Moving Cities: Transit VS Driving
City-dwellers: are you a public transit commuter or a car enthusiast? With cities getting bigger and more populated, it seems like there is less room for driving and an almost dire need for more transit. We take a look at reasons you might choose driving over public transit, or the other way around. Continue reading
Feeling the Need for High Speed in California
The year started off with a bang in California, thanks to the groundbreaking of the much-delayed high speed rail line which would allow a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours.
Yes, you read that right. Travelling at a speed of over 200 mph, the long trip usually takes about 12 hours, but will soon take a fraction of the time. The project, which was approved six years ago, is expected to cost $68-billion (gulp) and take about 15 years to complete. Continue reading
The Latest from the TTC
It has been a great year for the TTC with lots of new changes and announcements. Our buildings that are currently under construction are in some major transit hot-spots and any changes to the TTC will have an effect on our purchasers day-to-day lives, so we want to give you a run-down of what’s new. Continue reading
What’s Happening on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT?
We like to keep you posted on what’s happening with transit in Toronto, especially because of E Condos’ direct access to the Yonge subway line and the Eglinton LRT. Construction began on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT this time last year, and there’s been tons of progress. Let’s see what’s happened in the past 12 months.
The next chapter in the Scarborough transit saga
A few months ago, we briefly summarized the Scarborough transit debate, which dates back to 1975 when the conversation about extending transit into Scarborough first began. We’ve been following it closely because we believe transit is essential to the growth and survival of any city, and in this case, Toronto. Extending rapid transit will connect the city with the community in Scarborough, where thousands commute into downtown Toronto every day. It will make our city grow and become more sustainable for generations to come. This is a big step for Toronto, and it’s much needed.
Most recently, the proposed deadline for the provincial and federal government to commit to the subway extension passed.
Here’s a brief backgrounder on the latest developments:
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced yesterday that the federal government will commit to $600 million in order to build the subway extension in Scarborough – which is the exact amount the city had requested. Minister Flaherty announced that it was a “done deal” when he addressed the media and public next to Kennedy Station. The $600 million is added to the already $1.48 billion promised by the province, but this project is estimated to cost about $3 billion.
The TTC released a report emphasizing that although the new route as proposed by Transportation Minister Glen Murray (the subway ending at Scarborough Town Centre) appears to be a good idea, there is “no clear advantage.” And in actuality, it comes with “many disadvantages” including the fact that the existing SRT will have to be shut down during construction.
On Wednesday, the TTC’s political leaders voted in favour of the city-sanctioned subway route in Toronto’s east end (running under McCowan Road to Sheppard Avenue) as opposed to the LRT, and the province-backed subway line from Kennedy to Scarborough City Centre.
Now the ball is in city council’s court, as we wait for them to meet in October for the council meeting. They will be presented with a TTC report and then will have to decide if they’re going to raise taxes in order to support the city-approved subway plan, go with the provincially-backed subway route, or maybe even stick to the LRT.
Both the subway projects would start construction in 2014 and be completed in 2023. It’s now just a matter of agreeing on a route and all the levels of government cooperating with one another to ensure Scarborough is given the long-promised transit solution.
Follow us on Twitter as we keep you updated on Scarborough’s subway talks.
4 cool vehicles turned into homes
We don’t need to tell you how much we appreciate outstanding architecture and design here at Bazis. It’s quite obvious that our love for design goes beyond our own developments, as we’ve taken a look at wooden high-rises, beautiful train stations, and unusually unique buildings around the world.
This week, we paired our passion for transit with architecture and took a look at how transit can sometimes double up as a place of residence. Read on to see what we mean.
The Scarborough transit debate; a never ending saga
Over the past few months, we’ve been following Toronto’s major transit issues on our blog including the major Union Station revitalization project and the construction of the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT. Continue reading
What Toronto needs to do to be a global city
Earlier last month, we spoke to E Condos architect Rosario Varacalli about his design principles and his inspiration for E Condos. This time around, we talked to him about his thoughts on Toronto as a global city and its increasing population growth and density. Continue reading
Our most popular posts of 2012
When we launched our blog back in May, we had no idea how much fun blogging would be! We also had no idea how popular some of our posts would be. Continue reading