khalil heron Profile picture
I like cities

Jun 19, 2024, 17 tweets

Metrolinx is conducting it's second round of Consultations for the Sheppard Subway Extension. They've presented 3 options for the eastern portion of the extension. Let's talk about each one, which one is best, and what options are missing. (1/15)

First up, option 2A.
This option would see the Sheppard Line extended east from Don Mills to the future terminus of line 2, Sheppard and McCowan. The extension would include 6 new stations, and an interchange with the GO Stouffville line at Agincourt. (2/15)

Option 1 is the same as option 2A, except it omits a westward extension to Sheppard West Station, which is not my focus today. (3/)

Option 2B is the same as 2A west of Agincourt GO, but east of the station it swings south to interchange with line 2 at Scarborough Centre, serving the dense neighborhood and the Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall, the largest Mall in Canada East of Yonge Street. (4/15)

Scarborough Centre is a far more natural subway interchange location than Sheppard-McCowan. While Scarborough Centre already features a massive mall, several residential and office towers, government offices, and green space, there are also plans for far more development (5/15)

Sheppard-McCowan on the other hand, has little more than a Canadian tire, and a some apartment buildings. There are no developments proposed yet but will come in time, but there is simply not the space for the kind of intensification being seen at Scarborough Centre. (6/15)

Finally is option 3. Option 3, like option 1 does not extend to the west, but in the east, it extends the furthest, all the way to Morningside Avenue, via Sheppard and McCowan. Option 3 could also be thought of as a potential extension of option 2A. (7/15)

If we're extending the subway all the way to Morningside, we should serve the major destinations along the way. Option 3 misses just about all of them, so i propose my own option 4, to U of T Scarborough, via Scarborough Centre. (8/15)

This options serves major destinations like Centennial College, Centenary Hospital, and U of T Scarborough, which have been left out of all Metrolinx alternatives. These destinations are some of the biggest employers in Scarborough, and are only served by busses today. (9/15)

UofT Scarborough is set to be served by the Eglinton East LRT, and Scarborough Durham BRT in the future. Neither of these projects will offer significant time savings for riders. A subway would be serve the campus better, in which case the projects can be scaled back (10/15)

U of T Scarborough is undergoing massive expansion, with plans to build dozens of new academic and residential buildings. This campus would make a far better terminus for line 4 than the big box stores of Sheppard and Morningside. (11/15)

One downside of extending line 4 to Scarborough Centre and U of T Scarborough is that the line would not serve the transit desert of Malvern. Some projects that could fill this gap are the planned Eglinton East LRT, an extension of line 2, or a new GO line. (12/15)

By looking at current travel patterns, development plans, and major destinations, it is clear to me that any extension of line 4 eastwards should head for UofT Scarborough. Even if the line has to terminate at Scarborough centre for now. (13/15)

An extension to Scarborough centre and to UofT Scarborough would better serve existing hubs, relieve bus congestion, and speed up some of the longest commutes in the city. If you agree, please let Metrolinx know that you support OPTION 2B and a subway to UofT SCARBOROUGH (14/15)

Sheppard Subway extension Consolations and Survey link here : )
Thanks!
(15/15)

metrolinx.com/en/projects-an…

Noticed an error in my legend.
That is NOT an official Metrolinx option. The map depicts my UNOFFICIAL preferred alternative.

All maps produced by me and are unofficial. The only maps in this thread not made by me are the map of the Eglinton East LRT by the city of Toronto, and the map of the Durham Scarborough BRT made by Metrolinx. I am not affiliated with Metrolinx or the TTC.

Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.

A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.

Keep scrolling