Yonge North subway alignment tweaked so that tunnel travels under fewer homes in one Toronto neighbourhood
The proposed alignment for the Yonge North subway extension has been altered in response to feedback from residents in a Thornhill neighbourhood who were concerned about the tunnel running underneath their homes.
Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster announced the changes in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon.
He says that the route will now travel underneath Bay Thorn Drive “wherever possible” rather than a corridor to the south where there are a higher number of homes.
“The previous route went under 40 homes and an additional 23 properties, whereas the new route goes under 20 homes and 15 additional properties,” Verster said.
Verster said that the changes to the proposed alignment for the eight-kilometre, $5.6 billion extension are in direct response to concerns raised by residents in the Royal Orchard neighbourhood of Thornhill.
He said that Metrolinx will also bury the tunnel deeper underground where it travels through the neighbourhood, with a minimum depth of 21 metres and a maximum depth of up to 50 metres.
“While we already expected that noise and vibration levels would not be significantly different to what residents experience today, these refinements will make them even lower,” he said in his statement. “In fact, early environmental studies based on the new route show that by using the proven technology available, noise and vibration levels from operations will be so faint in the Royal Orchard community that they’ll be practically imperceptible to human senses,”
Construction on the Yonge North subway extension is expected to begin in late 2023. The province has said that the project could be completed in 2030.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in ungoverned Gaza
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
Feds 'committed to doing more,' but minister offers no timeline for Canadian Disability Benefit boost
Amid significant criticism from advocates, Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kamal Khera is defending her government's long-promised, newly unveiled Canada Disability Benefit, calling the funds an "initial step," but without laying out a timeline for future expansion of the program.
Balancing act: Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO juggles Arctic airline challenges
With carriers' flight volumes above the 60th parallel hovering below pre-pandemic levels, Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO now bears the task of balancing those financial and logistical challenges with the needs of communities for which she feels a deep affinity.
Thousands of civilians evacuated from northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday.