Residents groups in York South-Weston and the City of Toronto are calling on Metrolinx to explore burying part of the long-awaited Eglinton Crosstown West extension to protect local green space.
The $4.7 billion project, expected to be completed in 2030-31, will extend the Eglinton Crosstown light rail line 9.2 kilometers west along Eglinton Avenue West to Mississauga. It is planned that the route will pass mostly underground. But an elevated section is envisaged to run 1.5km between Scarlett Road and Jane Street stations.
It would affect parts of Pearen Park, Fergy Brown Park, as well as the surrounding urban forest, and Neiland Brissenden, a member of a group called Stop the Trains in Our Parks, says residents shouldn’t have to choose between expanding transit and losing a park.
“This neighborhood needs this transit — we’re a priority neighborhood. We need access to the jobs that this project will bring,” Brissendon said.
“But we don’t believe this should come at the expense of our fantastic green space.”
This image shows the elevated section of the Eglinton Crosstown West extension running along the north side of Eglinton Avenue West before going back underground east of Jane Street. (Metrolinx)
Tunneling for the extension began in early April, and later that month Metrolinx invited selected builders to submit proposals for the design and construction of the elevated section. But Brissenden’s group and the Mount Dennis Community Association are urging the agency to change course before it’s too late. And they’re not alone: the city of Toronto has asked the provincial transportation agency at least twice in recent months to consider putting the above-ground section underground.
But Metrolinx says the current design is the most cost-effective option and can bring the largest number of riders on board without the risks that come with tunneling under the Humber River.
“The excavation for the Scarlet and Jane underground stations will need to be about 100 feet deep — which is almost as deep as the nine-story tall building,” Metrolinx spokeswoman Fanny Sunshine said.
She says the above ground design will save more travel time for drivers, has the “highest potential for drivers” and will mean “easier and more reliable operations once the extension is up and running”.
“Considering the trade-offs”
The tension between York South-Weston residents and Metrolinx is not unique, says Matti Siemiatsky, a professor of geography and planning who also directs the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto.
He says communities often want to see transit expansion projects happen underground with minimal construction, environmental and traffic impacts.
But in reality, he says, underground transit is the most expensive to build and maintain, requires more energy than above-ground options to operate, and should only be used when large numbers of people are being transported or there is no other alternative.
“There’s a fixed amount of money that we have to invest in transit, and to spread that as widely as possible requires thinking about the trade-offs,” Siemiatycki told CBC Toronto.
The Eglinton Crosstown West extension is planned to run 9.2 kilometers along Eglinton Avenue West to Mississauga. (Submitted by the Government of Ontario)
Metrolinx says the line will connect to five regional rail and bus services and have up to 10 stations — seven from Mount Dennis to Renforth Drive and up to three more for a potential connection between Renforth Drive and Pearson International Airport.
Under the current design, the regional transit agency projects 37,000 daily boardings and 39,000 tons of annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
I’m asking for help
Brissenden says if the plan goes ahead as it is, not only will children have less incentive to use their parks for the eight years construction is projected to take, but threatened and endangered species found in the area, such as the little brown bat myotis, will be at greater risk.
That’s why he’s seeking help from Michael Ford, the new MPP for York South-Weston.
Ford, who is also the new citizenship and multiculturalism minister and the nephew of Premier Doug Ford, campaigned on the issue during the recent provincial election and said he would help locals make their case to Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney.
“I will be a voice for my constituents in Queen’s Park and work with Metrolinx, Minister Mulroney and her team to build transit for commuters and support the needs of our community,” Ford’s office said in a written statement to CBC News.
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