East Harbour Transit Hub is a combined commuter and rapid transit station under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. For GO Transit, it will be an infill station on the Lakeshore East line between the Union Station and Danforth stations. The transit hub will also serve GO trains for the Stouffville line,[4] as well as the Ontario Line, a light metro line under construction. There will also be provision for a future streetcar line serving the hub.
 East Harbour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Eastern Avenue, Toronto, Ontario | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°39′18″N 79°20′51″W / 43.6551°N 79.3476°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Metrolinx | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 3 island platforms[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Description
editEast Harbour Transit Hub is being built along the existing railway embankment between Eastern Avenue and the Don Valley Parkway.[5] The station will have six parallel tracks, two tracks for the Ontario Line on the northwest side of the railway embankment plus four tracks for GO trains on its southeast side. There will be three island platforms, each serving a pair of tracks: one platform for Ontario Line trains, one for westbound GO trains and another for eastbound GO trains. The GO platforms will serve both local and express trains. The station will serve GO trains running on the Lakeshore East and Stouffville lines. All platforms will have elevator access. The station concourse will have customer amenities and an accessible drop-off area.[4][1][6] The station will have six pedestrian entrances, three on each side of the station, to connect to the concourse.[5]
After completion of the station, Broadview Avenue would be extended south from Eastern Avenue, passing under the station, to continue to Commissioners Street. There would be provision for a future streetcar service along the Broadview Avenue extension into the Port Lands. To the west of the station, there would be a multi-use path and trail bridge over the Don River to Corktown Common.[5]
History
editThe idea for a station at East Harbour originated from SmartTrack, a 2014 proposal by then-mayoral candidate John Tory to adapt GO Transit rail lines for urban transit. There were originally to be 13 new SmartTrack stations; however, by 2021, that number had fallen to five but still included East Harbour.[2][7] The station would be near the site of a former Unilever soap factory.[6]
By March 2018, the City of Toronto had a master plan to redevelop the East Harbour district and make it a transit-oriented development. The development would lie within a former industrial area bounded approximately by the Don River, Eastern Avenue, Booth Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard. Development would include new streets, office buildings and public spaces.[8] The city had hoped to make East Harbour a major employment centre, creating 50,000 local jobs.[6]
In April 2019, the province announced that it would construct the Ontario Line, a light metro, which would replace the city's proposed Relief Line. Thus, East Harbour would become an integrated transit hub serving both the light metro as well as GO Transit trains.[9][5] The province wanted East Harbour Transit Hub to be a "Union Station to the east".[6]
By April 2021, the province proposed more residential development in the area.[6] As of 2022[update], the plan called for a mixed-use community with 4,300 residential units.[10]
Construction of the East Harbour Transit Hub was expected to start in March 2023.[2] In July 2023, work started to replace the railway bridge over Eastern Avenue with a wider bridge in order to handle the six tracks to pass through the station.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b "Lakeshore East Line GO Expansion". Metrolinx. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ a b c "From a planned 22 stations to five. How did John Tory's $8-billion SmartTrack public transit plan go off the rails?". Toronto Star. March 27, 2023.
- ^ "Ontario Line costs nearly double after awarding of latest contracts". Toronto Star. November 23, 2022. Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ a b "Refined Ontario Line plans will better serve communities of Riverside, Leslieville". Metrolinx. April 6, 2021. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "SmartTrack stations program technical update" (PDF). City of Toronto. 2021. pp. 6, 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Benzie, Robert (April 12, 2021). "Province plans new transit hub for Ontario Line, including a 'Union Station to the east'". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
- ^ "SmartTrack Stations Program". Metrolinx. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ "East Harbour Master Plan" (PDF). City of Toronto. March 19, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2019.
- ^ Spurr, Ben (February 15, 2020). "How Ford's Ontario Line plan came together in just three months — with secrecy, a shifting route and a consultant". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ "East Harbour | Toronto, Ontario, Canada". eastharbour.ca. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ "New bridge coming to Eastern Avenue". Metrolinx. July 18, 2023. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023.