|
This project is no longer active. The following information is provided for archival purposes.
This site was last updated September 25, 2007
Project Overview
As part of the plan to improve public transit across the City, The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is planning to construct a new streetcar turn-around loop in the south-west corner of Park Lawn Road and Lake Shore Boulevard West at the location of the existing bus loop.
The new Park Lawn loop is an important component of plans for a new LRT type line operating in its own right of way from south Etobicoke to Union Station. This future “Waterfront West” route, portions of which were originally approved in 1993, will help to fulfill the Official Plan vision to provide high quality, high speed transit service as part of the Transit City Plan. In the short term, the loop at Park Lawn will allow the existing streetcar short-turn at the Humber Loop to occur further west, thereby doubling the frequency of service to the Park Lawn Area.
Transit Context
Toronto’s Official Plan, approved in 2002, states, in part, “The focus [of this plan] is on altering behaviour so as to reduce our dependence on the private automobile [through] high-quality transit services, including priority measures for buses and streetcars.”
This plan was the foundation for the TTC’s Ridership Growth Strategy (2003) and Building a Transit City program (2004), which contains a wide range of transit initiatives intended to make transit in Toronto a more attractive and viable travel option, and which highlights the need to establish a network of bus and streetcar rapid transit lines serving the city in an efficient, attractive way.
September 24, 2007, Public Meeting
Councillor Mark Grimes and the TTC hosted a public meeting on September 24, 2007 at the Polish Alliance Hall. Thank you to all residents who attended.
You will
need to have the FREE Acrobat
Reader to view PDF files. 
November 2006 Open House
Please review the Open House Display Boards (PDF) presented at the November 22, 2006 Open House at the Polish Alliance Hall.
Background
In the early 1990's, the TTC undertook a study called the Waterfront West Light Rail Transit (WWLRT) Environmental Assessment (EA). The purpose of the EA was to review options and select alternatives for improving rapid transit service from downtown Toronto to south Etobicoke (Legion Road).
The 1993 WWLRT EA Report recommended a westerly streetcar track expansion along Lakeshore Boulevard, proceeding south of Exhibition Place, then north on Dufferin Street to a new Dufferin Street Loop, located immediately north of the Gardiner Expressway and rail corridor.
The study also looked at the extension of the streetcar track from the Dufferin Street Loop, further west to the existing track at Roncesvalles Avenue and Queen Street West as a Long Term Plan. This extension was not included in the 1993 undertaking because it was not considered cost effective at the time. However, a recommendation was made to evaluate various potential streetcar track alignments to connect the Dufferin Street Loop to Roncesvalles Avenue and Queen Street West in the future. The remainder of the study evaluated the westerly improvement of the Lakeshore streetcar in South Etobicoke, from the Humber Loop to Legion Road.
Following approval of the WWLRT EA on August 21 1995. The TTC and Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto received an exemption from the Province to construct a streetcar loop at Exhibition Place in 1996 due to internal land use changes. Subsequently, the Harbourfront Streetcar was expanded westwards from Spadina to Exhibition Place.
There have been two modifications made to the original WWLRT EA approved recommendation. First, in May 1999, the alignment was changed to operate via Queens Quay to Bathurst Street and north on Bathurst Street to Fleet Street. Second, in March 2006, approval was given to reconstruct the existing streetcar tracks on Fleet Street on their own right of way.
In addition, due to concerns by both the City of Toronto and the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority (TRCA) regarding the Legion Road loop, a relocation of the proposed loop to Park Lawn Road and Lake Shore Boulevard was approved in principle by both authorities. The concerns related to potential noise impacts on medium density housing on Legion Road as well as TRCA plans to construct a wetlands in the flood plain northeast of the site.
How to get more information
If you have any questions or would like to be placed on the mailing list for this study, please contact:
David Nagler
Public Consultation Co-ordinator
City of Toronto
Metro Hall, 19th Floor
55 John Street
Toronto ON M5V 3C6
Tel: 416-338-2830
TTY: 416-397-0831
Fax: 416-392-2974
Email: dnagler@toronto.ca
|
