Don Mills LRT (TTC)
Encyclopedia
The Don Mills LRT was a proposed light rail
line in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. It was part of the Transit City
proposal announced March 16, 2007, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission
. It was expected to cost approximately $675 million, with construction to begin in 2012, and an expected opening in 2016. It would've been the fifth of the seven Transit City lines to be complete after the Sheppard East LRT, Etobicoke-Finch West LRT, Waterfront West LRT, and Eglinton Crosstown LRT lines.
However, Mayor Rob Ford
cancelled the line after taking office in December 2010.
. This extension takes the Don Mills LRT from the Toronto/York Region border north to Highway 7 in Markham
/Richmond Hill
via Don Mills Road and, from John Street northward, Leslie Street. It is highly likely that the LRT would then be extended further north to Major Mackenzie Drive, such that it would meet a potential BRT/LRT corridor along Major Mackenzie Drive, as Metrolinx has identified one to be needed within its 25-year plan.
, and is a likely extension of the Don Mills tramline or LRT. This segment would be built as a subway, however, without level crossings, to allow for more frequent operation of units.
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
line in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was part of the Transit City
Transit City
Transit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced by then-Toronto Mayor David Miller and Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission Adam Giambrone on March 16, 2007...
proposal announced March 16, 2007, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
. It was expected to cost approximately $675 million, with construction to begin in 2012, and an expected opening in 2016. It would've been the fifth of the seven Transit City lines to be complete after the Sheppard East LRT, Etobicoke-Finch West LRT, Waterfront West LRT, and Eglinton Crosstown LRT lines.
However, Mayor Rob Ford
Rob Ford
Robert Bruce "Rob" Ford is the 64th and current Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat in 2003 and again in 2006...
cancelled the line after taking office in December 2010.
Route layout
The Don Mills LRT line would run for 17.6 km, estimated to account for 21.2 million trips in 2021.Steeles Avenue to Overlea Boulevard
A significant portion of the line will run in a median on Don Mills Road, from Steeles Avenue at the northern tip of Toronto to Overlea Boulevard. Stops will be located every 660 m, or three stops every 2 km (distance between arteries in Toronto.) As Don Mills is most often a very wide road, this portion is fairly straightforward. The line then heads west on Overlea Boulevard through a dense tract of East York. Overlea has a wide median, easily allowing for a tramline or LRT.Overlea Boulevard to Bloor-Danforth
The segment south of Overlea Boulevard has been debated for a few reasons. There are two main options with subsets of choices for the route south to Bloor-Danforth. The line must either cross over the Don Valley via the Millwood Bridge (which will need structural work before it can support such a line), or descend into the valley via Millwood Road, Redway Road and the Bayview Avenue extension. If the line crosses the valley, it faces significant obstacles. None of the north-south thoroughfares in East York are wide enough for an LRT right of way. Thus, the three options are to tunnel under Broadview Avenue or Pape Avenue to reach Bloor and the subway. With these routes, stops would be located underneath major crossroads. If the line descends into the valley, there are two problems. First, Redway Road does not extend all the way to Bayview Avenue yet, and would need to be extended, likely as a streetcar-only route. Also, the connection to Bloor is troublesome because of the vertical distance. The LRT would need to negotiate the ramps connecting the Don Valley Parkway to Bloor Street in order to ascend to a reasonable height for a connection to the Bloor-Danforth subway. These options would provide an express service from Overlea Boulevard to Bloor Street.Potential extensions
These segments are not actually part of Transit City. They may be constructed at the same time the rest of the line is built or later.Highway 7 to Steeles Avenue
The Don Mills LRT had long been conceived to continue north into York Region from the currently proposed terminus at Steeles AvenueSteeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue is an east-west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western Greater Toronto Area from Milborough Townline in Halton Region east to the Scarborough-Pickering limit. It runs for within...
. This extension takes the Don Mills LRT from the Toronto/York Region border north to Highway 7 in Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
/Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...
via Don Mills Road and, from John Street northward, Leslie Street. It is highly likely that the LRT would then be extended further north to Major Mackenzie Drive, such that it would meet a potential BRT/LRT corridor along Major Mackenzie Drive, as Metrolinx has identified one to be needed within its 25-year plan.
Bloor/Danforth to Downtown
It has long been proposed as a subway line, the Downtown Relief LineDowntown Relief Line
The Downtown Relief subway line is a subway line planned for Toronto, Canada, but not yet constructed. Various plans along the basic right-of-way have been proposed since the earliest history of the Toronto subway system, which are collected in the Queen Street subway article.-History:The Downtown...
