The Exhibition Loop-Dufferin Gate Loop Streetcar Extension project is part of the Council-approved Waterfront Transit Network plan. The project proposes a new streetcar connection between Exhibition Loop, on the north side of Exhibition Place, and the Dufferin Gate Loop on Dufferin Street. This connection would allow a new streetcar service to be operated between Union Station and Dufferin Street with potential connections to King Street, the Queensway and farther west. The project would also enable future extension of the Waterfront line along the Lake Shore Boulevard West corridor and connecting to the Queensway via Colborne Lodge Drive.
Work on the project is being undertaken in coordination with other capital infrastructure improvements in the area, including replacement of the Dufferin Bridge over the Lake Shore West Rail Corridor and Gardiner Expressway, Liberty New Street (planned for the north side of rail corridor between Dufferin and Strachan), Metrolinx’s Exhibition GO Station improvements, the new Ontario Line station, and potential connections from the Exhibition Station to Ontario Place. In addition, the work is being considered in the context of the City’s Cultural Heritage Landscape Assessment, longer-term Master Planning for Exhibition Place, and the overall planning work underway for Liberty Village.
The TTC completed the Preliminary Design and Engineering for the Exhibition Loop-Dufferin Gate Loop Streetcar Extension in early 2020. The project has been partly on hold pending the outcome of the design for the various adjacent projects, but this work will be restarted as area planning and design becomes finalized.
Additional details about the Exhibition Loop-Dufferin Gate Loop Streetcar Extension project can be found in TTC’s February 2021 (Item 8), September 2021 (Item 6) updates to the TTC Board and City’s Waterfront West Transit Update in 2022.EX33.2.