ION Stage I: what would you do differently?

[ijmorlan]

First off, in the downtown it improves the pedestrian experience, particularly when it comes to the way the stations are currently organized. 

How would having to take stairs or an elevator to get to the platform improve the pedestrian experience?

I do agree that enclosed stations would improve the pedestrian experience, but those can be done at grade for much less expense than burying the entire station.

Livability and maneuverability are huge measures of an attractive city, and in rush hour around the fairview park area it can be absolutely horrific. 

I'd rather money be spent to ensure that Fairway rd can continue to keep up with the existing demand, than i would see millions get spent on widening the 401 for future demand

Ummm, as someone who has driven in a number of cities on several occasions, I can assure you that the traffic around Fairvew Park is never “horrific”. Fairway Rd. is already 4 lanes plus ubiquitous turn lanes. Any additional capacity expansion should be in the form of transit lanes to ensure that public transit isn’t slowed down at busy times by inefficient transportation, or possibly in the form of entirely self-funding toll lanes (not sure how that works in practice, but the point is we have better things to spend our tax money on than yet more free-to-use general traffic lanes).