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The Davenport Diamond, one of the busiest train crossings in North America, is where CP Rail’s North Toronto Subdivision intersects with GO Transit’s Barrie Rail Corridor. The at-grade, rail-to-rail crossing is very similar to the four-way intersections found on many city streets, with traffic signals directing trains in the same way that traffic lights guide cars.
As trains take much longer the accelerate and decelerate, the Davenport Diamond is already a bottleneck, impacting the reliability of freight and commuter traffic. Service delays exceeding 10 minutes are a regular occurrence, and the lack of regular schedules for CP freight traffic have the potential to add to the diamond's congestion problems as the years go on. With significant GO traffic expansions planned, the bottleneck will be severely exacerbated. Metrolinx is therefore exploring grade-separation options to remove the bottleneck at the diamond.
Several options were tabled for the grade separation, before being narrowed down to two choices; one which would elevate the GO line over the CP line, and one which would bury the GO line under the CP line. The elevated GO option offers several advantages over the "under" option, including cost of the project ($120m for the "over" option vs $650m for "under"), timeline (2 years for "over" vs 5-7 years for "under"), and several others factors like utility relocation, impact on TTC service, and excavation. In all categories, the "over" option is the more viable one, and this plan is the one preferred by Metrolinx.
Elevated infrastructure isn't always the popular option with residents though, and considering the proposed elevated structure would reach the height of a three-storey house and stretch ten metres across, community involvement will be an important part in the selection process. A reference panel of residents was recruited and stakeholders were briefed by Metrolinx earlier this year. Amongst other work, the panel will explore measures to mitigate the sonic and visual effects of an elevated structure.
The reference panel has already begun to meet and the next step in the process will be community consultation, with the first meeting scheduled for May 12, and a follow-up slated for early Summer. This to be followed by a Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP) notice of commencement, expected for Fall. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the May 12 consultation, 7 PM to 9 PM, at the Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre, located at 1900 Davenport Road.
