Don Mills LRT

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 (TTC). It was expected to cost approximately $675 million, with construction to begin in 2012, and an expected opening in 2016. It would have been the fifth of the seven Transit City lines to be complete after the Sheppard East, Finch West, Waterfront West, and Eglinton lines. Ridership was estimated to be 21.2 million trips in 2021.

Don Mills LRT
Overview
StatusCancelled
LocaleToronto, Ontario
Termini
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemToronto subway
Operator(s)Toronto Transit Commission
Technical
Line length17.6 kilometres (10.9 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Route map
Highway 7
Highway 7 Rapidway
Ontario 407 crown.svg Highway 407
407 Transitway
Canadian National Railway
Steeles
Steeles rapid transit
 Cliffwood
 McNicoll
 Finch
 Van Horne
The Peanut
Esterbrooke
 Don Mills
Havenbrook/Parkway Forest
Ontario 401 crown.svg Highway 401
 Graydon Hall/Duncan Mill
East Don River
 York Mills
 Mallard
Richmond Hill line
 Donway North
 Lawrence
 Donway South
 Greenbelt
Canadian Pacific Railway
Science Centre
St. Dennis
 Overlea
West Don River
 Thorncliffe Park East
 Thorncliffe Park West
 Millwood
Richmond Hill line
West Don River
Don Valley Parkway
 Donlands
 O'Connor
 Cosburn
 Mortimer
 Pape
Relief Line

Mayor Rob Ford cancelled the line after taking office in December 2010.[1] While LRT lines on Sheppard East, Finch West, and Eglinton were revived through a new agreement between the City of Toronto and Metrolinx, the Don Mills LRT was not included.[2] The 925 Don Mills Express bus follows a similar routing to the proposed LRT.[3]

The Don Mills LRT is still included in Metrolinx's regional transportation plan The Big Move under the 15-year horizon.[4] Metrolinx has also completed a detailed benefits case analysis for the Relief Line, exploring the potential of constructing a subway instead of the Don Mills LRT to Don Mills station.[5]

Route layout

According to initial Toronto Transit Commission planning, the Don Mills LRT line would run for 17.6 kilometres (10.9 mi) between Steeles Avenue and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. The LRT would operate via Don Mills Road from the north, and then turn east along Overlea Boulevard through the community of Thorncliffe Park. South of Thorncliffe Park, the TTC was examining three different alignments for the LRT to connect to the Line 2 subway, prior to cancellation of the project:[6]

  • Pape Avenue, via the Leaside Bridge, to Pape station;
  • Broadview Avenue, via the Leaside Bridge, to Broadview station;
  • Bayview Avenue, via Millwood Road and Southdale Drive, to Castle Frank station.

The Big Move proposes that the Don Mills LRT run along Pape Avenue to Pape station. It also proposes that the LRT stretch north past Steeles Avenue, along Leslie Street to Highway 7 in York Region.[4]

Proposed stops/stations

The TTC did not indicate specific stops at the time of planning.[6] The Big Move indicates that the line would intersect mobility hubs at Eglinton, Don Mills, Steeles, and Highway 407, and facilitate transfers to the Eglinton Crosstown line, Line 4 Sheppard, the Sheppard East LRT, an LRT or BRT line on Steeles, the 407 Transitway, and the Highway 7 Rapidway.[4]

Relief Line

The Don Mills LRT is proposed to connect to the Relief Line (formerly Downtown Relief Line) at Line 2, which is proposed to help reduce current and projected congestion in downtown Toronto. Metrolinx, the City of Toronto, York Region and the TTC partnered on the Yonge Relief Network Study (YRNS) in 2015, which examined options for providing relief on the Yonge line. This included three different versions of the Relief Line, and a surface LRT similar to the Don Mills LRT. The YRNS found that a subway between downtown and Sheppard Avenue would provide the most effective relief on the Yonge line. Pursuing this option would truncate the LRT south of Sheppard, and replace it with a subway.[7][4]

References
  1. Mayor Rob Ford: “Transit City is over” Archived 2013-01-19 at the Wayback Machine Toronto Life December 1, 2010
  2. Tess Kalinowski (28 November 2012). "TTC, Metrolinx finally sign off on LRTs". Toronto Star. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  3. "TTC Description of 925 Don Mills Express". www.ttc.ca. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  4. "The Big Move" (PDF). Metrolinx. 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  5. "Yonge Relief Network Study (YRNS) - Report for June 25th Metrolinx Board Meeting" (PDF). Metrolinx. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  6. UrbanToronto forums - TTC: Jane LRT - Post #880309
  7. "TTC Report: Downtown Rapid Transit Expansion Study – Phase 1 Strategic Plan" (PDF). 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
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