Natika33
Active Member
I'm definitely happy for the Ontario Line, but have to doff my hat for the loss of not one, but two of my favourite mountain biking trails here (as well as all the trees and displaced wildlife, etc). 
Toronto Ontario Line 3 | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx
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ARG1
Senior Member
allengeorge
Senior Member
I don’t think anyone really decries some trees getting cut. But it’s a lot, and there’s a reasonable question to be asked if all of that was necessary. So - do they absolutely need to stage equipment there? Was there no other choice? If so - do they actually need that much space?
nfitz
Superstar
Anyone who has tried to work with Metrolinx is well aware that there's little thought out environmental concern in what they do.
Look at Smalls Creek a few years ago. After the local uproar, it was amazing how many fewer trees they removed, especially on the south side.
Look at Smalls Creek a few years ago. After the local uproar, it was amazing how many fewer trees they removed, especially on the south side.
Northern Light
Superstar
At best, this comment is exceedingly insensitive; but its also completely and utterly wrong.
The issue w/this project remains that it was designed and routed incorrectly. If this line follows Overlea and crossed the valley at that point and turns north at Overlea/DonMills You save hectares and hectares of nature, and not only do you still get the transit, you get a route with higher ridership that's more convenient to more people.
Brushing off people's concerns with extremely bad planning that does tangible environment damage in order to deliver a worse transit route is not a good look.
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hawc
Senior Member
Are you for real??
I ride through this valley every morning and it was gorgeous with all the trees and grass. Now it's nothing but mud.
No one on here is anti-transit. The Ontario Line is going to be an amazing addition to the city when it starts carrying passengers in the 2030s.
And yeah, you do have to break a few eggs to make an omelette, but you can be pro transit and saddened at the huge loss of green space that has had to happen because of it. The two are not mutually exclusive. If they had to tear down your house to build this line I'd be sad for you that you lost your house even though I'd understand the necessity of transit.
Plus as Northern Light points out the place at which this routes across the valley is very questionable. And the need to cut down such massive areas of trees to have room for staging feels really excessive. These tress once replanted won't be back to the same density for 30 years.
hawc
Senior Member
One more shot from the day, right near the Metrolinx site, an angle you don't often see of this building.
smallspy
Senior Member
While those trails may have to be closed during the construction, I have little doubt that they won't be back after.I'm definitely happy for the Ontario Line, but have to doff my hat for the loss of not one, but two of my favourite mountain biking trails here (as well as all the trees and displaced wildlife, etc).
And to be honest, I suspect that that PA and Catalyst won't even be able to remain closed due to the construction. There are enough riders out there (and a bunch in the construction industry, too) that will see to it.
Many of the trees will for sure, but there is also going to be a requirement to maintain clearance around the guideway. Which means that there will be a permanent swath of tree-less-ness across both sections of the valley from now on.
Dan
hawc
Senior Member
Agree. You can certainly see that any of the other big bridges crossing the Don Valley.
crs1026
Superstar
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urbancog
Active Member
The landscape restoration plan details for the Eglinton West Extension guideway probably give us an idea of what it will look like along Don Mills after restoration:
As soon as the land drops away to the archery range, there will be enough height below the bridge deck for trees to eventually grow to full height without infringing on the track or OCS.
As soon as the land drops away to the archery range, there will be enough height below the bridge deck for trees to eventually grow to full height without infringing on the track or OCS.
fanoftoronto
Active Member
To be fair, the older Bloor Danforth bridge constructions were also fairly intensive with the clear cutting.
Old Mill station:
Rosedale valley bridge:
The cutting for OL does seem more excessive than these examples but not by too much. We'll have to wait and see the satellite pics of the area during heavy construction to see if they were made the right decision.
Old Mill station:
Rosedale valley bridge:
The cutting for OL does seem more excessive than these examples but not by too much. We'll have to wait and see the satellite pics of the area during heavy construction to see if they were made the right decision.
hawc
Senior Member
Maybe not quite satellite pics, but certainly I'll be doing lots of drone shots. I wonder how soon we'll start to see this footings and columns go up?
ARG1
Senior Member
The problem is that this decision (iirc) was made in response to local feedback because they wanted to minimize the amount of time the guideway spent above the street.
I fail to see how this changes the ridership numbers since it still serves the same stations at roughly the same locations. The only possible way this can impact riders is if this route increases travel times by a minute, or makes riding the train slightly noisier, which is a concern but I don't find this likely.
Regardless, I struggle to understand how my comment is tasteless when the person I was responding to was comparing this to "Belgium in WW1", which was among one of the most destructive and horrific events in human history. Guys its a small 50m wide strip of trees in an area that isn't deprived of them, this is simply what one should expect when building a new rail line that isn't underground. Even by modern Canadian transit construction standards there have been "more destructive" transformation. See: Otrain Phase 2 South
Before:
After:
And as for these biking trails, they mostly won't be negatively impacted. At most it would be like crossing under Bathurst Street in Cedarvale Park or Governors Bridge on the Beltline Trail, you'll notice it once and then move on and forget about it.
I know guys, this small bridge within a significantly larger forested green space is such a horror.
hawc
Senior Member
We'll see...