, and is a likely extension of the Don Mills tramline or LRT. This segment would be built as a subway, however, without level crossings, to allow for more frequent operation of units.
Proposed stops/stations
The TTC has not indicated stop spacing on the Don Mills line yet. This list does not include potential extensions of the Don Mills LRT. The distances between these stops varies, but they are likely candidates, from north to south:On Don Mills Road
- Steeles AvenueSteeles AvenueSteeles Avenue is an east-west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western Greater Toronto Area from Milborough Townline in Halton Region east to the Scarborough-Pickering limit. It runs for within...
East - Cliffwood Road
- McNicoll Avenue
- Finch AvenueFinch AvenueFinch Avenue is an arterial thoroughfare and concession road which travels east–west through the city of Toronto. The road also has short extensions into Peel and Durham Regions as Peel Regional Road 2 and Durham Regional Road 37.-History:...
East - Van Horne Avenue
- The Peanut
- Esterbrook Boulevard/Fairview Mall Drive
- Sheppard AvenueSheppard AvenueSheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
East - Don Mills StationDon Mills (TTC)Don Mills is the eastern terminus station of the Sheppard line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is also a "Vivastation" on the Viva Green line of York Region's Viva bus rapid transit system...
(connection to Sheppard subway and future Sheppard East LRT line) - Parkway Forest Drive
- Duncan Mill Road/Graydon Hall Drive
- York Mills RoadYork Mills RoadYork Mills Road is an east-west route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada named for the community of York Mills or Hoggs Hollow. "York" refers to York Township and "Mills" refers to the gristmill and sawmills in the Don River valley during 1804–1926. It is the former 10th concession road.York Mills runs...
- Mallard Road
- The Donway North
- Lawrence AvenueLawrence AvenueLawrence Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east-west streets in Toronto....
East - The Donway South
- Barber Greene Road/Green Belt Drive
- Eglinton AvenueEglinton AvenueEglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...
East (connection to future Eglinton Crosstown LRT line) - St. Dennis Drive/Ontario Science CentreOntario Science CentreOntario Science Centre is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eglinton Avenue East...
- Overlea Boulevard
On Overlea Boulevard
- Thorncliffe Park Drive East
- Thorncliffe Park Drive West
- Millwood Road
Bayview option
- Millwood Drive/Redway Road
- Don Valley Brick Works
- Bloor StreetBloor StreetBloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...
East/Castle Frank Road - Castle Frank StationCastle Frank (TTC)Castle Frank is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 600 Bloor Street East at Castle Frank Road, near the former location of Viaduct streetcar loop, which was the longtime terminus of the Parliament streetcar.-Entrances:*The main entrance to...
(connection to Bloor-Danforth line)
East York options (via Pape Avenue or Broadview Avenue)
- Pape Avenue/O'Connor Drive
- Cosburn Avenue
- Mortimer Avenue
- Danforth AvenueDanforth AvenueDanforth Avenue is an east-west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its western end begins in Old Toronto from the Prince Edward Viaduct as a continuation of Bloor Street and continues through East York until intersecting with Kingston Road in Scarborough...
- Pape StationPape (TTC)Pape is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 650 Danforth Avenue at Pape Avenue. It was opened in 1966...
or Broadview StationBroadview (TTC)Broadview is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 90 Danforth Avenue and Broadview Avenue.Broadview is the north-eastern terminus of the 504 King and 505 Dundas streetcar routes.-History:...
(connection to Bloor-Danforth line)
Proposed Transit City LRT lines
- Eglinton Crosstown LRT
- Jane LRT
- Etobicoke-Finch West LRT
- Don Mills LRT
- Scarborough Malvern LRT
- Waterfront West LRT
- Sheppard East LRT
See also
- Transit CityTransit CityTransit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced by then-Toronto Mayor David Miller and Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission Adam Giambrone on March 16, 2007...
- Toronto Transit CommissionToronto Transit Commission-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
- Toronto streetcar systemToronto streetcar systemThe Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission , and is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length. The network is concentrated primarily in downtown and in...
- Toronto subway and RTToronto subway and RTThe Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...
- Downtown Relief LineDowntown Relief LineThe Downtown Relief subway line is a subway line planned for Toronto, Canada, but not yet constructed. Various plans along the basic right-of-way have been proposed since the earliest history of the Toronto subway system, which are collected in the Queen Street subway article.-History:The Downtown...