inherited Peterson’s plan and seized on it as a way to appear pro-transit without actually having to think about it, and give a shot in the arm to the ailing construction industry. They actually managed to start the Sheppard and Eglinton West lines.
Mike Harris was prepared to kill the Peterson/Rae projects as a huge waste of money, but relented on the Sheppard line to keep Mel Lastman happy.
Now we come to Dalton McGuinty who like Peterson is facing an election, but who has not made the fatal mistake of going to the polls early and presuming on the good will of the electorate. Lately, I hear that McGuinty’s office gripes about not getting credit for all of the wonderful transit funding they have announced. Small wonder: A project here, a project there, no sense of sustained funding for future years, and an expensive bauble to show the good burghers of Vaughan just how much we love them.
All that has changed. Today’s announcement shows that Queen’s Park plans to be in the transit funding business in a big way for well over a decade. This is a huge commitment for the Liberals, and telling us in November that they’re having second thoughts is not an option.
As with any announcement, the question must be “have they picked the right projects”?
Given that every project that has ever been in anyone’s plans, and a few that took me by surprise, are in the list, it’s hard to say that they’ve picked too few or picked poorly. One huge plus is that they are not, for the most part, dictating technology choices. The last thing we need is a repeat of the OTDC/UTDC fiasco.
The flip side, however, is that the plan is oddly unbalanced over the region. Whatever was already on the books is in the initial list. I hope that the GTTA who, according to a footnote, would review all of this, may make some small adjustments here and there. For example, there is LRT only in Mississauga and Toronto even though an argument can be made to expand the network into York Region. Maybe that’s phase 2.
Just as with Transit City (about which endless debates swirled on this site second-guessing proposals and working through the complexities of design), there will be time to fine tune, to see where alternatives might fit better together, to talk about the program’s goals for 2025, 2030 and beyond.
The announcement has notable gaps including:
- Several of the components are already in progress including GO improvements and the Spadina/VCC subway. Will Ontario now fund 2/3 of their cost?
- How will infrastructure and vehicles for existing operations be funded? Who will pay for Toronto’s new streetcar, subway cars and buses?
- Where do the LRT lines not included in Transit City fit in all of this specifically the eastern waterfront and Kingston Road proposals?
- What plans are there for operating subsidies? Will Queen’s Park leave this to municipalities as a tradeoff for all of the capital funding? This would not help systems with small operating budgets today, and would constain their ability to expand service without taking a big hit on the local tax base.
The news release says that this 12-Year plan will deliver 52 rapid transit initiatives. I wonder why 52? Many of the projects listed are actually segments of lines, not independent projects, and this inflates the number of distinct routes. I hope that McGuinty doesn’t get too hung up on the actual number but concentrates instead on the concept of a network of transit services: local and regional, bus and rail.
Making people think about networks is vital as we saw with Transit City. The debates instantly changed about “my line” and “your line” to “our network” as politicians all over Toronto saw the benefits of a unified system.
For just a moment believe that at least a good portion of this will actually be built. Indeed, because so much of this is drawn from existing and planned schemes and has the relatively low implementation cost of commuter rail, buses on reserved lanes and LRT, there is a fighting chance we will see real benefits quickly. This will increase demand for more and a self-sustaining boom in transit construction and funding may result.
Let’s look at the various parts of this scheme to see how they fit together.
GO Rail Improvements
- Third tracks added from Port Credit to Oakville, Burlington to Hamilton and Union to Scarborough.
- Capacity expansions from Union to Milton, Union to Georgetown, Union to Bradford, Union to Richmond Hill and Union to Stouffville.
- Service extensions from Oshawa to Bowmanville, Bradford to Barrie, Richmond Hill to Aurora Road, Stouffville to Uxbridge.
- New GO rail service on the CPR line from West Toronto through the central Don Valley via Agincourt to Pickering and Seaton.
- New GO rail service from Union to Bolton.
- Electrification of the GO Lakeshore route (aka SuperGO).
Some track construction is already underway to allow better GO service, but some of the extensions and new lines lay more in the realm of railfans’ dreams than actual plans until today.
One thing missing from the details (at least those available when I started to review all of this) is the hours and frequency of service on the proposed new and extended routes. If more than a few peak trains a day operate on this network, we will finally have a true regional commuter rail system in Toronto that will allow people to travel, at least in those corridors, much as Torontonians now do on the subway system — without having to plan their trips around schedules. Additional service on these lines would also relieve some of the pressure for additional subway construction into the core because the demand from outlying parts of the 416 and from the inner 905 will have a good alternative in GO rail services.
Crosstown service via the CPR’s line through North Toronto Station (the LCBO palace at Summerhill) will provide a fast connection through the city bypassing Union Station. An obvious connection for this line would be with the new link to the airport. Indeed, I feel that through-routing this line to the airport would be more valuable than a connection to Union because of the large catchment area for a cross-city line. Maybe we could have both! (More about the airport later.)
This network will exhaust the inventory of rail corridors into Toronto, and it will place major demands on Union Station. GO already had planned for a doubling of ridership, but their planning horizon was further away than 2020. Other potential pressures at Union arise from future LRT network connections serving the waterfront.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for GO and Others
- GO BRT from Oakville station to Mississauga via Hwy 403
- Mississauga Transitway from the City Centre west to Winston Churchill and east to Renforth, connecting to …
- GO BRT link from Renforth to York University (via hydro corridors judging from the map)
- GO BRT on Hwy 427 from Renforth to Hwy 407, connecting to …
- GO BRT on Hwy 407 from the 401 to York University (obviously with a dodge south or a connection to the subway extension) and continuing east on the 407 to Yonge Street in Langstaff and Markham Road
- GO BRT from Highway 407 in Markham via Markham Road to Hwy 401, then east to Pickering GO station.
This network encircles the 416 and the inner 905 with BRT on most of the major highways. This will come at some cost to highway capacity as there isn’t room to expand in all cases, and road expansion should be a last resort, not the assumed way any BRT will be implemented. Again we are missing details of the implementation on each segment of highway.
The important point here is that Ontario plans to build a network, not bits and pieces of BRT wherever they can be squeezed into existing corridors. This has big implications for bus services whether they are operated by GO, the local agencies or some future amalgamated GTTA bus company.
