Eglinton Crosstown line

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The Eglinton Crosstown LRT, or the Crosstown, is a light rail transit line under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to be owned by Metrolinx and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It was first conceived in 2007 by former Toronto Mayor David Miller and former chair of the TTC Adam Giambrone as part of Transit City, a large-scale transit expansion plan consisting of other proposed light rail transit lines.

Upon election of Mayor Rob Ford, a subsequent proposal was made to build the line fully underground as a rapid transit line, part of the Toronto subway and RT. After public debate about whether to keep the line entirely underground or to construct it partially underground, Toronto City Council and Metrolinx decided to build the line according to the 2009 Transit City plan as a light rail line only partially underground, between Mount Dennis in York and Kennedy in Scarborough. Extending the line further westbound would be considered as part of the TTC's future expansion plans.

History

Concept

Main article: Transit City

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT was conceived as a partially underground light rail line, announced in 2007 by Toronto Mayor David Miller and TTC chair Adam Giambrone. It was part of the Transit City plan, which included the implementation of six other light rail lines across Toronto. The original version of the line would have run from Pearson Airport along Silver Dart Road to Convair Drive. The planned line would have then turned southwest, bridging over Highway 401 to reach Commerce Boulevard on the other side, where it would run south to reach Eglinton Avenue and the east end of the Mississauga Transitway. The rest of the line would run east along Eglinton Avenue, including a portion along which the previously-proposed Eglinton West subway line would have been built. The line would then cut across the city, intersecting every subway and RT line, with the exception of the Sheppard Line.

There were 43 stops planned for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, 13 of which would be underground.[1] Surface stops would be spaced on average 500 meters apart and the underground stations would be 850m apart on average, as constructing numerous underground stops would be costly. The average speed would be 28 km/h,[2] compared with the existing bus routes along Eglinton that have an average speed of 16 to 18 km/h.[3] The line would terminate at Kennedy Station to the east in Scarborough where it would meet the Bloor–Danforth subway, the proposed Scarborough Malvern LRT and the Stouffville GO train line. The proposed cost was $4.6 billion.[4] As a result of provincial funding cuts, construction of the line was divided into two phases: Phase One would end at Jane Street, and Phase Two would terminate as originally planned at Pearson Airport.

Miller's successor, Rob Ford, announced the cancellation of Transit City on December 1, 2010, the day he took office.[5] The redesigned Eglinton–Scarborough Crosstown line along with a Sheppard line extension was announced four months later, with the support of Metrolinx and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.[6] The redesigned line would put the 19-kilometre Eglinton portion completely underground, integrate the Scarborough RT portion, and run contiguously from Black Creek to McCowan. The cost would almost double to $8.2 billion and 18 fewer stops would be built. Most of the additional cost comes from putting 12 additional stations underground and for converting the Scarborough RT.

On February 8, 2012, in a special meeting, City Council, led by Karen Stintz, voted 25–18 to override Mayor Ford's modifications to the project.[7] The vote reinstated the 2009 "Transit City" proposal originally approved by both council and the province, with the eastern portion of the line running from Laird to Kennedy on the surface and the western surface section running from Black Creek Drive to Keele Street.[7] On November 30, 2012, the environmental assessment was revised, such that the east tunnel portal location would be moved from east of Brentciffe to east of Don Mills,[8] however this was reversed in May 2013 after receiving community feedback.[9] In January 2013, Toronto City Councillors from Scarborough put forward an alternative plan to build the Eglinton portion of the LRT as planned, but to exclude the RT right of way from the line. In July 2013, plans to combine the Scarborough LRT (the current Scarborough RT) with the Eglinton Crosstown Line were abandoned altogether.[10][11]

Construction

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT will run for a total of 25.2 km from Black Creek Drive to Kennedy Station. Under the plan endorsed by Mayor Ford, 19.5 km the line would have been underground and 5.7 km elevated.[12] The line will run underground for 10 km before rising to the surface east of Brentcliffe Avenue.[13] There will be up to 26 stations in total, with an estimated 100 million trips annually in 2031.[14] The Presto card will be available for use across the line. The first part of tunnel construction involves the construction of a launch shaft for tunnel boring machines (TBMs) at Black Creek Drive, which began on October 2011. Metrolinx ordered four TBMs at a cost of $54 million on July 28, 2010.[15] These TBMs were expected to commence midtown tunnelling in mid-2012.[16] However, it has been pushed back to June 2013. The average excavation rate for a single machine is 75 meters a week of lined tunnel.

