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Ten years ago today—June 15, 2007—Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield announced MoveOntario 2020, a package of 52 rapid transit projects across the GTHA to be completed by the year 2020. Representing an estimated $17.5 billion worth of transit, the Ontario government pledged to fund two thirds of that cost, with a request made to the federal government to fund the remaining one third. The projects were to reviewed and partially administered by the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (GTTA), which later in 2007 adopted the name Metrolinx. Under this new agency, these projects were subsequently included as part of The Big Move, the Regional Transportation Plan, released in November 2008.
On this 10th anniversary, UrbanToronto takes a look at where these 52 projects stand. Some are completed or under construction, some are in the planning stages, and some are on a shelf somewhere at 20 Bay or Queen's Park, collecting dust.
GO Transit Commuter Rail
1) GO Lakeshore West rail line capacity expansion by adding a third track from Port Credit to Oakville
Status: Completed.
2) GO Lakeshore West rail line capacity expansion by adding a third track from Burlington to Hamilton
Status: Completed to Burlington, track to West Harbour GO under construction.
3) GO Lakeshore East rail line capacity expansion by adding a third track from Union Station to Scarborough
Status: Completed, with a 4th track now in the planning stages.
4) GO Lakeshore East rail line extension from Oshawa to Bowmanville
Status: In planning stage.
5) GO Lakeshore rail line electrification (SuperGO)
Status: In planning stage, now referred to as GO Regional Express Rail (RER).
6) GO Milton rail line capacity expansion from Union Station to Milton
Status: Talked about, but no serious planning has come of it.
7) GO Georgetown rail line capacity expansion from Union Station to Georgetown
Status: Substantially complete to Bramalea GO as part of the Georgetown South project, with only an underpass under the 401 remaining. An additional track through Brampton was also completed as part of the Georgetown North project. Work on expanding capacity further through Brampton is largely on hold pending negotiations for the Missing Link.
8) GO Bradford rail line capacity expansion from Union Station to Bradford
Status: Phase 1 is substantially complete, with Phase II recently entering the RFQ stage.
9) GO Bradford rail line extension and capacity expansion from Bradford to Barrie
Status: Complete, with Allandale Waterfront GO now serving as the terminus of the Barrie Line.
10) GO Richmond Hill rail line capacity expansion from Union Station to Richmond Hill
Status: Hasn't happened, with the Richmond Hill Line not being included in the RER program as well.
11) GO Richmond Hill rail line extension to Aurora Road
Status: Hasn't happened yet, though construction recently began on Bloomington GO (scheduled to open in 2019), 4 km south of Aurora Road. Reference to Aurora Road was removed as part of the Big Move update.
12) GO Stouffville rail line capacity expansion from Union Station to Stouffville and extension of the line to Uxbridge
Status: Double tracking has begun between Scarborough Junction and Unionville, but no extension to Uxbridge is being planned at this time.
13) New GO Crosstown rail line between Weston Road and the Don Valley
Status: Not even close.
14) New GO Crosstown rail line between the Don Valley and Agincourt
Status: Again, not even close.
15) New GO rail line from Union Station to Bolton
Status: A Transit Priority Assessment Process (TPAP) was undertaken, but nothing to date has come of it.
16) New GO rail line on the Havelock line from Agincourt to Pickering
Status: In the same category as #13-15, though this section of track has been mentioned as a potential corridor for VIA High Frequency Rail (HFR).
17) New GO rail line on the Seaton line from Agincourt to Brock Road in Pickering
Status: Not even close. Also worth mentioning that #13, 14, 16, and 17 are all on CP's mainline, for which they are extremely reluctant to give any capacity to GO.
GO Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
18) GO Bus Rapid Transit along Highway 403 from Oakville GO rail station to Mississauga
Status: Nowhere to be found.
19) Mississauga Transitway west of Mississauga City Centre to Winston Churchill Boulevard
Status: Completed, and recently opened all the way to Winston Churchill.
20) Mississauga Transitway east of Mississauga City Centre to Renforth Drive
Status: Completed, with the exception of Renforth Station, which is scheduled to open later in 2017.
21) GO Bus Rapid Transit northwest Toronto link from Renforth Drive to York University
Status: M.I.A.
22) GO Bus Rapid Transit on Markham Road from Highway 407 in Markham to Highway 401
Status: This has entered the Scarborough transit plan black hole.
23) GO Bus Rapid Transit on Highway 401 from Markham Road in Scarborough to Pickering GO rail station
Status: Not happening.
24) GO Bus Rapid Transit connector on Highway 427 from Renforth Drive to Highway 407
Status: A preferred design for part of the corridor (from Albion Rd to Highway 7) has been completed, but nothing south of that.
25) GO Bus Rapid Transit along Highway 407 from York University to Langstaff (Yonge Street) and on to Markham Road
26) GO Bus Rapid Transit along Highway 407 from Burlington to Highway 401
27) GO Bus Rapid Transit along Highway 407 from Highway 401 to Highway 427
28) GO Bus Rapid Transit along Highway 407 from Highway 427 to York University
Status: Three segments are in the planning phase (Hurontario St to Highway 400, Highway 400 to Kennedy Rd, and Kennedy Rd to Brock Rd). Extension to Burlington not being planned at this time.