The one big problem is that these will be regional services, not local services. They will be great for travel between major centres, but people still need to get to these trunk routes on their neighbourhood bus systems. Unless these are properly funded and expanded, the regional network will not meet its potential.
At the other end of the scale, what happens when the 407 corridor (or highway 7 itself as a local street) become candidates for an LRT line? How far away from that decision are we? That’s a knotty question for the GTTA.
Miscellaneous
- Transit City in its entirety: Eglinton (Renforth to Kennedy), Scarborough RT extension to Sheppard, Sheppard LRT (Don Mills to Morningside), Finch LRT (Hwy 27 to Yonge), Don Mills LRT (Steeles to Danforth), Jane LRT (Steeles to Bloor), Malvern LRT (Kennedy Station to Malvern), Waterfront West (Long Branch to Union).
- Subway extensions: Spadina to Vaughan Centre, Yonge from Finch to Hwy 7.
- Yonge busway from Finch to Steeles (TTC, VIVA, YRT and GO)
- VIVA: Markham Centre to Don Mills Station, Yonge from Steeles to Newmarket, Highway 7 from Hwy 50 to Cornell.
- Durham rapid transit (unspecified technology) on Hwy 2 from Oshawa to Pickering
- Brampton Acceleride: Queen Street from Main to Hwy 50
- Mississauga LRT: Hurontario from Lakeshore to Queen Street (Brampton), Dundas from Hurontario to Kipling Station
- Hamilton rapid transit (unspecified technology): King/Main Streets from Eastgate Mall to McMaster University, James/Upper James from Rymal Road to King Street
- (Not part of the 52, but included in a footnote) Ontario will also fund at the same 2/3 rate the rapid transit plans now in stage 2 of the EA process for Kitchener Waterloo. This scheme has eliminated all technologies except BRT and LRT from further consideration.
For the TTC system, I am ecstatic to see funding for Transit City. Not too long ago we had the excitement of that plan’s launch and a major shift in transit thinking for Toronto, but the nagging question of who would pay lurked in the background. The strategy behind Transit City was twofold:
- Show Torontonians that we could build a transit network that didn’t just serve one small corner of the city, that we could do it quickly and that we could do it at a reasonable cost.
- Show any funding partners a proposal that would have immediate political return and would allow projects to move into design, construction and operation without bankrupting everyone involved.
I think it worked. Indeed, it was the same strategy that led to the Ridership Growth Strategy. Don’t tell us what you can’t do, don’t prejudge the political decision about funding, show us what could be if only the will to act were there. We still need a bit more of a push on RGS especially for service improvements in years to come, but we are moving in the right direction. MoveOntario changes the landscape for the GTA and beyond just as Transit City did for Toronto.
I am particularly glad to see the Yonge subway extension included in this package. For decades, we have discussed subway lines that are little better than Toonerville Trollies to various politicians’ back yards. Now, finally, we will build a subway line where there is already heavy demand. The Yonge extension will be an anchor for future bus and, someday, LRT services in York Region.
As for VIVA, the announcement is unclear about what is being funded. Expanded service? More vehicles? BRT upgrades?
The Mississauga LRT proposals have been around for many years, but I doubted to ever see them built. There’s always the issue of an orphan line, of being the first new rail service in a sea of cars and buses. With Transit City announced in Toronto, the Mississauga lines are no longer alone and I must wonder how long it will take for Transit City to grow a branch south to Kipling Station.
Hamilton and Kitchener are big surprises. Kitchener is well along on their studies, but the last time I remember seeing any plans for rapid transit in Hamilton it involved GO Urban. To Waterloo Region’s great credit, they rejected various technologies that involved elevated guideways as being unsuitable for the type of service they proposed and the physical impact an elevated would have on the city. Let’s see where Hamilton goes on this.
The Airport
Last but not least is the connection from Union Station to Lester B. Pearson Airport. Although the announcement does not say this explicitly, this is not Blue 22, and that scheme is now dead. The airport service will be run as a branch of GO Transit although access to the airport will be an interesting bit of construction.
This is another situation where the GTTA can fine-tune MoveOntario’s schemes.
- If GO Rail will enter the airport, then service should be provided not just to Union, but to the CP North Toronto line and east to Agincourt and beyond. This will provide a truly regional access to the airport far superior to a Union Station shuttle.
- The Eglinton West LRT must have a branch north into the airport. This will provide a connection for local travellers in west central Toronto.
- The Finch West LRT must make a good connection with the airport service.
Conclusion
MoveOntario is a huge plan to reshape transit in southern Ontario and it shows the magnitude of commitment and spending needed to begin the move to a transit-focussed transportation system. I say “begin” because this network, large though it is, does not address all of the travelling needs of the region especially the relatively poor local services in the 905 systems. Unless we have some way to magically transport people to the many new regional lines, we will have GO’s problem of providing parking lots at an unimaginable scale.
Transit systems should not have provision of parking as their first goal, and only with good local feeder services can a network of regional services, whatever their technology, succeed.
We also must have serious discussions about fare structures. With SuperGo, we will have something approaching a subway in the Lakeshore corridor, and the overall network will have a mix of local and express services. How do we charge people to use this network? What is the appropriate level of subsidy? Do we sell in bulk with monthly passes, or do we construct a byzantine zone or distance-based structure that penalizes people for using transit more?
With MoveOntario, Queen’s Park has shown a strong desire to get back into transit funding and to change the way people travel around the GTA. Ottawa should come on board, but we will have to wait for another day (or maybe another election) to see where they stand.
I still don’t quite believe that I am sitting here with a massive plan for rail transit including LRT on my desk. I hope that Queen’s Park really understand that the modes they are supporting: commuter rail, BRT and LRT show that there is a range of options that can provide transit improvements at reasonable cost. Each mode has its place, and we don’t have to go hunting for transit’s “missing link”.
Thirty-five years of lost momentum, lost opportunities for transit growth are over.
Now, we build.
Steve Munro 
I think that the concept of extending the Yonge line up to 7 is long overdue and a fantastic initiative. What I think should take precedence though is to connect Yonge/Sheppard with Downsview Station. If our lines were laid out like a grid (#) commuting would be forever enhanced.
