TTCriders.ca

Upcoming Community Consultations on the Eglinton Crosstown Plans

jskirkpatrick — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:34:50 +0000

If you live or work in the community where the Eglinton Crosstown line will be built, you might want attend one of these upcoming consultation meetings.

Community Consultation Meetings
Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown Planning Study

Thursday, May 17, 2012 Fairbank Memorial Community Centre
2213 Dufferin Street (south of Eglinton Ave. West)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 The Hub at Victoria Village
1527 Victoria Park Avenue (north of Eglinton Ave. East)

Thursday, May 24, 2012 Northern District Library
40 Orchard View Blvd. (northwest of Yonge Street and Eglinton Ave. West)

All Meetings Begin at 7:00 pm and End at 9:00 pm.

For more information you can also visit the website Metrolinx and the TTC have set up for the Crosstown. (www.thecrosstown.ca)

TTCriders’ Questions to Metrolinx Chair

jskirkpatrick — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:41:57 +0000

On May 1st TTCriders sent a letter to Metrolinx Chair Robert Prichard congratulating him on the approval of the Toronto Transit Expansion Plan and asking a few questions about the timing of the projects.

Here are the questions we sent to Mr. Prichard and Metrolinx:

The proposed project staging of the LRT plan, as presented and approved by Metrolinx on April 25^th, raises some important questions we think the public ought to have answers to:

In Metrolinx’s 5 in 10 Plan the Sheppard East LRT line was to be completed by 2014 whereas in the newly approved plan construction is proposed to begin in 2014. What are the reasons for the delayed start for the Sheppard East LRT?
Is 2014 the earliest work can begin on the Sheppard East LRT? If Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario (I/O) and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) are in agreement can construction begin sooner than 2014? If not, why not?
As you know, work had begun on the Sheppard East LRT in 2009 but was stopped shortly afterToronto’s 2010 election. Did the previous plan not include working with the I/O delivery model? If it did, why must this process be repeated? If it did not, is the I/O delivery model process the reason for the delay in the Sheppard East LRT?
Given the completed RFQ and RFP processes for the SRT/Sheppard Maintenance and Storage Facility, why is the financial close and construction timeline delayed until 2013?
What language will Metrolinx put into agreements with the City ofTorontoto ensure that this plan is built to completion and not sidetracked again by politics?

We hope to hear answers to these questions from Metrolinx soon.

Metrolinx Approves Toronto Transit Projects

jskirkpatrick — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:31:14 +0000

At their meeting on April 25th the Board of Directors of Metrolinx unanimously approved the Toronto Light Rail Transit (LRT) expansion plan. This plan sets out the new construction timelines for the 4 LRT lines that were officially endorsed by City Council at their special meetings on February 8th and March 21st and 22nd.

It is great to have Metrolinx and City Council back on the page with regard to expanding public transit! However, the plan adopted by Metrolinx curiously doesn’t start actually building new transit until 2014. (Metrolinx’s previously approved 5 in 10 Plan was to have completed the Sheppard East LRT by 2014.)

Below is a Metrolinx map of their new and approved Toronto Transit Expansion Plan.

For a copy of the presentation made to the Metrolinx Board click here.

See below for local media coverage of the Metrolinx plan:

Metrolinx recommends Sheppard LRT building start in 2014 – The Toronto Star

Q&A: What you need to know about the Sheppard LRT – The Toronto Star

It was alive, it was dead and now Transit City is back to life, maybe – The Globe and Mail

Metrolinx poised to OK four LRT lines – The National Post

Metrolinx Staff Give Stamp of Approval to Street-Level Light Rail- Torontoist

One step closer to Transit City – NOW Magazine

Rob Ford’s four-year folly - NOW Magazine

Apply to Join TTCriders’ Steering Committee

jskirkpatrick — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:06:37 +0000

TTCriders is a grassroots transit advocacy organization that gives people who use public transit a voice. We emerged as a response to the tens of thousands of transit users who said that they want better transit in Toronto. Our goal is to build a TTC that works with and for transit riders.

TTCriders is looking further establish ourselves as a voice for transit riders by appointing our first Steering Committee.

