GO Transit

[SammyOES2]

Yeah, was there really any way that Cambridge could have gotten what they wanted?

KW is also the favorite son right now because of the tech industry. I think they just generally have more pull then Cambridge does.

[Coke6pk]

Craig says all you need to do is have one train each way continue on to Cambridge instead of stopping in Milton.

It's just that easy... nothing else required....

Coke

[DHLawrence]

I'm not sure where he's getting "15 years" from. More like 25+.

[Drake]

Is it my imagination or is Doug Craig the only one stumping for this issue? I understand he likely has burned some bridges, but where is our regional politicians? This GO train connection is long overdue. Its pretty disappointing that there is no will for this to happen.

[KevinL]

I think the Regional reps are being more realistic about the timeline - they know Metrolinx's priorities and the issues with CP will make this more of a slow burn.

[DHLawrence]

And they'd rather have two-way service to Kitchener. Not that it isn't easier, since Metrolinx owns most of the route, but it's hard not to take it personally.

[mpd618]

The narrative of Cambridge GO service is easier commutes to Toronto; the narrative of (two-way) Kitchener GO service is more economic activity within Waterloo Region. It's not exactly hard to see why there's more momentum around the latter.

[DHLawrence]

No reason we can't have economic activity too. Kitchener and Waterloo are going to run out of easy to develop/redevelop land eventually. Send a little of that our way.

[mpd618]

Right, and I think that would be a better narrative to support GO expansion to Cambridge than the one Mayor Craig has mostly been promoting.

The idea of connecting Galt to the Kitchener Line via Guelph is interesting, though.

[KevinL]

The idea of connecting Galt to the Kitchener Line via Guelph is interesting, though.

I'm a big fan of this, especially the possibility of a proper Hespeler station.

[DHLawrence]

Would GO be willing to operate one railway line to two different destinations so far apart? (Hamilton notwithstanding)

[yige_t]

This one's for the railfans - one of the original GO Train cab cars from the 1960's is now on display at the Toronto Railway Museum roundhouse, opposite CN Tower:

https://www.facebook.com/GOtransitOffici...9654158444

[Viewfromthe42]

No reason we can't have economic activity too. Kitchener and Waterloo are going to run out of easy to develop/redevelop land eventually. Send a little of that our way.

There's not much impetus to extend rail lines to reach new parking lots. All Cambridge has largely been interested in is getting parking lots for their residents to use GO, but what economic activity does this add? It might drive up home prices by making Cambridge akin to some of the farthest Lakeshore East stations, a place to buy a cheaper-than-GTA home and then drive to a GO parking lot. Kitchener has gotten theirs in no small part because of a committment they've started towards making a 2-way system viable, which includes focusing on creating workplaces near transit, and effective transit to get you to workplaces (ION). Waterloo region even has stats showing that more people commute into the region than out of it for work, which only adds to the priority of the Kitchener line over any extension of Milton's. Perhaps when Doug Craig isn't only finding problems with LRT enough to throw wrenches in the process, or working hard to make sure any kind of usable density comes to any part of Cambridge, then we might see changing fortunes.

[MidTowner]

I think that’s pretty well-said. The case for a commuter line into downtown Toronto from a park-and-ride probably makes a whole lot more sense from Oshawa (60 kilometres from downtown) than from Cambridge (100+km), especially nowadays.

Investments in the Kitchener Line will serve to further progress towards development goals, and create better connections within the Waterloo-Toronto economic cluster. That’s the better case. It’s not just an issue of ridership on day one.

[jamincan]

That's the thing that has always kind of bugged me about Doug Craig. He doesn't want Cambridge to be the forgotten and neglected sibling in the Region, but instead of focusing on strengthening ties within the Region and strengthening it's role in a local context, his vision seems to instead focus on becoming a bedroom of Toronto. It may help spur housing development and allow artificially low property taxes for residents in the short term (as was the case in Mississauga for the longest time), but it won't do the city any favours in the long term.