rfmcdonald | [URBAN NOTE] "New data finds Scarborough subway routes run through ‘extremely low density’ areas" (Reply)

The Toronto Star's Marcus Oleniuk notes that, on parts of the proposed Scarborough subway route, densities in the neighbourhoods passed through are even lower than on the famously underperformed Sheppard line. Is this just astonishingly ill-thought electoral politicking?

Of the three options, the new analysis for the Star by University of Toronto human geography professor Andre Sorensen shows the Bellamy Rd. corridor would have the most people within walking distance of a station.

But by comparison, provincial data shows both Don Mills and Yonge-Sheppard stations on the Sheppard subway line — what has been called a “white elephant” for the riders it failed to draw — have more people living nearby than that of the entire Bellamy Rd. corridor.

[. . .]

Sorensen’s analysis found the proposed routes are “basically equal” in that they are all low-density options.

The analysis uses 2011 census and jobs data to analyze the density of people and employment along the three routes. These are not ridership numbers, but show how many people are currently within an 800-metre walking distance of potential station stops.

When it comes to moving people around and getting people to jobs — objectives Tory has repeated as the main motivations for many of his recent transit initiatives — Sorensen’s numbers show little current or future potential to accomplish those goals.