AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From the May WT DRP:
https://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/wcm...2/675Commissioners_MayDRP+(2).pdf?MOD=AJPERES
AoD
https://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/wcm...2/675Commissioners_MayDRP+(2).pdf?MOD=AJPERES
AoD
The rail line is owned by CreateToronto (formerly Portlands Development Corp) and goes to both sewage plant and (along Unwin) to the Cruise Ship Terminal part of the Port. I have been told that having it there is a Ports Toronto obligation on the City (or CreateToronto) and they actually did lots of repairs on it in 2018 which is probably what is showing on Google maps. They replaced lots of rail around the Y junction just behind Sunbelt Rentals and also along Unwin Street. Typically, the line was then cut when work started on the Canada Post building and it now serves no purpose. The CP building was allowed on assumption it will be reconnected but .... I am not sure that having a rail line in the Portlands is a bad idea (at least while it is more industrial than anything) and it hardly interfered with any recreational use as the Sewage plant trains (1 -2 a week) were at night and trains have not gone to the Cruise Ship area for ages. I would certainly say that it is far less polluting to remove sewage waste by train than by truck so I am not really sure why you need to rant about rails in Portlands. But if you do .....So, Canada Post now has 3 buildings in the Portlands area? (675 and 600 Commissioners and the South Central Letter Processing Plant on Eastern)
.....why?
Also for that rail spur, it also looks like the treatment plant has been doing either removal or retrofitting on the rail spur within the property. If you look on Google maps (which is a bit old, they dont show the CP development at all) you can see that the rails have been torn up just a bit east of where it splits. They may possibly be moving to a water based shipping method, ive seen them developing their lakeside infrastructure recently. But your guess is as good as mine.
Is there a separate post where I can rant about the idiocy of the rails within the lower portlands? It's kind of off topic here
The rail line is owned by CreateToronto (formerly Portlands Development Corp) and goes to both sewage plant and (along Unwin) to the Cruise Ship Terminal part of the Port. I have been told that having it there is a Ports Toronto obligation on the City (or CreateToronto) and they actually did lots of repairs on it in 2018 which is probably what is showing on Google maps. They replaced lots of rail around the Y junction just behind Sunbelt Rentals and also along Unwin Street. Typically, the line was then cut when work started on the Canada Post building and it now serves no purpose. The CP building was allowed on assumption it will be reconnected but .... I am not sure that having a rail line in the Portlands is a bad idea (at least while it is more industrial than anything) and it hardly interfered with any recreational use as the Sewage plant trains (1 -2 a week) were at night and trains have not gone to the Cruise Ship area for ages. I would certainly say that it is far less polluting to remove sewage waste by train than by truck so I am not really sure why you need to rant about rails in Portlands. But if you do .....
As we have seen with the CP building, if the (hardly used) rail is in the way they simply get rid of it. If they do not replace the missing section at CP building the rest of it is useless anyway. The shingle factory does have a spur across Lake Shore but from looking at the tracks it has not seen a train for ages.A few years ago there was a very under the table idea to utilize these rails for an LRT or some sort of public transit (not the rails themselves but the space they occupy) and the discussion was brought up as to why it wouldnt be possible because the rails are currently being used. (for reference, the rail spur in question was the entirety from the don river all through the portlands) I was told that there were 3 obligations on that spur, a roof shingle factory, the Ashbridges Bay treatment plant, and the cruise ship terminal. The shingle factory has their spur off lake shore, which I dont think there is any indication of that moving/changing soon. And with the investments made by the treatment plant, I think they have intentions to move away from rail if possible. That leaves the cruise ship terminal which is the biggest issue in my opinion. When I asked the city about their involvement with that portion of the rail spur (which I have never seen a train go down) they said "we dont use it, we just try to keep it in good order, its the federal government that says they might eventually use it and so we cant remove it" and if you look at the map release by the Toronto Portlands Company here it is in fact federal land.
So my point is basically, either use it or get rid of it, if the feds want it either for a potential redevelopment of the cruise ship terminal land or something else, THEN USE IT. Or, if the province wants to do something with the Hearn (in which the rails run directly through) then do something there. I just think its a waste of potential space.