Do you want more and better transit for Toronto?

Are you familiar with TTCriders and agree with our Vision?

Do you want to help TTCriders be the best transit advocacy organization it can be?

If yes, please consider applying to join our Caretaker Steering Committee today!

Start by downloading a TTCriders – Caretaker Steering Committee Application form.

[Click here to download a Word 2003 and older version of the Application Form.]

Fill it out and email it to info@TTCriders.ca.

Our selection committee will review all applications, talk with applicants and appoint members to our CareTaker Steering Committee in May.

Below are the Characteristics defining TTCriders’ Steering Committee. If you have any questions or comments don’t hesitate to email us at info@TTCriders.ca

CHARACTERISTICS DEFINING TTCRIDERS STEERING COMMITTEE

CRITERIA

The Steering Committee will be non-discriminatory.

Steering committee members must meet the following criteria:

Must be a TTCriders member, and therefore must agree with the TTCriders mission and vision.
Must volunteer with TTCriders actively, and should be prepared to commit a certain amount of time per month.
Must agree to fulfill a whole term of one year.
Must accomplish responsibilities as set by the Steering Committee.
Must follow any code of conduct and other policies as set by the Steering Committee.
Must attend a certain number of meetings a year (this will be decided later).

COMPOSITION

The Steering Committee will have a maximum of 15 members and a minimum of 5 members and should reflect the diversity of TTC transit riders
The Steering Committee must strive to have at least one representative from each of the following regions:

○ Toronto/East York ○ Etobicoke/York ○ North York ○ Scarborough

In addition, each of the following categories of TTCriders members should be represented on the Steering Committee:

○ WheelTrans user/Person with Disability ○ Youth/Student ○ Senior ○ Person on social assistance

The Steering Committee will be comprised of individuals. Individual representing groups are welcome to apply/run for a steering committee position. If an individual is representing a group they need to make it transparent from the outset.

One space on the steering committee is reserved for a representative from Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA).

STEERING COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

Uphold and review mission
Maintain sustainability of the organization (including financial sustainability)
Liaise with fiscal sponsor, donors, supporters
Assign budget to TTCriders campaigns and working groups
Endorse campaigns
Hires and supervise staff (if there are any)
Establish and disband working groups
Approve campaigns and communication strategies
Develop internal policies and procedures
Prepare an annual report on activities and finances for TTCriders
Hold Annual General Meeting

Council Approves the Sheppard East LRT

jskirkpatrick — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:49:24 +0000

With a 24 – 19 vote City Council approved the Sheppard Avenue East LRT line, the final piece of Toronto’s Rapid Transit Expansion Plan.

The results of the special meeting are proof that TTCriders’ voices were heard. By a 24 – 19 vote on motion placed by Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, Council approved a plan to build a Light Rail Transit (LRT) line on Sheppard Avenue East.

With this vote Council agreed that Light Rail Transit (LRT) is the preferred rapid transit mode for Sheppard Avenue East from Don Mills to Morningside, and confirm the Sheppard Avenue East LRT as a priority line within the approved Metrolinx ”5 in 10″ plan.

With this plan FINALLY approved, Scarborough will now have 3 rapid transit lines to improve transit riders mobility. Transit riders on the crowded Finch Avenue West buses have a rapid Finch Ave LRT to look forward to. Torontonians across the City will now have a rapid Crosstown LRT line on Eglinton Avenue, underground where it needs to be, to improve travel from one end of the City to the other.

For more details on the events of the Special City Council meeting and to view the various motions put forward by Councillors click here. (Scroll down to Motions)

Tell your Councillor you Support the LRT Plan Before Wednesday’s Special Meeting

jskirkpatrick — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:18:05 +0000

At their Special Meeting on Wednesday City Council will decide on the future of rapid transit on Sheppard Avenue East. Council will be voting on how to add to our public transit network: Build Light Rail Transit on Sheppard Avenue East in the next 4 years OR Delay improving transit for decades while we wait for a dubious subway scheme.

Please send a message to your Councillor BEFORE Wednesday’s Special Meeting! (We’ve drafted sample message below.)