On November 9, 2011, in Keelesdale Park, mayor Rob Ford and then-premier Dalton McGuinty officially broke ground on the new project.[17] In addition, tunnel boring machines have arrived on February 22, 2013 in Keelesdale Park.[18] They are named Dennis, Lea, Humber, and Don, with the former two being the names chosen by Jason Paris, a moderator of the Urban Toronto blog and forums. Dennis is named after Mount Dennis, Lea is named after Leaside, Humber is named after the Humber River, and Don is named after the Don River. The names Dennis and Lea combined allude to the poet Dennis Lee.[19][20]

In January 2013, Infrastructure Ontario issued a request for qualifications to shortlist companies to construct the line. A request for proposal is expected in the summer of 2013.[21] Construction on the line began in June 2013.[22]

See also

Portal icon Toronto portal
Portal icon Trains portal

References

  1. ↑ "Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit stops and stations" (PDF). City of Toronto. November 2010. http://www3.ttc.ca/PDF/About_the_TTC/Transit_City/Eglinton_LRT_route_diagram1.pdf. Retrieved 30 July 2011. 
  2. ↑ "Eglinton Crosstown Backgrounder". Eglinton Crosstown. Metrolinx. http://www.thecrosstown.ca/the-project/fact-sheets/eglinton-crosstown. Retrieved 8 November 2013. 
  3. ↑ Spears, John (2008-08-09). "Distance between LRT stops criticized". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/article/475187. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
  4. ↑ "Eglinton Transit City line may survive". CBC. 2011-01-04. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/01/04/eglinton-lrt-metrolinx653.html. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 
  5. ↑ Mayor Rob Ford: “Transit City is over” Toronto Life December 1, 2010
  6. ↑ "Funding questions linger after new transit plan announced" By Natalie Alcoba, National Post. March 31, 2011
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kalinowski, Tess; Dale, Daniel (2012-02-09). "Special transit meeting: Mayor Rob Ford dismisses council’s vote against his subway plan". The Toronto Star (Toronto). Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1146793--toronto-transit-sheppard-panel-will-overwhelmingly-endorse-lrt-over-subway-options?bn=1. 
  8. ↑ http://thecrosstown.ca/news-media/whats-new/Online-Consultation-Laird-Don-Valley
  9. ↑ Kalinowski, Tess. "Metrolinx puts Leslie back on the Crosstown map". The Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/05/12/metrolinx_puts_leslie_back_on_the_crosstown_map.html. Retrieved 8 November 2013. 
  10. ↑ Tess Kalinowski (2013-01-17). "TTC report threatens to reopen Scarborough subway debate: One commissioner says it's proof Scarborough can have a new subway line under construction within the decade, but Metrolinx dismisses that". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestar.com%2Fnews%2Fcity_hall%2F2013%2F01%2F17%2Fttc_report_threatens_to_reopen_scarborough_subway_debate.html&date=2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03. "Glenn DeBaeremaeker (Ward 38, Scarborough Centre) said the latest TTC report gives him new confidence that there will be a subway underway in Scarborough within a decade." 
  11. ↑ Tess Kalinowski (2013-05-06). "Scarborough councillors seek subway line instead of LRT: A group of Toronto councillors wants to replace the planned LRT for Scarborough with a subway. But a subway would cost $500 million more". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestar.com%2Fnews%2Fgta%2F2013%2F05%2F06%2Fscarborough_councilors_seek_subway_line_instead_of_lrt.html&date=2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03. "An LRT would use the same route as the SRT. It would be 9.9 km versus 7.6 km of subway. The LRT would have seven stations, the subway, only three." 
  12. ↑ "Metrolinx / Toronto Transit Plan" Metrolinx. April 28, 2011
  13. ↑ "City of Toronto: Get Involved > Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) > Frequently Asked Questions > Stations and Stops". City of Toronto. 20 August 2101. http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/eglinton_crosstown_lrt/index.htm. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown Update" Metrolinx. June 23, 2011
  15. ↑ "Metrolinx orders tunneling machines" By Tess Kalinowski, Toronto Star. July 28, 2010
  16. ↑ TTC Construction Update: June 2011
  17. ↑ Crosstown Line Construction Begins
  18. ↑ http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/2013/02/22/eglinton_crosstown_lrt_tunneling_a_step_closer.html
  19. ↑ http://thecrosstown.ca/news-media/whats-new/announcing-the-winning-names-of-the-tunnel-boring-machine-naming-contest
  20. ↑ http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2013/06/eglinton-crosstown-tbms-get-personality-and-send
  21. ↑ "Request for Qualifications Issued for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Scarborough LRT Lines". January 22, 2013. http://www.infrastructureontario.ca/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2147489840. Retrieved March 10, 2013. 
  22. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/06/05/toronto-eglinton-tunnel-construction.html June 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.

External links

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