Toronto LRT Information Blog

Updated June 18: The display boards are now available online. 

Updated June 12: I have added a route map of the study area to help clarify the description current transit service in the area.

I attended the Don Mills/Leslie LRT Project Public Consultation (PPC) meeting this evening (June 10). This was a first-round meeting where the initial concepts of the plan were being presented. There will be at least two other meetings, tentatively planned for October and December, as the plan develops as additional details (Transit City Don Mills LRT and the Highway 7 Rapidway) become available and public feedback from this meeting are considered.

While there were no signs outside the Hilton Garden Inn at Commerce Valley East and Highway 7, the parking lot was completely full. Given that this location is quite easily accessible by transit, and that says a lot for York Region, the full parking lot ought to have been an indicator of the mood inside. The room was rather small as well, which probably did not enhance the help.

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VIVA Next has announced a public consultation on an LRT project on Don Mills Road and Leslie Street from Steeles Avenue to Highway 7. There will be an open house from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm with presentation at 7:00 pm on Wednesday June 10, 2009. The location will be at the Hilton Garden Inn, 300 Commerce Valley Drive East, next to the eastbound East Beaver Creek VIVA stop.

Here is the background from this announcement:

In November 2008, Metrolinx adopted a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) called The Big Move: Transforming Transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The RTP identifies a Light Rail Transit (LRT) line in the Don Mills Road/Leslie Street corridor from the Bloor-Danforth Subway to Highway 7. The City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission are currently undertaking a transit planning study to define the LRT project along the Don Mills Road corridor from the Bloor-Danforth Subway to Steeles Avenue.

I will add that even though this site is dedicated to the promotion of LRT over Subway, it is my opinion that the section of Don Mills Road from Eglinton to the Bloor-Danforth Subway would be better served by a northern extension of a yet-to-be-built Downtown Relief Subway line, for a number of reasons I have outlined on this site.

Here is the details of the study for this announcement:

The purpose of our study is to undertake the transit planning and assessment for the LRT on Don Mills Road and Leslie Street from Steeles Avenue to Highway 7. The study will proceed in two phases. The first phase will involve defining the specific details of the transit project. The second phase will be the transit project assessment, which will be initiated this fall and will be conducted in accordance with the  Ministry of the Environment’s assessment process for transit projects, Ontario Regulation 231/08, Transit Projects and Greater Toronto Transportation Authority Undertakings (March 2009).

To obtain additional information or provide comments, please contact:

• Dale Albers, Chief Communications Officer
  York Region Transit Corp.
  1 West Pearce Street, 6th Floor
  Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3K3
  Tel: 905-886-6767  Fax: 905-886-6969
• Steve Mota, Project Manager, Infrastructure Planning
  The Regional Municipality of York
  17250 Yonge Street
  Newmarket, Ontario, L3Y 6Z1
  Tel: 905-764-6345 ext 5056  Fax: 905-895-0191
• Scott Thorburn, P.Eng, Consultant Project Manager
  URS Canada Inc.
  75 Commerce Valley Drive East
  Markham, Ontario, L3T 7N9
  Tel: 905-882-3534  Fax: 905-882-4399

Last week, a reader by the name of Jordan posted a comment on this blog announcing the new blog on the VivaNext site. In his comment, he did not identify himself as an employee of York Region Rapid Transit Corporation, but he did so in a similar comment he posted on Metronauts.

March 25 update: It took several days, but comments posted since March 20 finally appeared on the VivaNext blog. My comment even appeared without editing, so it appears to me that this is being run as an open forum for the sharing of ideas. I will continue to follow what is posted and will continue to add my own comments. I encourage others to do the same.

The Environmental Project Report for the Yonge Subway Extension has been completed and has been available for public review since February 2. The public has until March 4, 2009 to submit comments.

The document can be reviewed at the VIVA website and more information can be seen in this Notice of Completion.

Wonder of wonders, I actually received an invitation nine days before a YRT/VIVA event. Unfortunately, I am in Argentina until the end of the month (watch for the new LRT page on BsAs coming soon - that’s short for Buenos Aires, for those not familiar with the local nomenclature!). If there’s anything not already presented at previous open houses, I would appreciate it if you posted a comment here.

The first is the York Region meeting to be held on Wednesday November 26. Once again, it will be held at the Premier Ballroom and Convention Centre at 9019 Leslie Street (one block north of Highway 7) in Richmond Hill. According to their notice, there will be an open house on the Highway 7 Rapidway from 5 pm to 7 pm, an open house on the Yonge Subway Extension from 5 pm to 7 pm, and a presentation on the Yonge Subway Extension from 7 pm to 9 pm.

The second meeting will be in Toronto on Wednesday December 3,  at Mitchell Field Community Centre, 89 Church Avenue in North York. This meeting will only be for the Yonge Subway Extension with an open house from 5 pm to 7 pm and a presentation from 7 pm to 9 pm.