Rail Deck Park (?, ?, ?)

[MetroMan]

So is this in lieu of Cressy's proposed expropriation of the parking lot on Richmond and John? That alone would cost an estimated tens of millions for what would be a small parkette. What we need downtown is a large park and Rail Deck Park is exactly what we need. A linear park that serves multiple neighbourhoods while connecting them to the waterfront.

 

[Tuck]

Wow, an idea from Tory that doesn't make me want to repeatedly bash my head against the wall! Is such a thing even possible? Apparently!

In unrelated news, pretty sure I saw a pig flying over the 401 today? Weird.

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I like the idea. A lot. A big park like that, right in the heart of the city isa fantastic idea. Even if it means covering the rail tracks =(

Of course, who is going to pay for it is a big concern, and there are other projects that are more critical. But still, this is something thats would absolutely be pushed forward, and will change Toronto for the better.

 

[gweed123]

I wonder if, with this massive new park just to the north of CityPlace, the existing park blocks within CityPlace could be redeveloped, further increasing density in the neighbourhood. Also, I wonder if there will be any zoning by-law amendments to allow for greater density north of Front between Spadina and Bathurst. It would be amazing to have a Central Park-esque skyscraper wall on the north side of the park. After all, more density in this area means more Section 37 funds to build the park.

 

[TDotTeen]

So is this in lieu of Cressy's proposed expropriation of the parking lot on Richmond and John?

I'm wondering the same thing. Anyone have any info?

 

[gweed123]

Sounds great, but what about Scarborough? Don't tell me there's not enough money to provide a rail park in Scarborough. People on the right are tired of seeing large parks being planned only for the downtown elites...

Please tell me this is satire. Rail parks are for when you're building over top of surface rail, not for when you're tunnelling underneath single family homes.

 

[Tulse]

Sounds great, but what about Scarborough? Don't tell me there's not enough money to provide a rail park in Scarborough. People on the right are tired of seeing large parks being planned only for the downtown elites...

I presume what you really mean is that they should put a rail yard underneath Rouge Park...

 

[TransitBart]

Yep, CTV News just reported 21 acres, which is 8.5 hectares.

Same size as Withrow Park actually.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Sounds great, but what about Scarborough? Don't tell me there's not enough money to provide a rail park in Scarborough. People in forgotten Scarborough are tired of seeing large parks being planned only for the use of the downtown elites...

They can very easily turn any of the parking lots surrounding the Scarborough Town Centre into a park... or two.

 

[Tuck]

They can very easily turn any of the parking lots surrounding the Scarborough Town Centre into a park... or two.

Bu-bu-but war on the cars!

 

[salsa]

A visualization of how Rail Deck Park might look like:

posted by Brian Gilham on twitter

 

[W. K. Lis]

The Rail Deck Park is located between Bathurst Street on the west, to Blue Jays Way on the east. That leaves the tracks east of Blue Jays West to be covered over by a new or expanded convention centre.

Maybe, in time, they'll even cover the tracks west of Bathurst Street That way, a Front Street streetcar could run from Liberty Village to Cherry Street. Maybe even east beyond Cherry Street to connect with Kingston Road via Eastern Avenue, passing through the Unilever redevelopment district.

Then there will be a battle on whether or not to keep the 502 DOWTOWNER or 503 KINGSTON ROAD names, or use 502 FRONT?

 

[TrickyRicky]

A fantastic, if potentially unfeasible, concept. Too bad about the architecture framing the park though. Some greenery and colourful structures should help but you can only do so much here I think.

 

[Miscreant]

A visualization of how Rail Deck Park might look like:

View attachment 82667
posted by Brian Gilham on twitter

It almost looks too good to be true. I'll be ecstatic if this comes to fruition. I'm sure the City Place dwellers there are also loving the huge boost to their property values.

 

[mdrejhon]

My biggest concern is how this may affect the future USRC speedups (30/45kph approaches in the future) that was supposedly necessary to raise throughput to 49 trains per hour. The pillars needed for this park will absolutely require strong coordination with Metrolinx over this. Prefer mostly pillarless options with massive trusses, to keep future flexibility. Otherwise, you will be essentially locking-in the USRC layout.

If this can be coordinated with Metrolinx simultaneous with electrificafion with a 100% dual-mode locomotive and EMU fleet and switching to electric-only operations under the park, this could tie in really well. Applies to VIA too, give. HFR desires, with only extremely limited diesel loco ops (e.g. Canadian). Circa 2030, unless accelerated for Expo 2025?

Still need to solve the flying pig epidemic first.

 

[rbt]

The pillars needed for this park will absolutely require strong coordination with Metrolinx over this.

Metrolinx's new station is in this area and platforms, assuming 12-car train compatible, take up about 240m of the ~700m length of the park. If you assume the station is centered near Spadina, there will be quite wide gaps in the tracks leading into and out of the station.

Pillars aren't going to be a problem and nearly 1/3rd of the park is on the station roof itself.

I expect the park will be built at the exact same pace as the station is constructed; which means over several decades because they only intend to build Barrie Line stop at the moment. The big win here is for people who want the Front Street widening as that will almost certainly be the first thing completed.