And then the car won’t start.
Toronto’s disastrous public transit project known as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT stands as a warning to other cities across Canada to run screaming in the other direction when any politician at any level of government tries to sell you on the joys of so-called light rail transit.
Toronto’s disastrous public transit project known as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT stands as a warning to other cities across Canada to run screaming in the other direction when any politician at any level of government tries to sell you on the joys of so-called light rail transit.[…]
Greenhouse gas emissions would be drastically reduced, we were assured, as thousands of commuters would happily abandon their cars for the convenience of whisking along the designated route of the LRT, free of the city’s chronic traffic congestion and gridlock.
Reality turned out to be years of increased congestion and gridlock at major intersections as construction of the LRT divided the city in half, with those living and working south and north of Eglinton Ave. — a major east–west arterial road in Toronto — having to factor in dramatically increased travel times just to cross Eglinton.
Numerous small businesses along the route folded as the construction choked off access to their customers, combined with the additional financial burden of the pandemic.
Halt construction, park the railcars and convert the mess directly to tent city for homeless druggies and thereby skip the painful middle stage during which innocent commuters are exposed to the risks.
Just for clarity, the acronym LRT / Light Rail Transit is more widely known as STREETCARS!
That’s where you are mistaken. You’re approaching this from the perspective of someone who wants to get around town cheaply and efficiently. In other words, you lack vision.
If people like go around pointing out that the emperor’s new LRT is really a streetcar, people get hurt. What’s going to happen to the Bombardier and Metrolinx executives, and whatever else preferred contractor is involved? What are their children, cousins, and in-laws going to do for jobs?
When we first came to Calgary, they still had a few streetcars. Those were at grade, were single cars, and were mainly downtown.
Now we have LRT – a very different puppy. The tracks may be on grade, but access to the cars is not and requires specially built platforms. Calgary recently rebuilt their downtown platforms as the original design proved conducive to drug dealing (thinking “crack corner” – not far from where an offspring works).
Also, to be blunt, the LRT has been used for drug dealing almost since its inception. Offsprings took the train to high school and would witness drug dealing while en route. Fortunately for our peace of mind, we did not hear of this until later, and all offsprings survived and went on to successful careers.
A couple of years ago, was heading home after a meeting at the local mall. Decided to go through the park south of our local station and realized there was an encampment so quickly walked back up onto the station platform and realized there was drug dealing going on there. Needless to say, Calgary Transit is not my choice for transportation, though understand the local station is now safer.
Yes, things really hit bottom about two years ago, but it has improved a good deal since. We used to see stations entirely besieged by bums, and it’s been a while since we’ve had to put up with that. I’ve been doing Christmas shopping on the trains, and it’s not quite as pleasant as it used to be but it’s noticeably better than it was two years ago.
I was visiting friends in Toronto in 2015 and was told that it would be completed by 2017, 2018 at the latest. I visited the same friends again this past October , it is STILL not completed. And I agree, the traffic congestion is a HUGE mess!
You think they would have learned from the disaster unfolding in Ottawa.
I don’t think that. I think they’ll never learn.
US comedian Andrew Schultz has even taken notice
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9wiqrpEDSW8
Kitchener / Waterloo has a newish LRT system as well. I can see one of the stops from my office window. I can also be stopped trying to get out of the parking lot while hundreds of cars are backed up waiting for the train to enter or leave the station which shuts down one the the main east west roads in Waterloo. They were bragging about increased ridership in general this all on Grand River Transit, but also mentioned the average ridership on the train. It worked out to about $50,000 per rider considering just the original capital cost, never mind the ongoing cost to operate and maintain the system.
LRT may be fine for smaller cities like Thunder Bay or Medecine Hat, but are useless for the large cities, LRTs are too small. Hello Calgary – buy some real trains………..Leaving McMahon Stadium with LRT sucks, Leaving Rogers Centre with the TTC subway isn’t too bad even with the walk to the subway. Exhibition Place is horrendous with streetcars, can’t imagine Winnipeg’s bus LRT for IG Field.
Thunder Bay is just big enough for buses. There was a tollley car system, and then a trolley bus, followed by diesel bus.
No need for more then that.
