Is there a general consensus on when (if?) this Cherry line will be extended south of the rail corridor? I get that the QQ East line that Cherry would connect to may still be in some fantasy realm, but what I want to know is how realistic will it be for Cherry to cross the Don River mouth/Keating Channel and into the Portlands / future Villiers Island neighbourhood?
As it stands the current Cherry bridge is a lift bridge, and naturally a new dedicated bridge for the streetcar line would be required. How expensive and realistic is that? Would it have to be a lift bridge as well, and is that feasible?
Another reason I ask is that this connection would be important for deadheading trains along Commissoners to the new Leslie Barns, or in the situation where an accident prevents streetcars using Leslie->Queen.
There is a lot going on in this specific area (West Don Lands, Pan Am, East Bayfront developments, Keating Precinct, QQ East line...), and a lot more in the works:
-Unilever redevelopment and extension of Broadview southward
-study of demolishing the Gardiner
-study of demolishing, then
rejigging the Gardiner to allow for development
-eventual development of Villers Island and Port Lands
-rebuilding an entire river mouth and wetlands
I'll attach some images for those needing to get gist of the area in question. All were taken from recent-ish reports. The third image shows a DRL with various routings, and GO station. The last image I thought interesting because it involves ferries. Maybe it belongs in the fantasy section...or maybe all of this does. There's definitely a lot to take in and consider, and perhaps this post will serve as a reminder to some.