The Council approved light rail plan is based on solid transit principles, will see rapid transit built quickly, underground where it is needed, to all parts of the city, and it’s completely paid for by the Province.

In February a majority of City Councillors voted for the Eglinton underground and above ground, expanded Scarborough RT and Finch West LRT lines. They asked the special panel to determine what would be best for Sheppard Avenue. The expert panel has determined that light rail is the preferred rapid transit mode for Sheppard Avenue East. You can see their report here.

Please ask your Councillor to support the expert panel and not an unfunded political promise by Mayor Ford.

These new LRT lines will have almost no impact on existing car lanes as there is enough space to build new lanes on these wide suburban avenues.

For Torontonians who want rapid transit now in all parts of the city, this plan will get us there.

Below is a sample message to send to your Councillor. Please tell them you support Rapid Transit Now for Toronto!

Dear Councillor,

I live in your ward.

On February 8th City Council voted to support a plan that will bring rapid Light Rail Transit (LRT) to Eglinton Avenue, Finch Avenue West, and extend and replace the Scarborough RT. I am writing to ask that you support the recommendations of the Sheppard Transit Expert Panel and vote for rapid LRT on Sheppard Avenue East at Wednesday’s special meeting.

We have the money to build transit now and we don’t need to wait for more broken political promises. Let’s get rapid transit now!

The LRT plan is based on solid transit principles, will get rapid transit built now, underground where it is needed, to all parts of the city, and is fully funded by the Province.

Please get on with the job of building the public transit system we need and vote for LRT on Sheppard this Wednesday.

Thank you,

Sheppard Transit Advisory Panel Report is out – LRT is the preferred rapid transit mode

jskirkpatrick — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:29:23 +0000

TTCriders can now review the report from the City’s Sheppard Transit Expert Advisory Panel available here.

This Panel was created by City Council at their Special Meeting on Transit Expansion on February 8th.

The Panel’s report and recommendations are now in the hands of Council. It’s up to our elected officials to take the final step at their Special Meeting on March 21st and say yes to Rapid Transit for Toronto!

Please take a read through the Panel’s report.

To get rapid transit finally moving in Toronto we need a majority of Councillors to agree with the Panel’s number 1 recommendation and support building LRT on Sheppard Avenue East.

Please call or email your Councillor and encourage them to vote for for the LRT plan.

Please also help to spread the word about the real options for transit on Sheppard Ave using our current flyer.

The FACTS speak for themselves. Based on the facts, LRT is the preferred rapid transit mode for Sheppard Avenue East.

The Panel’s Recommendations are as follows:

1. Council:

a. Confirm that Light Rail Transit(LRT) is the preferred rapid transit mode for Sheppard Avenue East, from Don Mills to Morningside, and confirm the Sheppard Avenue East LRT as a priority transit line within the approved Metrolinx ’5 in 10 plan’.

b. Request the City Manager to develop a communication plan which outlines the significance of transit’s role in city building, on Sheppard Avenue East and across the city.

2. Council:

a. Request the province, through Metrolinx, to accelerate the preparation of the investment strategy for the “Big Move” transit expansion plan.

3. Council request the:

a. City Manager to develop, for Council’s consideration and approval, a comprehensive transit plan, that:
i. is consistent with Metrolinx’s Big Move;
ii. integrates equitable economic development and other city-building strategies;
iii. recognizes the context of the current 5 year Official Plan review; and
iv. can ultimately be woven into the City’s Official Plan.

b. City Manager to develop a comprehensive public consultation process that provides residents and businesses an opportunity to participate and inform the development of a sustainable transit plan, including funding options, for the City of Toronto.

c. City Manager to develop an intergovernmental strategy in support of a sustainable transit plan; working with the Federal and Provincial governments (including P3 project delivery), along with appropriate municipal associations (e.g. Federation of Canadian Municipalities), to seek a commitment to the type of long-term tri-partite funding commitment discussed in this report.