Another full East/West line (like Bloor) is desperately needed. I think at this point one running under Steels would be ideal
LikeLike
A Few truly good points and some alright ones:
Very Good:
Electrification of the Lakeshore Line!!! That would truly be a very competitive alternate to the long highway that parallels it (401, (diagonal section missing but would have been scarborough expressway), Gardiner, and QEW)
Also the government is actually embracing the TransitCity proposal only after a few months of it being released….that i must say, is the fastest acceptance of a proposal seen.
Problem: No 407 Transitway Construction unlike the John Tory Plan. I find that the Transitway would truly benefit the 905 (where i am from). Also anything outlined in here would only be implemented AFTER the election!
Best point here is: 2/3 payed by Provincial, 1/3 pending from Federal. That means cities are relieved of financial burdens….
If this works out as planned, Toronto wouldnt even need toll highways, this is enough transit to “MoveOntario” and get lots of people out of cars…
Also, if the 1/3 does not come from the federal government, it can be taken from very cheap (2 cents a km) tolls and maybe some municipal resources.
Again, greatest point here is the provincial commitment to 2/3 of the $17.5 Billion Plan!
LikeLike
I realize it’s a bunch of election carrots, which will likely be unfulfilled. However, it’s nice to see that the guantlet’s been thrown down for Mr. (I’m a Bill Davis Tory) Tory to respond to.
I’m impressed that there are cross-town GO Routes that won’t go to Union, plus that Transit City has been embraced.
Reading the comment section off the globe (link from Transit Toronto) – those who seem to be bitching the most are likely those in their SUVs stuck in gridlock on the QEW, 401 or DVP.
LikeLike
Steve,
For the second time this year (Transit City being the first) we have clear and irrefutable evidence that you and your transitistas have changed the way transportation is thought about in Ontario.
Now, lets push through the implementation.
Electrified GO! Huge Light Rail Networks! I might cry.
Gord
Steve replies: Gord, I know it’s Friday afternoon, but we expect moderation in the Councillors of our fair city! Try to set an example of restrained enthusiasm.
“Transitistas” eh? Does this mean people will wear T-shirts with my picture on them in 30 years?
Now if only we can make the Queen and King streetcars run with reliable, good service.
LikeLike
Having seen us been burned so many times before over so many decades, I will only believe it when I see it in place. Otherwise, I fear what we see in the next decade or so will be no different than what we see now–except worse.
LikeLike
I rather doubt all this will ever happen, too many times there have been promises of huge transit projects that simply faded away. Remember GO ALRT?
That said, the apparent death of Blue 22 is the best news. This was a poorly thought out project that should never have been entertained in the first place.
As for electrification of the GO Lakeshore rail line, this too has been proposed in the past only to fade away due to the high initial costs. It may well be worthwhile now. Hybrid locomotives have recently came into being. These are dual power electric-diesel locomotives that can draw hydro-electric power and also change to diesel to extend operation beyond the dense traffic area. e.g. electric Oshawa to Burlington for all trains, then diesel beyond to Hamilton for a lesser number of trains. In addition, in the rare event of hydro failure the trains will not be marooned.
One thing is for sure, public transit must be improved, you simply cannot keep build more roads.
LikeLike
Finally, a GO rail line to Bolton. I asked for this over 5 years ago. Looks like Mrs. Soggy is getting light rail as well — who would have thunk it? And electrification of GO — didn’t I say this was overdue in a post two months ago?
What is Hamilton getting? A couple of subways?
Steve must be giddy right now — he got everything he wished for, except a subway under Queen.
Steve: I have not yet received any news about a siding from Broadview Station or my private car for inspection tours of the grand network, and am feeling mildly miffed!
LikeLike
C’mon, Mr. Munro, digest the news faster! There are a lot of people who respect your expertise and want to hear your opinion. There are a lot of interesting non-political questions raised (i.e not about the trustworthiness of McGuinty, but the utility & cost of the proposals).
Some that come to mind, and that I’ve read from comments on news websites include: why isn’t the GO being extended to Niagara Falls; why there’ll be an extension of the Yonge line past Finch but nothing into the ‘sauga; how the RT ‘extension’ to Sheppard will actually work; how will the TTC deal with the increased operating costs?
I’m not saying these are all valid criticisms/flaws of the proposal, just that they are questions that deserve explanation, even if that means refutation.
And indeed, a lot of the complaints seem to be coming from anti-transit people, in the suburbs or elsewhere, rather than those who think there are better ways to deliver transit…
Steve: Note that this comment was posted before my very long remarks on the announcement, and I am replying after they went online.
As you can see from its length, thinking and writing about MoveOntario took some time, and there are questions I have not addressed. I will take a quick swing at the points here:
First, I do this in my spare time (although I am a very fast writer). When I saw the magnitude of the announcement early today, I knew this wasn’t something to be covered in 15 minutes. Leave that to the scribes who have news deadlines. People will come and read my thoughts (not mention adding their own) soon enough.
Yes, McGuinty is really going out on a limb. As I said, telling us in November after the election that we cannot afford it after all is simply not an option. When you make this big an announcement, you are going to make it happen. Conversely, if it isn’t going ahead, there’s this little subway in Vaughan he needs to reconsider.
GO to Niagara Falls? I don’t think that’s really appropriate for this plan. If eventually we see something in the Hamilton region it might logically grow into the Niagara area. You ask about the Falls, but what about KW which would be a logical GO extension on the Georgetown line (although I would love to see GO trains trundling down the middle of Railway Street in Guelph). Guelph is more a part of the GTA commutershed than Niagara.
Subway to the north but not to the west? Simple. The demand to the west is dispersed and isn’t all going to Kipling. The demand on Yonge is within LRT capabilities, but with some difficulty, and extending the subway line addresses several operational issues both above and below ground. Just look at the number of buses at Finch compared with Kipling. I think that answers your question.
We should not go back to the bad days of “everyone gets a subway” like spoiled children who all want the same toy.
The RT extension? We shall see. This might self-destruct once the cost estimates come in, although I am sure that Bombardier will be twisting arms to avoid the ignomy of having the original sample RT line dismantled. So much for future sales if that happens.
Operating costs? Yes, this needs to be answered. It is a huge problem not just for the TTC, but for GO and all of the regional systems in the 905.
LikeLike
Oh boy, so many promises in just one day.