Subway and Other Rapid Transit
29) Yonge subway line extension north from Finch station to Highway 7 (Langstaff)
Status: In design stage, but its completion timeline has recently been tied to the Relief Line's.
30) VIVA Markham North-South Link from Markham Centre to Don Mills station
Status: Currently operating in mixed traffic as VIVA Green, but corridor is not included in York Region's VivaNext plan.
31) Pearson Air-Rail link to Union Station
Status: Completed. Began operations in June 2015 as UP Express.
32) Hamilton east-west rapid transit on King/Main Streets from Eastgate Mall to McMaster University
Status: Project is currently on track for a 2018 construction start, to be completed in 2024.
33) Hamilton north-south rapid transit on James/Upper James Streets from Rymal Road to King Street
Status: Was announced as a BRT line in February 2017, but the last-minute re-inclusion of Eastgate Square as the LRT terminus has put the extent of the BRT in doubt.
34) Brampton Acceleride on Queen Street from Main Street to Highway 50
Status: Implemented as Züm's 501 Queen route in 2010, albeit with minimal physical on-road BRT infrastructure. As for an upgrade to true BRT, Brampton has been largely pre-occupied with its north-south corridor instead (see next item).
35) Hurontario Light Rail Transit from Queen Street in Brampton to Lakeshore Road in Mississauga
Status: Brampton Council rejected the Main Street alignment in October 2015, truncating the line at Steeles Avenue. Project is expected to begin construction in 2018 and be complete in 2022.
36) Eglinton Avenue Light Rail Transit from Renforth Drive to Kennedy Road in Scarborough
Status: Truncated to Mount Dennis in 2010, and currently under construction. Expected to be complete in 2021. Planning for the western extension to Renforth (and potentially Pearson) is being undertaken as part of the SmartTrack program by the City of Toronto.
37) Yonge Bus Rapid Transit busway from Finch station to Steeles Avenue
Status: Deferred in favour of Yonge Subway extension.
38) Dundas Street West Light Rail Transit from Kipling station to Hurontario Street
Status: Currently being planned as part of the Dundas BRT.
39) Scarborough RT extension from McCowan station to Sheppard Avenue
Status: ...don't even get me started.
40) Sheppard Avenue Light Rail Transit from Don Mills Road to Morningside Avenue
Status: Technically still alive, but for all intents and purposes, comatose, maybe dead.
41) Finch Avenue West Light Rail Transit from Highway 27 to Yonge Street
Status: Cut back to Finch West Station in 2010, cancelled and revived during the Ford era. Utility relocation began this year, with construction expected to be complete in 2021.
42) Don Mills Road Light Rail Transit from Steeles Avenue to the Bloor-Danforth subway
Status: Part of the deferred Transit City projects. Part of the corridor (from Danforth to Sheppard) is being considered in the Relief Line Long plan.
43) Jane Street Light Rail Transit from Steeles Avenue to Jane station on the Bloor-Danforth subway
Status: Still technically part of the City's Transit Master Plan, but not considered a priority project. There are also concerns that the right-of-way on Jane south of Eglinton is too narrow for in-median LRT, and that a tunnel may be required if this project ever moves forward.
44) Malvern Light Rail Transit from Kennedy station to Malvern
Status: Has been bundled in with the Scarborough Subway Extension, but the lack of sufficient funding for both projects leaves its future in doubt. Updated plan has also truncated the line to the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) from Malvern.
45) Waterfront West Light Rail Transit from Union Station to Long Branch
Status: Subject to a Waterfront Transit "Reset".
46) VIVA Yonge Street from Steeles Avenue to Highway 7 (Langstaff)
Status: Deferred in favour of the Yonge Subway Extension. However, VivaNext does include curbside BRT stations on Yonge south of Clark, which could be seen as a duplication in service.
47) VIVA Yonge Street from Highway 7 (Langstaff) to 19th Avenue in Richmond Hill
Status: Began construction in 2014, estimated completion in 2018.
48) VIVA Yonge Street from 19th Avenue to Newmarket
Status: Rapidway from Savage to Davis began construction in 2014, expected completion in 2018. Remainder of the line is listed as "future rapid transit".
49) VIVA Highway 7 from Highway 50 to Yonge Street (Langstaff)
Status: Under construction from Yonge to Helen (east of Islington), with expected completion in 2019. Islington to Martin Grove is listed as "future rapid transit", and Martin Grove to Highway 50 will have curbside BRT begin construction in 2018.
50) VIVA Highway 7 from Yonge Street (Langstaff) to Cornell
Status: Completed to Downtown Markham, with the exception of between Market and Unionville GO. Remainder of corridor is listed as "future rapid transit".
51) Durham rapid transit line on Highway 2 from Oshawa to Pickering
Status: A mixture of complete, under construction, and in planning. The project is being completed in several phases.
52) Spadina subway line extension north from Downsview station to Highway 7 (Vaughan Corporate Centre)
Status: Will be completed by the end of 2017.
What do you think of the progress ten years later? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