An Anti-LRT Group is Meeting at Scarborough City Centre on Monday

jskirkpatrick — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:59:43 +0000

On Monday March 19th there will be another so called “Town Hall Meeting” on the Future of Toronto Transit. This one is hosted by a “Citizens group”called SAFE (Subways Are For Everyone) at 7:00 p.m. at the Scarborough Civic Centre (150 Borough Drive).

This group is promoting misinformation on the choice Councillors will be making at the March 21st Special City Council Meeting. We encourage TTCriders in Scarborough (and surrounding areas) to attend this meeting and respectfully offer another point of view.You can download our most recent information flyer here. Please consider taking these flyers with you and having respectful conversations with attendees and any media present about the real choices before Council next week: LRT in 4 Years or nothing for Decades!

TTCriders ally #CodeRedTO has published a great rebuttal to SAFE’s misleading flyer. (PDF)

#CodeRedTO’s corrections of the flyer are included here (after the break) as well:

A rebuttal to the misleading flyer put out by SAFE.Here is the link to their misleading flyer: http://www.mikedelgrande.ca/documents/event20120319.pdf1) Misleading statement: “Chicago has 357 km of subways”. 122/144 of its stations are above or at grade, not underground. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chicago_’L'_stations)

2) Misleading statement: “Boston has 123 subway stations” Some parts of Boston’s “subway” are underground and above ground LRT. Of the 123 stations listed on the flyer, 75 are LRT stations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay_Transportation_Authority)

3) Only New York’s subway system is directly comparable to Toronto’s subway system. New York also has a density that is 10500 ppl/km^2, whereas Toronto’s is 4200 pp/km^2. Indeed, the areas of the cities are not even close, nor should their public transit systems be. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City)

4) Misleading statement: “Subways travel at twice the speed of streetcars and surface transit vehicles”. This is partly true: Streetcars travel approximately 15 km/h in the downtown core, and buses don’t fair much better in the suburbs. But this flyer is comparing LRT to subway. LRTs have faster speeds (http://www.stintz2010.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/LRT-fact-sheet.pdf under Best Practice LRT speed). In the next line, the speed of transit is stated as 22 km/h for LRT and 32 km/h for subway. The flyer takes the lower limit of speeds for LRT and the higher limit of speeds for subway. Even with the numbers as they are, 32 is NOT double 22.

5) Misleading statement: “Plan your commute and arrive on time”: Subways have delays as well, if not more often, than surface transit and when they happen cause a lot more disruption. See shuttle buses on Yonge.

6) Misleading statement: “Subways move 30,000 people per hour” Yes: when there is ridership. The Sheppard subway moves 4500 people per peak hour (http://www3.ttc.ca/PDF/Transit_Planning/Subway%20ridership%202009-2010.pdf).

7) Lie: The population of Toronto will certainly not double in 10 years. The population has been growing at about 130000 every 10 years. (See latest census or here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Toronto). This is a completely false and made up statistic.

8 ) Lie: “No added traffic congestion during construction [for subways]“. Check at Keele and Finch right now. Check at Yonge and Sheppard while the Sheppard subway was being built (http://fordfortoronto.mattelliott.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/subway_construction_2_copy.jpg). Cut and cover is required for subway stations and leads to significant driving delays at the surface intersections. LRT construction on Sheppard will take 3-4 years, whereas a subway could take up to 10 years if going at the rate of the Spadina extension.

9) Misleading statement: “Subways have lower long term costs”. Please show me a source for this, I could not find one. Subways need stations, station managers, transit police, cleaning, and maintenance whereas above-ground LRT stations do NOT. The important part there is the labour costs: station managers, transit police, cleaners and maintenance workers. They are not needed for LRT. In 50 years, the LRT tracks may need maintenance but this is also true of the subway system. See track maintenance happening almost weekly on the YUS Subway. This statement is just not based in fact.

10) The estimates for the Sheppard subway do not include a storage yard for subways. The LRT cost estimates do.

11) Misleading statement: “A world class city should have a world class transit system” World class cities have a wide variety of modes of transportation because that helps the resiliency of the system if things break down. Actually, Zurich, ranked in the top 10 on the Economist’s Competitive Cities list has all above ground transit. It has one of the best public transportation systems in the world(http://www.planetizen.com/node/53044).