I realize that I have not been around as long as others, being only in my 20s, but I must still say that what this announcement amounts to is just empty promises. I recall Mr. Munro stating somewhere in this web blog that at one point David Peterson was promising a subway in every pot in the 1990 provincial election (of course I cannot remember this election as I was only seven at the time). At the end of the day, something will get built, though it could be piecemeal and it may not turn out as we would hope(although a part of me really hopes that I’m wrong).
LikeLike
Steve wrote “Does this mean people will wear T-shirts with my picture on them in 30 years?”
Why wait 30 years? Let’s have them made now. Steve’s look’s not likely to change over the next 30 years… 🙂
Steve: There is a painting aging somewhere …
LikeLike
Where are the Swan Boats down the Don????
Steve: Some concepts are ahead of their time.
LikeLike
Death of Blue 22? I see no stake, no garlic, no silver bullets.
Crosstown GO – wow. New GO lines in NE/NW GTA – stunning. Electrification of Lakeshore – bring it ON.
No plan for better intercity heavy rail west of Georgetown – a pity.
In some ways I’d send back some of the 2/3 funding in exchange for the province assuming their downloaded and unfunded mandates but we can always hope for both. After McGuinty’s offer of money to a billionaire looking to bring an NHL team to Hamilton I despaired of Ontario – today I have some hope. The plan must proceed with or without the feds and thus shame them into paying into this vision.
LikeLike
I’m surprised that so many are cynical about the chances of it happening. Hasn’t Mr. McGuinty kept every one of his election promises? 🙂
Seriously, though, this is clearly a pre-election bundle of goodies for Toronto, but that doesn’t change the fact that for the first time, public discourse at the provincial level has admitted that transit improvements of this order of magnitude are required. That alone is a significant step forward, and will help make it easier to ensure that these plans (or at least, most of them) come to fruition.
LikeLike
It would have been so much more gratifying if this was announced on a GTTA website – but no, it’s plastered on the Premier’s personal government-provided soapbox website. That’s what makes me hesitate in embracing this as really good news, because it doesn’t even pretend to be anything other than electioneering. This is a bonus being GIVEN to us by the munificent Mr. Dalton, rather than OUR government providing service to us as we should be demanding from our own money.
Aside from that, it’s exciting as an idea – everything everyone’s asking for, essentially. though I am a little confused on 3 seperate announcements for Yonge-north-of-Finch: a busway, VIVA, and a subway. I suppose these are phases?
Steve: I think Rob MacIsaac has not learned where the “on” switch is on his PC yet. The total absence of a web presence for the GTTA shows just how irrelevant this so-called organization is. I could be really cynical and say that MoveOntario came out of McGuinty’s office just like Transit City came out of the Mayor’s office out of frustration with inaction in other quarters.
As for the phases, you will see in my inventory the many bits and pieces have been consolidated. Maybe Dalton likes the number 52, although “42” has more significance on a cosmic scale.
LikeLike
I suspect very little will get built as it appears dependent on federal funding. It sure looks pretty on a map though.
LikeLike
Hi Steve:-
IF it happens, we’ll be getting the good with the bad, for excepting any subway North of Steeles, it’s a winner of an idea. Although I think I’ve come up with the ideal way for any subway extension North of Steeles to be handled, thus making it all good for the 416/647ers. These ideas are caused by having read the TTC report of what another 2% increase in ridership does to the shredding purse. We can’t afford to fully support across border riders too (as another recent report on how to fund the operation of the Spadina extension to the VCC unwisely suggested we should)!
Unless; 905 pays for rent of the subway cars per mile of use N. of Steeles, thus they would be directly contributing to the operating costs incurred for the maintenance of same, for they are TTC’s. 905 pays the wages + benefits of course, of the crews while the trains are up there. 905 maintains every inch of the row and station facilities north of Steeles. 905 receives all fares paid in their fareboxes, south of Steeles we’ll keep all of ours. 905 will have their own substations to supply their own traction power. Except for train crews and 99’s, all staff in 905 will be 905 employees. They’d probably have to be a branch of ATU 113. This is with the given that the Province and the Feds will be footing the total of the capital costs.
The only downsides that are readily apparent are if the trains start coming across the border at 1 1/2 minute headways already full, for what can be done with them, because I really doubt anyone has thought of the limited capacity a two track subway can provide? If the 17 and change billion includes increasing capacity (3 or 4 tracking the existing Yonge Line), I’ll have absolutely no qualms about the projects planned for North of Steeles which are intended to connect end on. (Except, as with you Steve, I’ll still question the value we as provincial taxpayers will not be getting for our transit dollar when that dollar is spent on a subway) The other downside is the loss of SB revenue. Without full trains, not a big deal when one considers the nightmare of equalizing the amount paid for the length of ride. Once full trains start coming down, then it might be an issue, although even then the logistics required of dealing with it versus just ignoring the imbalance is certainly less problematic and probably revenue neutral!
I sure do like the idea that the 2020 plan is not intending to require any money out of the TO coffers. Will Mr. Harper or his replacement actually jump on board, or is that idea merely ‘Dalton’s DayDream’. And if the feds do get on board will it be more federal Trudeaulike lip service to city transit, or real support? With all of this asked and said, I guess we just have to wait and see if this is a carrot for the election and therefore another one for The Toronto Sun’s list of Fiberal promises or hope above hope, a real steel and concrete recognition of what we all need, 905 and 416.
Steve: Those many GO Rail improvements to the north will drain riders who would otherwise flood the Yonge line. Also, the extension will allow the headway to be cut below 2’10” as discussed elsewhere on this site. Between that and the 7-car trains there is some residual capacity to be found.
LikeLike
Not only is Yonge getting a subway to Highway 7, but also rapid transit on the surface from Finch northwards!
I presume that was a typo. If not, may I request the surface RT continue to Sheppard, too?
Steve: No it’s not. The situation with buses north of Finch is a mess today and will get worse long before the subway reaches Highway 7. All the BRT is doing is taking a reserved lane for the buses away from the road. Once the subway is extended, the number of buses below Steeles will drop, although I hope not quite to Sheppard-east-of-Yonge levels.
LikeLike
I think the only thing that might indicate how serious McGuinty is is the old “Fiberal” label and how the charges of broken promises have stuck. In his platform, Tory promises very little of specifics, maybe if only to avoid the same problem. If McGuinty wasn’t serious, he wouldn’t make this grand announcement with specific projects so close to the election, he’d make references to much more vague “visions”.
