On April 26, 2011 at St. Clement's School, TTC Chair Karen Stintz hosted a public meeting on the Eglinton‐Scarborough Crosstown LRT project. In attendance were Ontario’s Minister of Transportation Kathleen Wynne, Toronto City Councillors Joe Mihevc, Josh Colle, Jaye Robinson, and Josh Matlow, and representatives from the TTC and Metrolinx. Following the election of Mayor Rob Ford, negotiations between the City of Toronto, Metrolinx and the Province resulted in a new transit plan for the City of Toronto called the “Toronto Transit Plan.” The purpose of this meeting was to provide an update on the status of the Eglinton LRT project.

Text by Michael Ventresca

Updated EA needed.

One of the most significant changes from the previous Transit City plan was the conversion of the Eglinton LRT to an entirely underground line from Black Creek Drive to Kennedy Road. Jack Collins, Vice-President of Rapid Transit Implementation for Metrolinx, indicated that this change will require an update to the previously approved environmental assessment for the project. The midtown tunnel (orange, in the image below) and upgraded Scarborough RT (blue) aspects have been approved through a prior EA, so only the new tunnel portions of the line (red) will be reviewed. Track alignment, station, and yard reconfigurations will also be considered during the EA update. Metrolinx estimates the EA update process will take 12 to 16 months to complete.

Construction begins July 2011

Anna Pace, Director of Strategic Partnerships for the TTC, indicated that construction of the launch site for the tunnel boring machines will begin in July 2011. Computer renderings of the launch site, to be located just east of Black Creek Drive, were revealed. Pace noted that additional renderings will be prepared for other aspects of the construction. Tunnelling of the midtown tunnel is anticipated to begin in mid-2012 using the tunnel boring machines ordered in July 2010. This work follows geotechnical studies that have been ongoing since 2010.

Community Consultation

The TTC emphasized its intention to conduct substantial community consultation in order to flag and address issues related to construction before they become problems. Community Offices are planned along various portions of the line which will provide information about the project to the public. This extensive consultation is likely meant to avoid the problems that occurred with the St. Clair streetcar construction.


LRT vehicles

The light rail vehicles ordered in June 2010 will be used on the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT. The design of the vehicles is to be completed by December 2011.

For more information on the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT project, review the April 26, 2011 presentation slides or contact EglintonTransit@ttc.ca.


What is your take on current plans for the Eglinton LRT? Click the link below to join in the lively discussion in UrbanToronto's thread for the project, or leave a comment here.

This article was originally published in forum thread: Transit City - Eglinton-Crosstown LRT EA and Construction (LRT-specific discussion)