12) Misleading statement: “One that connects people with jobs, homes,families and recreation”. Actually, according to the Subway vs. LRT report that the TTC filed and that was hidden by your administration, the vast majority of transit trips are within Scarborough. A subway is not appropriate for local travel; in fact, buses would be needed above ground along the same route to take people from subway station to subway station(http://www.karenstintz.com/?p=1755).

13) Misleading statement: “Mayor Rob Ford wants to build a world class transit system for everyone,regardless of where they live in our city.In fact, he campaigned on building subways, and won.” Mayor Ford campaigned on “stopping the gravy train” and you know it. His transit plan was a last minute addition because all other candidates had one. It was widely panned in the media and made ZERO mention of anything on Eglinton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xfsIj6gYAw) . He did not actively campaign on building subways. Even still, 53% of voters voted against him. Can you say that that is a mandate?

14) Misleading statement: “Let’s plan transit for 50-100 years not 20″. Where are you getting your information re: 20 years for LRT. The recent re-laying of track for the legacy streetcar system in Toronto was due to new standards and prepping for the new streetcars coming next year. The life of typical LRT track is 30-40 years.. The typical life of a LRV vehicle is about 30-35 years, which is the same as subway vehicles.

15) Lie: “Everyone deserves fast and reliable transit.Not just those who live downtown” The majority of subway stations in this city are NOT DOWNTOWN. In fact, only 17/52 stations are south of Bloor, east of Bathurst and east of Sherbourne, but of course this depends on the ever-changing definition of “downtown”.

16) Lie: “In the past,building new LRT routes has caused major trafﬁc congestion and taken years to complete- St Clair ave”. The TTC has never built a new LRT route. St Clair is a streetcar on a dedicated ROW. Any construction project causes major traffic congestion. See Avenue Road watermain replacement. See Spadina Subway Extension. See Sheppard Subway construction. Of course the LRT will take years to built, about 3 for Sheppard and Finch, each. A subway would take more than double that time and double the construction hassles at major intersections where cut and cover is required for stations.

17) Misleading statement: “MOVE LESS PEOPLE: LRT capacity is 8,000 passengers per hour.” This is the lower range of LRT capacity. In fact, with three cars together and low headways, the capacity is upwards of 17000 per hour. Nonetheless, the Sheppard subway carries about 4500 passengers per hour. Why would you build a subway there when you need 30000 people for a subway to be viable?

18) The biggest lie of all? NO mention of a plan to pay for subways, no mention of the taxes needed to pay for the construction of subways and then the operation of empty subways for 100 years while the city densifies (if…).

Scarborough deserves rapid transit now!

jskirkpatrick — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:32:58 +0000

On March 21st 2012, City Council will vote on how long people in Scarborough will remain stuck on a bus. The choice couldn’t be simpler: a Light Rapid Transit line that is fully funded and can be finished in 4 years, or the promise of subways without a plan, without any money, which will guarantee that people will be stuck on crowded buses for decades to come.

Click Here to download our flyer to share with everyone you know who cares about getting fast, rapid transit built now.

Big TTC Votes at March City Council Meetings

jskirkpatrick — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:36:09 +0000

The agenda for the March 5th and 6th Toronto City Council meeting features a very interesting item for TTCriders. Council will debate changes to the governance structure of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

The TTC Board is on track to be shaken up a bit. Mayor Ford’s Executive Committee is forwarding this report to Council for consideration. As reported in the Toronto Star several City Councillors have different ideas on how to best reconstitute the TTC Board.

Stay tuned for an update once Council has voted on reshaping the TTC Board.

On March 21st the report and recommendations of the Sheppard Transit Expert Advisory Panel will be presented for Council’s consideration at a another special meeting. This meeting could be the last hurdle to Council approving a complete plan for the expansion of public transit in Toronto.

The Expert Panel was struck at Council’s last special meeting on February 8th to review transit and funding options and recommend the most effective means of delivering rapid transit to the greatest number of riders with the funds available for Sheppard Avenue.