One thing that makes curious is the timing – a Friday afternoon in June. Usually bad news is delivered on a Friday in political and corporate circles to get the least attention, though the buzz is all over nevertheless.
But every GTA municipality got what it wanted and bothered to write it down, even if it was on a napkin. Mississauga said that they wanted a Hurontario LRT, so they get it, plus a Dundas line to boot. Brampton said they’d like to get into a shared LRT corridor along with Acceleride, so the Mississauga LRT goes to downtown Brampton. Durham has long-term plans for “rapid transit” on Highway 2, so it’s on there. VIVA II, Yonge to Highway 7 Subway (though this will have problems with adding to overcrowding without a DRL, which isn’t on the table yet). Toronto made a splash about Transit City, so they’re getting just about everything from that plan (but nothing about a SRT replacement).
Everything from GO’s 2001 “GO to the Future” plan is on there too.
(If only Toronto recommenced the study on a DRL – we might have got that too!)
I’m a bit cynical, but there’s also some enthusiasm on my end too.
LikeLike
Steve said: “Does this mean people will wear T-shirts with my picture on them in 30 years?”
Steve, send me a picture, and I’ll make up the shirt and wear it *now*.
LikeLike
Now that there is a regional transit authority, shouldn’t this type of announcement have come from the GTTA? There’s a big glaring asterisk at the bottom of the government’s web page saying this is all “subject to approval by the GTTA.”
Hunh?
Shouldn’t this be the first big splashy announcement for the GTTA, with an asterisk at the bottom of THEIR news release saying “subject to funding approval…” ?
But then again, it’s a helluva lotta money for a helluva lotta transit, (mostly playing catch up) so does it matter? The answer is: it’s an election year, so yes, it does.
I don’t think this bodes well for how much authority the GTTA will have. They still have no website, no budget, no strategy. This would have been a great start, a great launch.
Maybe we should just call them the GTT. They can probably save money by recycling and photoshopping old TTC signs and letterhead.
But wow, that’s a helluva lotta transit.
Steve: See my comments about the GTTA a little above this one. I believe that this announcement has destroyed their credibility. Rob MacIsaac has been doing a rather pedestrian road show, and the same road show, for months that gave no inkling anyone planned a major transit network and funding. The GTTA has no website and nothing much to do, and now its network has been dropped out of the sky by the Premier.
Maybe it has finally dawned on Queen’s Park that amalgamation of the transit system boards is nowhere near as important as actually having money and a plan.
LikeLike
Extending the subway to Hwy 7 would only require one other station to be built, the one ending at Hwy 7. I live in Richmond Hill and take the Viva regularly downtown. After Viva passes Hwy 7 heading south it needs only to stop about twice to pick up five people at Royal Orchard and Clark. This would be the most useless subway. Okay there would be two stops, Steeles and Hwy 7.
Steve: Extending the subway will:
get rid of a huge and growing problem of bus congestion on Yonge and at Finch Station
reduce or eliminate the need to convert the VIVA Yonge Street service to LRT as projected by York Region’s demand studies of that corridor
allow the implementation of two separate turnback points at Finch (or Steeles) and at Hwy 7 which would, in turn, allow reduction of the headway below 2’10” on the Yonge line
LikeLike
It’s good to see Premier McGuinty has figured out (or has always known) that the best solution to gridlock is Transit. Hopefully BC Premier, Gordon Campbell and Calgary Mayor, Dave Bronconnier, will be able to figure that out.
I like this 17.5 billion just for transit. Even though this looks like an electoral promise, since this is over a 10 year period, I think it does sound like a workable promise. If Ontario’s economy continues to grow over the next few years, Ontario will be posting much larger surpluses. This should allow the province to pay for this promise.
Calgary was recently snubbed by the province when they decided to shift funding for the West and SE LRT to freeways in Fort McMurry and Grand Prairie. Steve, we could you use working out here in Calgary. Then again, Calgary Elbow Residents sent the right message by voting Liberal last week.
Maybe competition will smarten up our politicians.
I do have two questions:
When will Transit City see any of this money?
How long would it take to see some of these lines operating?
Steve: The announced intention of this plan is to be 2/3 complete by 2015, and 95% complete by 2020. 5 percent of 52 projects is less than 3. Preliminary schedules for the Sheppard East and Finch West LRT lines (the only two the TTC has published anything for to date) show service beginning in 2014. After yesterday’s annoncement, Adam Giambrone was quoted as saying that work on Transit City can be accelerated. This, I presume, is based on knowing we have funding and don’t have to build a few years’ lobbying time into the schedule before serious work begins.
Environmental Assessments under the new rules will take roughly a year followed by detailed design. This implies a construction start of late 2009 or early 2010. The real problem will be the balancing act of which projects get funded when over the next 13 years. Given the lead times for anything, serious spending will not start for a few years and most of the program will be concentrated in a decade.
LikeLike
A couple of other thoughts occurred to me while I was dreaming last night that I was waiting for a train to the Airport at Summerhill station.
now that the idea of relieving municipalities of capital costs is out there, it would be political suicide for it to be taken back by the Liberals or any other power
isn’t it also time to get serious about “patriating” the Scarborough RT line into the rest of the LRT network? Do you know when we can expect to re-re-revised version of the what-to-with-the-Scarborough-RT report
(I actually dreamed last night that I was waiting for a train to the Airport at Summerhill Station.)
Steve: The RT extension is explicitly mentioned as a project in the Premier’s announcement, and I believe that there is some background lobbying by Bombardier to ensure that this technology is not abandoned by Toronto as this would not look good for their marketing efforts.
I agree that the RT should be replaced and feel that the TTC has gone out of its way to portray the cost and complexity of an LRT replacement in an unfavourable light. However, now that none of the cost will be borne by Toronto Council, there is no incentive for a debate at that level about technology alternatives even if the detailed cost estimates turn out to be higher than expected.
As for Summerhill Station, I slept soundly.
