Don Mills LRT (TTC)

The Don Mills LRT is a proposed light rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as part of the Transit City proposal announced March 16, 2007, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. It is expected to cost approximately $675 million. With construction to begin in 2012, the line is expected to open in 2016, the fifth of the seven Transit City lines to be complete after the Sheppard East, Etobicoke-Finch West, Waterfront West, and Eglinton Crosstown LRT lines.

Route layout

The Don Mills LRT line would run for 17.6km, estimated to account for 21.2 million trips in 2021.

Don Mills Road and Overlea Boulevard

A significant portion of the LRT 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, allowing again for an LRT easily.

Overlea 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. The LRT 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 LRT 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.

Bloor/Danforth to Downtown

This segment is not actually part of Transit City. It has long been proposed as a subway line, the Downtown Relief Line, and is a likely extension of the Don Mills LRT. This segment would be built as a subway, however, without level crossings, to allow for more frequent operation of trains.

Major streets and landmarks

Major streets and landmarks crossing the Don Mills LRT (from north to south):

On Don Mills Road

* Steeles Avenue East
* Finch Avenue East
* Sheppard Avenue East - Don Mills Station (connection to Sheppard subway and future Sheppard East LRT line)
* York Mills Road
* Lawrence Avenue East
* Eglinton Avenue East (connection to future Eglinton Crosstown LRT line)
* Ontario Science Centre
* Overlea Boulevard

On Overlea Boulevard

* Thorncliffe Park Drive (west and east)
* Millwood Road

On Millwood Road

* Pape Avenue (Pape/Broadview options)
* Redway Road (Bayview option)

In East York (Pape/Broadview options)

* O'Connor Drive
* Broadview Avenue (Broadview option)
* Cosburn Avenue
* Mortimer Avenue
* Danforth Avenue - Pape Station or Broadview Station (connection to Bloor-Danforth line)

On Redway Road (Bayview option)

* Bayview Avenue

On Bayview Avenue (Bayview option)

* Bloor Street East/Castle Frank Road - Castle Frank Station (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

ee also

* Transit City
* Toronto Transit Commission
* Toronto streetcar system
* Toronto subway and RT
* Downtown Relief Line

External links

* [http://www.ttc.ca/ Official TTC site]
* [http://transitcity.ca/ Transit City website]
* [http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/don_mills/index.htm Don Mills Road Transit Improvements Individual Environmental Assessment]