The long-discussed downtown relief line has a new preferred alignment, one that would see the tunnel travel along Queen Street and Eastern Avenue before turning north at Carlaw Avenue and connecting with Line 2 on Danforth Avenue.
Staff had initially chosen a route that would have run north along Pape Avenue but decided to amend the preferred alignment to instead travel north along Carlaw Avenue and then diagonally along the GO corridor to Danforth Avenue with stations at Queen Street and Carlaw Avenue and Gerrard Street and Carlaw Avenue.
Staff are suggesting the change due, in part, to the fact that Pape Avenue is classified as a low-density residential street south of Gerrard Street East while Carlaw Avenue is a wider, mixed-use street with a number of mid-rise buildings.
In making the case for the change, staff say that the presence of the subway would “help strengthen” the Carlaw Avenue and Dundas Street area as a “hub for business.” Staff also say that the planned station at Queen Street and Carlaw Avenue would “invite a high level of activity that would support the emerging higher density, mixed-use” area at Carlaw and Dundas.
The preferred alignment will go to executive committee on May 16 and city council on May 24.
Speaking with reporters at the potential site of a subway station at Queen Street and Carlaw Avenue on Wednesday, Mayor Tory said he believes the new alignment is “more sensible” both in terms of avoiding a “destructive impact” on the surrounding neighbourhood and the potential for growth. There is already about 2,500 people living along the proposed Carlaw Avenue route compared to only 1,100 along Pape Avenue route.
“I think the impact will be less and more sensible to have it go on Carlaw. That is why we have staff look at these sorts of things,” he said.
It should be noted that the Downtown Relief Line remains unfunded, however the Province of Ontario has put $150 million towards the planning and design work for the project.
On Wednesday, Tory called on the province to make a “firm indication” in its upcoming budget that it will help the city cover the estimated $6.8 billion cost of the project.
“We can’t put shovels in the ground until we have the money,” he said. “You might even ask the question why are we even doing the planning and design work that is being done if we don’t know that the other levels of government will help pay for the project.”
According to city staff, the tunnel for the downtown relief line would be located 18 to 25 metres underground, which would make it deeper than both Line 1 and 2 and roughly in line with the depth of Line 3.
Due to the location of the tunnel and other reasons, Tory conceded that the line will be one of the costliest projects the city has undertaken with a budget that “dwarfs” that of other public transit projects.
Nonetheless, he said the line is “necessary” to reduce the crowding on the Yonge subway line. The TTC has previously said that the line will be over capacity within 15 years.
“Anyone who has taken the TTC on the Yonge subway lines knows we are already at capacity sometimes over capacity,” Tory said.