LikeLike
The MoveOntario 2020 is true stunner, great news for GTA transit… they got so much right judging by the overwhelmingly positive comments in today’s G&M:
“Not surprisingly, cities around the GTA were ecstatic about a plan that promises to improve pubic transit, create thousands of new jobs and reduce gridlock. One press release lauded it as ‘the boldest most visionary development in the GTA.’ ”
Toronto Mayor David Miller: “…was ecstatic.”, “It’s extraordinary…”, “I can’t think of any better news for Torontonians.”
CUTA President Michael Roschlau: “…hailed the announcement as unprecedented.”, “In my view this such (sic) a bold visionary commitment, it has the potential to transform the GTA in allowing public transit to really make a difference.”
Mississauga Mayor Hazel MaCallion: “…had nothing but praise…”, “This announcement today is going to create jobs, unlimited jobs. It is going to be a huge boost to our economy.”
TTC Chair Adam Giambrone: “It’s jaw-dropping.”, “It’s incredibly good news for Toronto.”
Janes Jacobs Award Winner & 35 Year Transit Advocate Steve Munro: “Gaaaaaaaaaa…”
Ok… just kidding on last comment… I’m sure Steve is on Cloud 9, well-deserved after 35 years of tireless, apolitical transit/TTC advocacy. 😛
Steve: Me lost for words? It feels like I (and many others) have been pushing a big rock uphill for years and suddenly, unexpectedly, it has just rolled over the crest and is bounding down the other side. Everyone who has been part of transit advocacy for the past decades has a share in this.
LikeLike
In order to be a true transitista with your image on a T-shirt, I fear, alas, that you have to die a heroic death for the transit cause and become a transit immortal. Of course, we don’t want that to happen– yet ;);)–but imagine the possibilities for marketing: t-shirts, mugs, flags, LRT Stations named after you, why, even a whole swan line in your name. And, dare I say it, and opera about your life. Now, who would we get to sing your role, and what would it be: tenor, bass, baritone, rapper even?
Steve: Possibly I have been reborn and don’t know, yet, that I am living in an alternative reality.
As for LRT stations, we have to be reasonable to avoid confusing travellers. After we exhaust the possibilities of Steve North, Steve South, Steve’s Garden, Steve’s Circle, Steve’s Mews it might be time to let someone else get their name on a plaque. I am modest.
As for opera, there is no question: My natural voice is a tenor, but I can do a mean counter-tenor under the right circumstances. As for style, Gilbert and Sullivan it must be. The swan boats will fit right in.
LikeLike
>>>Dennis Rankin & Jane Re; Yonge Subway Extension North to Hwy 7.
I look at this Yonge North subway extension part of the announcement very positively, having lived in Markham/Vaughan/North York the past 26 years with the Finch subway my local bus terminal to express to/from downtown.
If anything the Yonge North subway should have been prioritized ahead of the YorkU/VCC subway extension, but there was no university or Cabinet Minister to lobby for it. I can now afford to be magnanimous and forgive! 😛
Why is the Yonge North subway extension important? Well, Yonge street marks the divide for East~West transit routes for not only the TTC (Steeles East & West) but YRT local & ViVA buses too.
All TTC routes but one (trivia challenge) link with the TTC’s subway lines. On Yonge many of them travel down Yonge to either the TTC Finch or YRT/GO Regional bus terminals, creating bus gridlock at times on both Yonge itself and around the terminals (that will overwhelm the proposed Yonge Finch~Steeles bus right-of-way as Steve mentions above.)
MTO/Toronto Transportation recently reported that for the first time, the vehicular traffic in the morning rush, NORTHbound of Steeles is equal to the SOUTHbound traffic. With the subway extended north to Hwy 7 it can act as both a collector for southbound traffic from 905, but importantly, also as a distributor of northbound traffic from 416 to YRT/ViVA lines both east & west of Yonge Street—just as the subway performs now for TTC routes.
This will truly enable GTA transit trips, by making them cheaper, faster and more convenient than the car… assuming the GTTA removes the punitive 100% fare premium for crossing Steeles Avenue on transit. Both Transit City and MoveOntario 2020 are visionary “plans” that must now be fine-tuned in the EA/Engineering & Design phases prior to building them.
GTTA Chair Rob MacIssac is quoted today as saying they must now be subjected to “rigour”, i.e. financial discipline… to build the lines in priority to get biggest ridership bang for each buck.
All in all the GTTA has a delightful dilemma, an abundance of riches: transit projects proposed by the municipalities, rather than projects and technologies imposed by Queen’s Park.
LikeLike
This funding announcement from McGuinty really out did every expectation I had for transit in Toronto. I had taken the day off and attended the TTC meeting on Wed. June 13/07, as I do every month, and listened to a councillor, I can’t recall who, state that “other cities are looking toward Toronto on how to address their own transit plans”. This was in relation to a meeting a few months ago when the Transit City plan was unveiled. At Wednesday’s meeting I thought that it was OK for cities to look at Toronto but I never thought Transit City was going to get the funding this quickly for these much needed light rail lines. And as a bonus all these extra funds for a much needed Yonge extension and all these other plans as well.
For this transit lover it is like hitting the lottery jackpot. This announcement definitly will affect my vote.
LikeLike
Assuming the province actually does pony up it’s share (say $12 billion), could the GTA municipalities pull off the 1/3 share if financed over a long enough period?
Steve: I am not sure about the folks in the 905, but Toronto has the “revenue tools” necessary to fund Transit City on its own if push comes to shove. This would be paid mainly out of current revenues rather than financing over the long term. The city has an ongoing need to spend on transit and all that borrowing does is build up a mountain of debt and interest. Any borrowing should be short term to cover hills and valleys in cash flow, not as long term project financing.
Queen’s Park is stretching out their share although a fifty year amortization seems longer than necessary. I suspect that this will actually be structure to give the flexibility of changing the current:debt ratio as we go along, and possibly to paying down the debt early when we can afford it.
LikeLike
My only problem with your analysis, is your underlying assumption that you have to create traffic and be anti-car in order to have a good transit system. That’s like saying “I’m pro vegetable, and that’s why we need to force kids to eat them”. Rather then forcing people on transit, the answer should be to make transit easier to ride, anyone who thinks any less is, IMO, not anti-car, but anti-transit.
