Urbanism Reflections from Central Asia

Last month, Helen and I spent three weeks visiting Uzbekistan, Almaty (Kazakhstan), and Istanbul. During this time, I was able to make a fair number of urbanism observations. Let’s look at what Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have to offer for all of you urbanists!

Revisiting the Eglinton East LRT

Happy Victoria Day!

Back in November 2017, I wrote about the City’s plans to implement an eastern extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from Kennedy Station to UTSC and eventually to Malvern Town Centre. At the time, I argued it could become a game changer for cycling in Scarborough given the light rail line would also see bike lanes brought deep into Scarborough. Thanks to Hafeez Alavi, I was informed the City will be restarting consultations for the project on May 30, June 1, and June 7. Let’s find out what has changed since then.

Map of Eglinton East LRT and focus areas (all images are via the City of Toronto unless otherwise mentioned)

A Taste of Vaughan

Back in mid-December, the TTC opened the Spadina subway extension with six additional stops including the first ones outside the (amalgamated) City of Toronto. While I biked on some backroads in York Region (Stouffville) in 2013 and 2014 to train for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, they were rural roads which had no cycling infrastructure except for some paved shoulders. Helen and I explored the new subway stops and did a brief bike ride in Vaughan last weekend to take care of both things at once.

Bring on the Eglinton East LRT!

Map of Eglinton East LRT (via City of Toronto)

As with many city builders in the Greater Toronto Area, I am furious at the political games with the one-stop subway extension in Scarborough. City councillors – mostly suburban – repeatedly denied conducting cost-and-benefit comparisons with the original seven stop LRT, while a recent Toronto Star article indicated staff will not reveal the updated subway costs until after the 2018 election. The recent article raises suspicions the Mayor’s office is trying to bury the subway as an election issue with both John Tory and Doug Ford supporting the subway. However, it will only delay the inevitable truth the subway – currently expected to cost $3.35 billion – will exceed the $3.56 billion in available funding and leave nothing for the Eglinton East LRT. Especially if the controversies surrounding the Lawrence Avenue SmartTrack stop prompt the addition of a second subway station.