Ontario Line and SmartTrack news!

By: Jamie Kauri

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Ontario Line construction news

On August 17 Metrolinx announced that Queen St. from Victoria Street to Bay Street would need to be closed to allow for Construction. This closure is expected to take place for a little over 4 and a half years starting in 2023. Closing all lanes on Queen Street in the downtown is required because of the small space. I personally think the decision to have one long closure is better than multiple short closures is because it will make getting around less confusing. The 501 Queen streetcar will be rerouted along Richmond and Adelaide from Church to York via new streetcar tracks funded by Metrolinx. Luckily the sidewalk on Queen Street will remain open during construction. Having one long closure also speeds up construction which in turn allows the Ontario Line to open a year earlier.

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SmartTrack Station news

Also on the 17th Metrolinx and the City of Toronto announced five SmartTrack stations that would be built by 2026. Contracts are planned to be awarded in fall of this year for construction of these stations.

Finch-Kennedy

As the name suggests Finch-Kennedy on the Stouffville GO line will be located above Finch just east of Kennedy Station. Finch-Kennedy will have heated shelters, canopy's and bike parking although it's not clear whether the bike parking will be indoors or outdoors. Frequent every 8-10 minute bus service on the 29 and 929 Finch East will also stop at the station making bus-train trips more convenient. Finch-Kennedy will be the only SmartTrack station that doesn't have connections to some form of rail service.

St. Clair-Old Weston

St. Clair-Old Weston will be located on Union Street just north of St. Clair. a connection will be made to St. Clair which will make getting from the GO Train to the streetcar easier. Near the station will be six bus routes and the 512 St. Clair Streetcar. Bike Parking will also be available.

Bloor-Lansdowne

One of the station entrances will be under the Barrie Train tracks on Bloor while the other will be at platform level. Bloor-Lansdowne will connect to a new multi-use trail stretching from Dundas Street in the south to the Davenport Diamond in the north. Bike parking will also be available. Unfortunately there was no mention of a direct connection to the TTC's Lansdowne station so I assume people will need to exit the GO station, walk on Bloor and then go into Lansdowne subway station.

East Harbour

Located south of Eastern on a newly extended Broadview Ave, this station will connect to GO's Lakeshore and Stouffville train lines, the Ontario Line and new TTC Streetcar routes. East Harbour will be delivered through a transit oriented community process so it's contract might be made later. This station will be surrounded by new development. East Harbour will also be elevated which isn't very common for GO stations! Seeing as these SmartTrack stations are planned to be completed by 2026 I wonder if East Harbour will open to GO trains a couple years before the Ontario Line opens.

King-Liberty

The renderings for King-Liberty show at least four platforms but it looks like there could be up to six platforms at this station. A new pedestrian bridge connecting the platform will also act as a path for people trying to get from Sudbury Street to Joe Shuster Way. Hopefully the Kitchener, Barrie and Milton GO trains stop at King-Liberty to provide a better transfer point between lines than Union. Connections to multiple bus and streetcar routes will be within a couple minutes walk.

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It's good to see that these stations are being built soon but I hope the are built with level boarding and an easy way to install electrical equipment in the future since construction on the should start around the same time as electrification.