Steve: I don’t know where you got that idea. I have always argued that a huge impediment to increased transit use is the quality of service. Indeed, I believe that the TTC has taken the easy, lazy road of saying “we can’t make it better without total segregation from cars” rather than looking at routes in detail to see what works for specific neighbourhoods and periods of operation. We know they will never actually get those rights-of-way, and so the claim is that they can’t run good service no matter what. Never mind that they don’t run reliable service even on routes and days where there is no traffic congestion.
Some places deserve some form of transit priority, but a lot of places just deserve more and better-managed services.
Having said all of that, when we reach the point where there are only “n” lanes of traffic space available, we have to decide what they are for: car moving, cars parking or transit. If we make the transit better, we are in a stronger position to start taking capacity away from cars.
LikeLike
Steve,
What can you tell me about the means I’ve heard that the province is contemplating to fund all of this. I’ve heard vague reports that the province intends to raise the money over a period of 50 years.
This suggests to me a bond issue, providing the $12 billion immediately and paying it off over 50 years.
This makes a lot of sense to me, if we believe that these projects are needed to prevent congestion from choking the GTA and will help grow the economy over the next fifty years. This is the sort of thing investments are made from, and it makes sense that the province would try to raise the $12 billion in one go, rather than requiring the individual cities to raise their $6 billion individually.
Steve: One of the backgrounders on the Premier’s site shows the financing being spread over 50 years. I suspect that this is a combination of debt and capital-from-current financing.
LikeLike
As usual, this blog is a must-read before preparing stories.
I was in Union subway station on Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the Liberals were to show they can see straight on transit issues. After shopping for an official TTC t-shirt in anticipation of my brother’s upcoming birthday, I saw another shirt in the back of the store. It has an icon of a subway car (as seen on newer TTC directional signage) and on the back says “TO TRAINS” with the TTC logo.
A tad over-the-top, but I bought it anyway. Now I consider it a charm.
The province kept this 2020 plan very quiet — staff transport planners and high-level consultants were supposed to have been working on some sort of “southern Ontario transport plan,” but such a process was not making it into public discourse. MTO recently announced/re-announced HOV lane widenings and several highway extensions, including the 407 through Durham. Many were led to believe that responsibility for devising the transit plan had passed to the GTTA.
Only three weeks ago MTO minister Donna Cansfield indicated that the Liberals might go into the election on the strength of what they had already done; HOV lanes, the Vaughan thing and other assorted odds and ends. She did not appear concerned about the possibility that this might be too little to deal with both gridlock and voter frustration.
I couldn’t believe how they just did not get it … or maybe I had been misjudging how big an issue mobility is in 905 ridings…
Then earlier this week the media seized on the transport-related aspects of John Tory’s opening election salvo, just after the PC party released its book of campaign ‘ideas’. The transit points were rather vague, so it was hard to tell if they had any better grip on the challenge.
Only two GO meetings ago, staff were recorded as informing the board that “the current level of capital funding is satisfactory.” …???! Perhaps they were just referring to the punctuality with which Queen’s Park was sending checks for GO TRIP — that is, rail projects already in the pipeline…
At the last GTTA meeting, Toronto councillor and chair of the city’s planning committee Brian Ashton brought up the issue of electrifying GO lines. As I mentioned over at transit-toronto, he appeared to couch his comments semi-apologetically (as if he anticipated criticism for being unrealistic and premature), suggesting that we ‘at least have to look at it.’
Somehow, throughout all this, the premier’s office got the message that efforts and expenditures of a much greater magnitude are necessary to deal with GTA mobility. And this magnum opus is likely extravagant enough to enthrall municipal leaders at the GTTA — who appear to have been bypassed in the process, and surprised at their wishlists being so fulsomely granted.
I’ll write on the plan for Tuesday’s paper, but I have one thought that keeps coming back to me, regarding the subway extensions and complications around who’s responsible for what.
>I haven’t digested the recent TTC report on running trains along the Vaughan ploy, but is it possible that subway ownership could be transferred — i.e. operations as well as capital funding would be taken over?
LikeLike
The Provincial announcement certainly is a big step forward but, as you say, it will be interesting to see how the, so far, silent GTTA deals with it all. If they have yet to get a website organised – even just to list the names of its members – I must say I wonder if they are up to the job.
There certainly is a lot of work to do in setting priorities, tweaking proposals and getting the various transit bodies to work together.
As you note above, there also needs to be some clarity on the funding of transit projects which are more advanced and not among the ‘McGinty 52’. The West Don Lands, East Bayfront (and Portlands) LRT projects now in the EA process and the York University subway extension in particular. Are they too to get 66% provincial funding?
There is also the issue of how the new streetcars, buses and subway trains needed as replacements and to run on these new lines are to be paid for and whether municipalities will be left to fully support ongoing operations. The GTTA will certainly need to ‘get its act together’ very soon. Rob MacIsaac where are you?
PS. Sign me up for an XL Steve Munro T-shirt – I want the one with you piloting a Swan Boat dressed as (the model of) a Modern Major-General! :->
Steve: Please sir! Swan boats are the preserve of our Naval Division and I shall be First Lord of the Admiralty. Either that or a Pirate King with a black swan! For the Wagnerites, we will have to print souvenir timetables.
LikeLike
It takes a lot for politicians to surprise me (and it usually in disappointment). But this was a great surprise.
The most important thing this announcement does is create a sense of inevitability or momentum that will be difficult to overcome. By moving the goalposts this far forward, the nature of the political debate has changed (for the better). Indeed, the best thing that could happen is that this becomes the *minimum* or jumping off point, with other political parties vying to top it.
LikeLike
Is it possible that Miller and the city hall staffers knew this was coming when they released the Transit City proposal? Perhaps they got a heads-up from Queen’s Park to come up with a plan that could be included in the announcement?
Steve: I am reliably informed that the Miller folks had no inkling that this was coming. However, part of the Transit City strategy was, as I said in the main post, to have something concrete on the table in case some money fell out of the sky. These things tend to happen at election time, and it’s a lot easier for a Premier or Prime Minister to buy into a plan everyone already knows and likes than to invent one out of the air. Other premiers have gone that route and failed miserably.
LikeLike
As stated in my earlier post I had attended the June 13/07 TTC council meeting and they discussed, and I picked up a printed copy of the new Transit City plans, this was before the provincial funding for many transit plans were announced. This report states that the first streetcar Right of Way to start construction would be the Finch West Line, the second streetcar ROW to be built would be the Sheppard East line.
