In addition to the kids (and myself, this time) returning to school, one of the things we can count on every September is transit service changes across the GTHA to reflect an overnight change in travel patterns. This year was no different, but two small changes this year are noteworthy.
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The demand for housing close to transit will increase to the point where the desire to keep urban neighbourhoods stable will buckle under development pressure, while owners of homes in auto-dependent suburbs will be unable to sell their properties due to the high cost of commuting – this great upheaval is what we face if we do nothing as gasoline prices and congestion continue to increase. In my first post about building an integrated transportation network we established the baseline network of today. In this fourth post, we will look to 2020 and analyse the network as it will likely be.
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According to an article published on YorkRegion.com, the bus terminal to be built near Highway 7 and Jane Street on the Spadina subway extension will be named “SmartCentres Terminal – Vaughan Metropolitan Centre” after a deal was reached with the landowner, big-box retail developer SmartCentres. I am not necessarily opposed to selling naming rights to structures given, that it can raise significant capital to offset the cost of the project. But, we need to make sure that adding an appropriate corporate name to a bus terminal or subway station does not cause unnecessary confusion to the travelling public.
Station names should reflect the geographic location of the facility or the landmark riders are likely travelling to, and should be unique within the Greater Golden Horseshoe to eliminate any chance of confusion. In this case, those objectives have not been compromised. However, the subway station is still slated to be named Vaughan Centre by the TTC who is supervising construction and operation. In a previous post, I spoke about Square One in Mississauga. Miway refers to the bus terminal there as “City Centre Terminal”, Brampton Transit refers to the same facility as “Square One”, and GO Transit refers to their terminal across the street as “Square One Terminal”. I feel that riders do not differentiate between these two facilities and the mall itself, and that a single name would help integrate the various transit providers in the eyes of riders. I feel that the same argument applies here, and that the subway station should be named Vaughan Metropolitan Centre to match the bus terminal and Vaughan’s name for the neighbourhood.
On Friday morning, the Urban_Empress was watching Breakfast Television on CITY TV and saw that they were accepting nominations for viewers to ride the 148 km/h, 93m Leviathan rollercoaster at Canada’s Wonderland. She nominated me (being too chicken to do so herself), and somehow won me a spot. After riding the tallest, fastest roller coaster in Canada three times, I headed for home, passing Vaughan Mills mall just after rush hour.
The north frontage of the mall features Tuscany Place at Vaughan Mills, a collection of strip malls which appear to double the number of individual stores at the site. In addition to this, the southwest corner of the site features a small lifestyle centre not unlike the Shops at Don Mills. Tuscany place makes the property feel much more urban, but it suffers from design and operational flaws that underline some of the downsides of planning for the automobile. Continue reading
Today, the Stouffville GO train line runs from Union Station eastward, sharing the Lakeshore line to Scarborough (Junction) GO station before turning northward. It heads due north to Unionville before snaking through Markham to the edge of the urban boundary. Eventually, the line reaches Stouffville and the terminus at Lincolnville. Bus connections extend the line to Uxbridge, and while only peak-hour train service is provided today, the construction necessary to bring all-day service to central Markham is largely complete. Continue reading
