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St Clair West

junctionist said:
And there's that tiny railway bridge that allows for two lanes of traffic to pass underneath to Dundas at St. Clair and Scarlett. Runnymede Road had the same style of bridge until around 1982. This one should be replaced soon, but I haven't heard anything recently on the matter.
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Well if the idea for extending the St. Clair ROW all the way to Kipling station becomes reality, it will certainly have to be done. I assume that the issue will become active again once construction on the last phase of St. Clair finishes this year.
 
They may well rebuild the Scarlett underpass along the lines of Runnymede or Symington, which is fine for regular vehicle traffic. I think however, in order to get some manner of LRT/streetcar from St. Clair onto Dundas, they would have to do some realignment of the roads. I seem to recall it being a fairly sharp turn and dip. There *might* be an issue of longer articulated units being unable to go through on the existing grade, or having to proceed exceptionally slowly through two turns and causing all manner of backups.

So, I'm not sure if the city would have considered that back in 2004, as I think it predates the concept of a St. Clair ROW out to Kipling.
 
With proper RR clearance, might it be an appropriate place for a roundabout?
 
Towered said:
Well if the idea for extending the St. Clair ROW all the way to Kipling station becomes reality, it will certainly have to be done. I assume that the issue will become active again once construction on the last phase of St. Clair finishes this year.
Click to expand...

It was always surprising that when the ROW project was planned it didn't include an extension to Jane. It has been talked about for years, and given that the road surface has been so neglected, it would have been convenient to do everything at once.

The almost glacial pace of any sort of any infrastructure investment on this avenue is baffling. It took a decade just to cover an abandoned rail crossing with asphalt. Though with the attention that Transit City brings, I could envision a roundabout in maybe a quarter of a century :rolleyes: .
 
A tree grows on St. Clair West

Along the south side of St. Clair West, starting at Runnymede Road and between the roadway and the Wal-Mart, they had planted trees.
It was always my thinking that if the powers-that-be were to put a new LRT right-of-way down the middle of St. Clair towards Jane Street, that it would be widened to accommodate the right-of-way. However, planting the trees seems to me that they have other plans. Maybe underground? Between Runnymede Road and Symes Road, the roadway is too narrow for a right-of-way and four lanes of traffic. Unless they plan to route the right-of-way down to the railway just south of St. Clair and follow it to Jane Street, it seems to me that going underground at Symes Road is the way to go.
 
They wouldn't use the railway because there is no room, and I think the plan is to always have the LRT use street ROWs. Not that trees would get in the way of a project (as the Lansdowne narrowing shows), but it doesn't seem like anyone's thinking about it. Or, the trees could be part of some city mandating landscaping investment Wal-Mart has to make.
 
Didn't there used to be a railway line along the south side of St. Clair between Keele and Runnymede? I think it used to serve the stockyards and associated companies, like Swift's and so forth. It could be possible to have the ROW along one side of the street, leaving the traffic lanes unaltered, although it would be a very tight squeeze and not appreciated by owners on that side of the street.
 
There were two, one of which is still around. The one that isn't around was indeed on the south side, and it was replaced by a sidewalk. The crossing I mentioned that took more than a decade to cover was from this auxiliary line. It went as far Cobalt Avenue, at which point St. Clair narrows. Before Cobalt Avenue, there's space for one lane where the tracks were. Though, the subdivision left space for another lane on the other. Nonetheless, St. Clair narrows at Cobalt.

The one that is still in use goes through a park, crosses St. Clair and continues behind a large wall that separates it from a subdivision as it moves to Swift's, which changed its name to Bunge.

I think it's possible to widen St. Clair, because there are so many unbuilt lots used for car sales, and most of the buildings have parking in front, which could be expropriated.
 
Those rails were removed between Keele and Symes. The width is there for a right-of-way, but only east of Symes. West of Symes to Runnymede, it is a narrow road. Between Runnymede and Jane, there is some space available (only a Wal-Mart, nothing important, except for the trees. Don't want to upset the tree police, do we.) on the south side.
 
I guess there really isn't anyother way except to go through the narrow part of St. Clair from Symes to Runnymede and thence to Jane. Perhaps if the ROW went under the railway at Jane, it might be more practical and involve less work. The only other alternative I could see would be down the existing rail at Cobalt and through the park and onto the railway line. But I can't see support for putting a LRT/streetcar through a park and I don't imagine the CPR is very keen to share their land or have it expropriated.
 
St. Clair & Dufferin

Amazing how many of those buildings are still there and recognizable. I think only the old St. Clare's elementary school is missing.

f1231_it0222.jpg
 
This seems to be an inactive thread, but I wanted to comment on the Earlscourt Lad's amazing picture of Dufferin and St.Clair. It's hard to believe that that building has been a CIBC branch for nearly a hundred years. The exterior hasn't changed much, except for the addition of a wheelchair ramp. And those bow windows above the neighbouring stores are still there, if memory serves. A little further to the right, though, there's a large, windowless building, almost like an armoury. No idea what that is, unless it's the elementary school the Lad mentioned in his post. I used to work out at the fitness centre that now occupies most of the site, but that must be part of a much later structure.

Interestingly, if you look closely at St. Clair itself, I think you can just make out the surveyor's markings for the 'new' streetcar right of way...
 
Buck Mulligan said:
A little further to the right, though, there's a large, windowless building, almost like an armoury. No idea what that is, unless it's the elementary school the Lad mentioned in his post. I used to work out at the fitness centre that now occupies most of the site, but that must be part of a much later structure.
Click to expand...

It was a theatre/cinema.
 
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