I know this is kind of early but the details should be hammered out. I think the Sheppard line should be extended as far as Kennedy/Sheppard/Agincourt and then the Sheppard Streetcar ROW could start from Kennedy instead of the Don Mills Station. The Sheppard line needs to be extended eventually to Scarborough Center anyways, so why not kill two birds with one stone.
The Yonge Line is getting a much needed extension and I would like to see the Sheppard Line gets some of this investment as well. The Don Mills station will still be serviced by the Don Mills streetcar but not the Sheppard East streetcar.
Steve: You are wrong on the last point. One of the design issues for Sheppard East is how it will be integrated with Don Mills Station for a simple transfer to both the subway and to the Don Mills LRT. The report states that the design work to date dealt with fitting the line into the street right-of-way, and that the Don Mills Station design was yet to come.
As for extending the subway, no, I don’t agree. It was a mistake to build it and it will be a bigger mistake to extend it.
LikeLike
Steve,
Thank you so much for continuing to blog here. Your commentary here is always enlightening, and I always read what you post as soon as I notice it pop up in my RSS reader. Thanks again for your hard work.
Steve: You’re very welcome.
When an issue this big comes up, I get deluged with comments, and they take a while to edit (sometimes longer than writing the original posts), but it’s worthwhile because people get to read a variety of opinions. This process hones my own arguments because I have to address many issues in a very short period, and sometimes I adjust my outlook based on good feedback from readers.
Of course I will never give up on expanding the LRT network, and a city full of RT or subway is not going to get any sympathy from me. If someone thinks that we can solve all of our problems with those modes, or with diesel MU rail equipment, I will print their comments up to a point if only to provide debating points.
In the middle of all this, I do manage to have other interests that keep me saner than endless evenings at the computer screen ever could.
LikeLike
I wonder what the TTC has to say about extending the Yonge line north. This was not part of their plan because of capacity constraints. Even with the new trains and resignalling, I wouldn’t want to be a Yonge passenger trying to get on at Eglinton or a BD transferee when this extension opens. Everyone from Richmond Hill will choose the subway over GO. A — it’s cheaper. B — it runs every 2 minutes. These two extensions combined could spell a lot of trouble for BD passengers trying to get downtown.
I’m beginning to think the TTC is kicking themselves. They got everything they asked for. So, they’re probably thinking, we should have asked for more, like some kind of downtown relief subway line.
Steve: For a short comment, there are many responses.
First, any future choice of route downtown will depend on the fare structure in effect at that time. We should not assume that today’s arrangements are frozen in amber.
Second, the service to Highway 7 will not run every two minutes. One important issue with the extension is to split the turnbacks to allow more frequent service south of the merge point once we have automatic train control. I have written at length on the timing constraints of existing termini and am not going to reprise that material here.
Third, Transit City was not a TTC plan although they contributed to its presentation. It was hatched out of the offices of the Mayor and Councillor Giambrone. An important point in its design was that it not get larded down with every subway line someone has ever wanted to build. Once before, with the original RGS, the subway fraternity highjacked a plan for low-cost, short-term improvements by forcing the addition of the Spadina and Sheppard extensions into RGS. They were actually afraid that the momentum to build subways would stop if this didn’t happen. Transit City is an LRT plan. Period.
We can debate the issue of a downtown relief line, but this must in the context of several changes that will affect the distribution of ridership including the improved GO service to Richmond Hill, the new GO service to Agincourt and other pending changes. Collectively, these will skim off riders who would otherwise use the subway.
I agree that the Don Mills line should not stop at Bloor, and there is considerable debate about the route it might take. That’s what the process of review and design is for — to find the alternatives, to look at how this network will fit together. We will not be building everything on Dalton’s map exactly as it is drawn.
LikeLike
Steve,
With LRT routes planned for a variety of Ontario juristictions, do you suspect/worry that the province will impose province-wide vehicle/guage standardization?
I have suspicions, given the jobs rhetoric accompanying the announcement, that we should add Thunder Bay to the list of municipalities that should be celebrating.
Steve: Yes, Thunder Bay should celebrate, although most of the jobs will be in design and construction, not vehicle manufacture. It’s reasonable to expect that Bombardier has a leg up on vehicles for Toronto both as a matter of provincial policy and because they have a presence here that other manufacturers lack.
As for the gauge, I believe that this is a non-issue. The TTC system is not hugely different from railway gauge, and a family of vehicles could simply have trucks with different gauges. We are unlikely to interline services from Hamilton and KW with Toronto. As for the suburban Toronto lines plus Mississauge and Durham (and maybe eventually VIVA LRT), the real question is whether we should have two gauges or one, or even two separate sets of vehicles. The design question is much more complex than simply how far the tracks are apart. For example, if we use double-ended cars with pantographs for the suburban LRT network, then they are not going to run on the “city” system anyhow.
The trick is to decide where the city system ends and the suburban one begins.
LikeLike
Wow. This MoveOntario 2020 proposal is big. No, it’s beyond big. But it’s long past due. Бог знает, что Торонто заслуживало ёбаные везеные. Congratulations!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, those of us watching from The New Centre of the Universe™ are waiting with bated breath for our own premier, lovingly known hereabouts as Special Ed, to show the same degree of foresight in public transport planning for Calgary’s C-Train system. Here’s the challenge to the GTA from out West–“Get ‘er done!”
LikeLike
At first glance it sounds like a serious, comprehensive, integrated, regional plan. A couple quick thoughts:
Just what form is the enhanced GO service going to take? More of their doubledecker commuter trains or lighter stock? If it’s more of the same it will be mainly for the 905 commuters’ benefit as the trains will just blast through 416 ‘hoods on their way to the gleaming office towers without stopping.
Airport service – great! But Union would still be the better link for greatest intermodal integration.
Great work, Steve! Next challenge – getting TGV(?) happening on the Québec City-Windsor corridor and to NYC, Detroit, Chicago!
Steve: “Intermodal integration” is one of those great buzzwords that obscures the real issue here. People going to the airport come from all over Toronto, and generally are not making huge use of a train to airport transfer that a Union link will provide. We need to provide many ways to get to the airport so that people can use transit regardless of whether they are starting downtown or in the burbs.
LikeLike