Downtown relief line could make everything better for everyone (except Rob Ford)
One of the byproducts of the recent transit debates at city hall (aside from the planned light rail lines) is a discussion of a downtown relief line to ease crowding on the “close to bursting” Yonge subway. Despite the name, the line wouldn’t just be for elitist, latte-sipping downtowners—the Toronto Star reports that hordes of experts believe a DRL could better serve suburbanites than Rob Ford’s now-dead Sheppard subway, especially if it extends to Scarborough and Etobicoke. After all, many downtown residents live and work in their own neighbourhoods, while commuters from the suburbs have to cram themselves onto the Yonge subway every day. Still, experts acknowledge the line could be a hard sell given the downtown-versus-suburbs rift that the Ford brothers’ rhetoric has only fuelled. The University of Toronto’s Eric Miller thinks a new name could help—may we suggest the “Downtown-Suburban Harmony Line”? Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/subway-624x452.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_130508" align="alignright" width="320" caption="A blissful and uncrowded transit future? (Image: Jay Woodworth)"][/caption]
One of the byproducts of the recent transit debates at city hall (aside from the planned light rail lines) is a discussion of a downtown relief line to ease crowding on the “close to bursting” Yonge subway. Despite the name, the line wouldn’t just be for elitist, latte-sipping downtowners—the Toronto Star reports that hordes of experts believe a DRL could better serve suburbanites than Rob Ford’s now-dead Sheppard subway, especially if it extends to Scarborough and Etobicoke. After all, many downtown residents live and work in their own neighbourhoods, while commuters from the suburbs have to cram themselves onto the Yonge subway every day. Still, experts acknowledge the line could be a hard sell given the downtown-versus-suburbs rift that the Ford brothers’ rhetoric has only fuelled. The University of Toronto’s Eric Miller thinks a new name could help—may we suggest the “Downtown-Suburban Harmony Line”? Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »){kind=link}
This conversation is taking place 20 years too late.
Commuting downtown is unbearable, whether you are taking the streetcar or the subway. Starting your morning off by having your face stuck in someone’s armpit or getting hit in the head by a purse/backpack is not okay.
Why would any decent, hardworking, god-fearing suburbanite want to fund extra transit for those snob-hobbing, lattee-quaffing, hipster-hat doffing, slow-pedestrian-crossing, Rob Ford tell-offing DOWNTOWNERS.
The Suburbs Need a Subway Along Sheppard so residents can feel as loved as those wretched David Miller voters who already have lots of subways. It’s not about capacity, it’s about being fair to the suburbs.
And we need to get rid of streetcars and bike lanes so suburban commuters can drive vroom vroom down the road to their job at the new waterfront casino without any annoyances.
hey joe, i’m with you. how bout we use those subway tunneling machines to build tunnels under our current roads and put in more roads! like the holland tunnel in new york city we could go under-just think of the time on or under the dvp that could be saved. we could fit even more cars downtown. we could add an upper deck to the gardiner too.
Since when was the DRL ever supposed to enter Scarborough and Etobicoke? Pape-Overlea-Don Mills, the alignment in the east, is quite a distance away for most commuters through Scarborough to benefit from. The western leg likely would never venture north of Weston and Eglinton (Mount Dennis).
The DRL primarily benefits downtown and East York commuters, at the inner suburbs’ expense!
The Jane and Don Mills LRTs would either be a continuation or connections with the DRL.
JOE TORY: You gotta be kidding me right????? You assholes living in the burbs are ruining life for real Torontoians. Either move to the city or go work in fucking markham asshole. Im sick of suburban morons ruining city life for real Torontians. This is what the plan SHOULD have been. Instead the embarrassing mayor elected by suburban idiots who do not represent the core of the Toronto population wants to add more congestion to the Yonge line. pure stupidity.
Impeach Ford: Yes lets add more traffic, more cars, more pollutants to an already congested city. dum dums- arent we trying to REDUCE this??? Suburbs dont need subways. CITIES DO. Get rid of bike lanes??? um what? you probably had every damn light turned on during earth hour didnt you? why are you non-Torontoians even reading Toronto Life? you obviously dont know how to particpate in it? go back to walmart wouldya… some people have local businesses and communities to support.
Yo TT. “Impeach Ford” was joking, ya dummy.