emconcept

This information has been posted with the permission of the author.

October 7, 2003

To the Editor,

I have developed a rough concept for the streetcar service on St Clair that I thought you might be interested in posting on your website as a point of discussion.

Click on image to enlarge

As I mentioned, it is very rough so I apologize if things are not to scale but I do not profess to be an architect.

The basic idea is to put the streetcar underground. There is already a precedence for this, as anyone who has been to the St Clair West Subway station knows.

It seems this solution would provide the best of both worlds - the advantages of a subway system without the cost - as well as some other benefits. At the very least, the streetcar would be able to travel totally unhindered by car traffic and inclement weather.

It would also mean that people waiting wouldn't be exposed to the elements.

But there are even more advantages, if you think about it. You could construct ramps so that it would be much easier to get on and off the streetcar. And barriers so that you could control access to the tracks and avoid personal injury accidents.

Long ramps could also be constructed for getting underground and getting back up - and the occassional escalator, where it made sense.

While they wouldn't have to be put in place right away, you could also add pathways beside the streetcar line for people who prefer alternative forms of transportation - pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers, motorized wheelchair users and as the future closes in, Segway riders. Once again, these people would no longer be exposed to the elements - most notably our grueling, slushy Canadian winters - and so could use these alternative forms of transit year-round. In fact it would very likely encourage this type of transporation.

But there's more - if you widen the pathways even further, you could allow shop owners to have underground access points - display windows, underground entrances - even a sidewalk cafe or two. Add some skylights and you've really got something. Not unlike the PATH system downtown.

You will note that I have added some new above-ground features as well. A treed boulevard down the middle of the street would give the street some real visual appeal, while still accommodating quite a bit of vehicle traffic.

Another feature would be to add an awning system, possibly retractable, which would protect above-ground pedestrians against the elements - providing some of the same creature comforts as those big fancy suburban malls (but of course St Clair offers so much more).

One more thought, which I haven't really shown, would be to add some type of windbreaker feature because the wind coming down St Clair can be pretty gripping. I am not sure how it would work exactly, but I am sure someone more conversant on the subject than I could figure it out.

As far as building this concept, it seems it could be done in stages, as previously suggested - starting first with the track system down the middle and then peeling back to the sides as interest and budgets allowed - possibly with developers footing the bill.

Because this is not as involved as a subway system, it seems the construction demands would not be as great. First of all, you could employ the 'cut and cover' method. You might also go with a prefab technique where you dig out the hole and then drop in a pre-constructed 'box' with track bed and roadbed already in place. It could probably get done pretty quickly that way - maybe even faster than any above-ground solution - and so minimize distrubtion to the street and the transit service. You might also be able to build in some roadbed features which would make it more flexible and less susceptible to the hot/cold extremes that tend to rip our roads apart.

The official plan calls for some big things to happen along St Clair so why not this idea. If nothing else I hope it spurs some interesting discussion on the subject.

Ernie Marshall

Editor's note : The facts and opinions expressed in the above article are those of the author and do not represent the views of MyStClair.com. Our interest remains to act as a conduit for information regarding matters relating to neighbourhoods along St Clair Ave W and the Ridge. Anyone wishing to comment is encouraged to do so. Please note if you wish to have your comments posted and how you would like to be identified.

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