Patty Hajdu, Saul Laskin, Alex Delvecchio, Paul Shaffer and other elites never rode the bus.
Same kind of garbage we’re facing here in Edmonton.
When this LRT monstrosity is finished (2029?), I now, and will have to walk at least a mile to get to the nearest LRT or bus stop. Where as before I could pretty much step out my front door to catch a bus. Now I’ll have a big noisy LRT train going past my place every 15 minutes when it’s done though, without a stop around a mile in each direction. Plus because of this, we used to have a nice service road in front of where I live. That’s gone now along with all the bus stops.
So to that communist mayor of ours, burn in Hell you SOB.
“Greenhouse gas emissions would be drastically reduced, we were assured, as thousands of commuters would happily abandon their cars for the convenience of whisking along the designated route of the LRT, free of the city’s chronic traffic congestion and gridlock.”
To be clear, the city of toronto wants chronic traffic congestion and gridlock, ever since Comrade Miller swept his way into office and began his war on the car…
Probably would have been faster if they went back to running the old electric overhead buses:
https://www.blogto.com/city/2022/11/toronto-used-ride-around-these-cool-electric-buses-100-years-ago/
Rob Ford – perhaps the only Toronto mayor in living memory who understood the role of transit – wanted the Eglinton Crosstown to be built as a subway – meaning using subway trains – since they were already digging a 9km tunnel between Yonge St and Jane Street. Which is a great idea! A set of common rollingstock running on the same gauge of track that could be integrated into the existing system. Imagine the sensibility of the idea.
But the galaxy brains of the Left said that it couldn’t be done and produced an absurd array of reasons why it wasn’t possible. And when he was gone, they switched it back to an LRT and blamed him for the extra costs. And here we are, nine years later and no trains in the foreseeable future.
Rob Ford knew his rails.
When the government estimates the cost of anything, double it, add 25% and you will only be 10% short.
LRT original estimate was $9.1 billion so $9.1 x 2 = $18.2 + $4.55 = $22.75 which is 10% shy of the actual cost which will be $25.2 billion. You know I’m right.
I’m pleased that this is Toronto’s future.
Perhaps they’ll hold the next Stanley Cup parade here for their home team.
lol…
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.”
Milton Friedman
Seems to apply just as well to provincial governments too. But we knew that. So did the provincial politicians .
Simpsons – Monorail Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM
The list of LRT financial disasters is every project, or does someone know of a successful completed on budget project which now has significant number of riders?
Ottawa – well documented way over budget and late
Edmonton – well documented 3 years late – unknown over budget. The Thales COE arbitration award the and the verdict unknown to citizens!
Toronto – article in National Post
Calgary?
Vancouver – significant gas tax to pay for the line.
With the exception of Toronto does ridership justify any of these billion $$ projects and there on going costs?
Seems there is enough evidence to confirm Municipalities cannot manage these large and expensive projects.
I’d suggest Edmonton is a bankrupt city. ET/LRT and other ‘feel good’ projects force ongoing 5% to 7% tax increases which are unsustainable for citizens.
Was driving crosstown today and the Waze lady sent me to Eglinton. Total no go. Turned off Waze and took the side streets. I’d heard a conspiracy theory that Waze was tied into the Toronto system to direct people away from quieter streets, especially those where the ruling elite live. Now I believe it.
Note also that, despite the massive fail on the Eglington LRT, no one has been fired.
No one was fired for the Ottawa LRT scandal either. The guilty politicians and city manager fled the country on vacation a few days before the provincial audit was released. The cockroaches like Jim Watson knew that the huge spray can of Raid was coming for them. Naturally the CBC was weeping bitterly at his flight into exile and doing its best to hide the reasons why.
Toronto (and all major city) politicians should come and visit Prague, Czechia, if they want to learn how a public transit system can actually work.
Calgary’s dumped over $1B into our ‘Green Line’ and still no shovel in the ground. The first stage goes fom just north of downtown, SE to the dump. That is, a train to nowhere. Absolute boondoggle.
Then there is also the increased violen crime, given Trudeaus lax immigration and (in)justice systems. The LRT, once it opens, will be overrun by youth gangs.