The Eglinton Crosstown line is going to open, here in Toronto, sometime next year -- I think. And I'm sure that it is going to be a massively beneficial addition to Toronto's transit network. But at the same time, we should be talking about this:
Urban transit stations shouldn't look like this. It's a missed opportunity, both in terms of the foregone housing (and other uses) that could be on top of these stations and the additional value that could have been captured from these air rights. Transit is a crucial lever for land values and development overall, and so it's no wonder that many of the best transit authorities around the world think in terms of "rail + property".
So what happened here?
I don't know exactly. But I do know that nearly a decade ago I called up Metrolinx and said, "Hey, so I'm a developer who can build things. I see that you're building a number of exciting transit stations along Eglinton. Want me to build on top of them for you?" Now obviously Metrolinx wasn't going to be able to sole-source to Brandon, but regardless, I thought it should happen and I just hoped to be in the mix.
In 2015, things did start to happen. Avison Young, on behalf of Metrolinx, issued a request for proposal to developers for 4 sites/stations along the line. There were two at Keele Street, one at Weston Road, and one at Bathurst Street. And at the time, it was thought that these sites could generate somewhere between $14-22 million (speaking of reasonable).
I think it was also being viewed as a bit of a pilot. If things went well with these 4 initial sites, then this same approach was going to be rolled out across all suitable sites on the line. I'm not sure what happened with the RFP or the broader intent -- maybe some of you know -- but it clearly didn't pan out as planned.
That's too bad. But I suppose done is better than perfect. Plus, now we're building the Ontario Line and so we have another opportunity to get it right. And right means lots of density on top of stations -- both directly on top and all around it.
I am so tired of sensational headlines:
The Ontario Line will zip across the core and up to Eglinton, easing gridlock and alleviating TTC misery. It will also plow through peaceful Toronto neighbourhoods, displacing homes, businesses and everything in its path.
I know exactly what business model it is serving and why it is done, but I'll ask the question anyway: Why do we need to make everything out to be a problem?
In this case, we're talking about a new and important piece of city building infrastructure. A subway line that will run through the densest parts of this country and alleviate congestion at key interchanges, as well as broadly across the city.
It is something that we, as a city, have been griping about for many decades. And now, it is finally happening! Will it involve constructing things? Yes. Will it actually displace "everything in its path?" No.
But as we all know, this is the way media works today. They set the agenda (i.e. tell us what we should be terrified and/or pissed off about) and then they sell our attention. And an effective way to do that is to make sure that the headlines get us really worked up.
Canada Day weekend was a lot of fun in Toronto. This city was alive and it felt like people had come far and wide to visit downtown. But it was a good reminder that even if all of our cars were electric and even if they were all able to drive themselves, we would still have this problem:
https://twitter.com/donnelly_b/status/1543642057088049152?s=20&t=kt9GmjDLPvfeueMzbshQcA
I was in an Uber on Saturday afternoon heading over to the west side of downtown and we had no choice but to declare bankruptcy and hop out in the middle of Bay Street. We thought about waiting for the Ontario Line to be ready, but that seemed a bit far out.
So we rented bikes instead and rode along the waterfront, which was a considerably better experience. But then we couldn't find any docks with available slots, so we had to ride up into Liberty Village, drop our bikes off there, and then walk back down to Ontario Place.
Of course, this was still the better option. I'm fairly certain that we'd still be in that Uber had we stuck it out. And maybe not finding a bike dock is just part of life in the big city on a beautiful long weekend in the summer.
Still, it was frustrating. So I'll use this opportunity to once again ask our city leaders to reconsider their ban on dockless electric scooters. Toronto clearly needs all the mobility support it can get.
The Eglinton Crosstown line is going to open, here in Toronto, sometime next year -- I think. And I'm sure that it is going to be a massively beneficial addition to Toronto's transit network. But at the same time, we should be talking about this:
Urban transit stations shouldn't look like this. It's a missed opportunity, both in terms of the foregone housing (and other uses) that could be on top of these stations and the additional value that could have been captured from these air rights. Transit is a crucial lever for land values and development overall, and so it's no wonder that many of the best transit authorities around the world think in terms of "rail + property".
So what happened here?
I don't know exactly. But I do know that nearly a decade ago I called up Metrolinx and said, "Hey, so I'm a developer who can build things. I see that you're building a number of exciting transit stations along Eglinton. Want me to build on top of them for you?" Now obviously Metrolinx wasn't going to be able to sole-source to Brandon, but regardless, I thought it should happen and I just hoped to be in the mix.
In 2015, things did start to happen. Avison Young, on behalf of Metrolinx, issued a request for proposal to developers for 4 sites/stations along the line. There were two at Keele Street, one at Weston Road, and one at Bathurst Street. And at the time, it was thought that these sites could generate somewhere between $14-22 million (speaking of reasonable).
I think it was also being viewed as a bit of a pilot. If things went well with these 4 initial sites, then this same approach was going to be rolled out across all suitable sites on the line. I'm not sure what happened with the RFP or the broader intent -- maybe some of you know -- but it clearly didn't pan out as planned.
That's too bad. But I suppose done is better than perfect. Plus, now we're building the Ontario Line and so we have another opportunity to get it right. And right means lots of density on top of stations -- both directly on top and all around it.
I am so tired of sensational headlines:
The Ontario Line will zip across the core and up to Eglinton, easing gridlock and alleviating TTC misery. It will also plow through peaceful Toronto neighbourhoods, displacing homes, businesses and everything in its path.
I know exactly what business model it is serving and why it is done, but I'll ask the question anyway: Why do we need to make everything out to be a problem?
In this case, we're talking about a new and important piece of city building infrastructure. A subway line that will run through the densest parts of this country and alleviate congestion at key interchanges, as well as broadly across the city.
It is something that we, as a city, have been griping about for many decades. And now, it is finally happening! Will it involve constructing things? Yes. Will it actually displace "everything in its path?" No.
But as we all know, this is the way media works today. They set the agenda (i.e. tell us what we should be terrified and/or pissed off about) and then they sell our attention. And an effective way to do that is to make sure that the headlines get us really worked up.
Canada Day weekend was a lot of fun in Toronto. This city was alive and it felt like people had come far and wide to visit downtown. But it was a good reminder that even if all of our cars were electric and even if they were all able to drive themselves, we would still have this problem:
https://twitter.com/donnelly_b/status/1543642057088049152?s=20&t=kt9GmjDLPvfeueMzbshQcA
I was in an Uber on Saturday afternoon heading over to the west side of downtown and we had no choice but to declare bankruptcy and hop out in the middle of Bay Street. We thought about waiting for the Ontario Line to be ready, but that seemed a bit far out.
So we rented bikes instead and rode along the waterfront, which was a considerably better experience. But then we couldn't find any docks with available slots, so we had to ride up into Liberty Village, drop our bikes off there, and then walk back down to Ontario Place.
Of course, this was still the better option. I'm fairly certain that we'd still be in that Uber had we stuck it out. And maybe not finding a bike dock is just part of life in the big city on a beautiful long weekend in the summer.
Still, it was frustrating. So I'll use this opportunity to once again ask our city leaders to reconsider their ban on dockless electric scooters. Toronto clearly needs all the mobility support it can get.
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