Waterfront West LRT (TTC)

The Waterfront West 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 the shortest and least expensive proposed Transit City LRT line, expected to cost approximately $540 million. The line is to open in four stages, with construction to begin in 2009, and is expected to be complete by 2015, the third of the seven Transit City lines to be complete after the Sheppard East and Etobicoke-Finch West LRT lines.

Route layout

The Waterfront West LRT line would run for 11km, estimated to account for 21 million trips in 2021. The western terminus of the line would be built at the Long Branch GO Station in Etobicoke. The line would use an exclusive right of way along Lakeshore Boulevard West, and follow the existing right of way used by routes 501 and 508 through Humber loop, and along the Queensway. A new right of way would parallel King Street West east of Roncesvalles Avenue, and follow the rail corridor to the existing Exhibition loop facility. From there, the preferred route to Union station would run under the Gardiner Expressway through the southern edge of Fort York and enter a right of way on Fort York Boulevard just west of Bathurst street. The line would tunnel under the Air Canada Centre in order to reach the existing Bay Street streetcar tunnel and terminate at nearby Union Station.

The TTC has predicted an average daily ridership of over 40 000 on the segment that would serve the developing Liberty Village and CityPlace neighbourhoods, as opposed to approximately 2 200 per peak hour on the western segment of the line. Based on these numbers, there is concern over the capacity of certain intersections. This is the main reason why the proposed LRT will likely not use the existing right of way along Queens Quay West, as the intersection at Lakeshore Boulevard and Bathurst has prohibitively long light cycles.

Major streets and landmarks

Major streets and landmarks crossing the Waterfront West LRT (from west to east):

On Lake Shore Boulevard

* Browns Line - Long Branch GO Station (connection to Lakeshore West GO train line)
* Kipling Avenue
* Islington Avenue
* Royal York Road
* Park Lawn Road

Along the Gardiner Expressway and the Lakeshore West GO train line

* South Kingsway
* Parkside Drive
* Queen Street West
* King Street West
* Exhibition Place

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

External links

* [http://www.ttc.ca/ Official TTC site]
* [http://transitcity.ca/ Transit City website]