[crs1026]

Equipment is moving dirt around the base of the bridge at West Highland Creek! This must be the bridge reinforcement. I can't believe this is finally happening. Although there might still be a long wait for the culvert.

Photos that someone sent me show that an access road has been carved alomgside the east CpKC abutment. Whether this is to facilitate actual construction, or just to enable more ground testing and measurement towards design and procurement I can’t discern - but it is good to see at least something happening.

- Paul

 

[dowlingm]

Actually i think we made more progress as John Tory as Mayor than we did under Olivia's tenure.

considering John Tory was mayor for nine years and Olivia Chow for three... is that terribly surprising? Also, in terms of "progress", what's been clear in forum threads is that "progress" is determined by the willingness of the Province not merely to spend but to keep spending on the announced plans. It seems apparent to me that the advent of Ontario Line has led to a redirection of funding from GO/RER, and in the case of Toronto an attempt to make the city bear the costs of those decisions if the City wishes the "SmartTrack" stations to continue.

This is not an attempt to say that Chow has done everything right, but merely a statement that the City has limited room to move significantly on its own regardless of who is in the big chair, when the Province is not only controlling funding flow but doing stuff like telling the city where it can have traffic cameras, where it can have bike lanes, seizing its lands, imposing MZOs, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Bordercollie]

considering John Tory was mayor for nine years and Olivia Chow for three... is that terribly surprising? Also, in terms of "progress", what's been clear in forum threads is that "progress" is determined by the willingness of the Province not merely to spend but to keep spending on the announced plans. It seems apparent to me that the advent of Ontario Line has led to a redirection of funding from GO/RER, and in the case of Toronto an attempt to make the city bear the costs of those decisions if the City wishes the "SmartTrack" stations to continue.

This is not an attempt to say that Chow has done everything right, but merely a statement that the City has limited room to move significantly on its own regardless of who is in the big chair, when the Province is not only controlling funding flow but doing stuff like telling the city where it can have traffic cameras, where it can have bike lanes, seizing its lands, imposing MZOs, etc. etc. etc.

Could some of the results we see now a result of John Tory's work?

Oliva promised to open splash pads earlier and longer, but i dont see a difference. She promised to make the TTC better, it's worse now. So what has gotten better? Homelessness is still an issue and we haven't built any new affordable housing.

 

[Aplus23]

Could some of the results we see now a result of John Tory's work?

Oliva promised to open splash pads earlier and longer, but i dont see a difference. She promised to make the TTC better, it's worse now. So what has gotten better? Homelessness is still an issue and we haven't built any new affordable housing.

As a city worker Mayor Olivia has definitely improved our department thus impacting youth & recreation across the city

 

[Bordercollie]

As a city worker Mayor Olivia has definitely improved our department thus impacting youth & recreation across the city

That's good

 

[Northern Light]

Could some of the results we see now a result of John Tory's work?

Oliva promised to open splash pads earlier and longer, but i dont see a difference. She promised to make the TTC better, it's worse now. So what has gotten better? Homelessness is still an issue and we haven't built any new affordable housing.

What a bizarre take.

Also why in this thread? This is the GO Transit Construction thread, we have a thread for municipal politics, this is not that.

Be that as it May, rather that direct you find the many relevant posts in the proper thread.

Olivia has:

Expanded Library hours significantly with service 7 days per week at every branch, a City first.

Significantly grown the school lunch/snack program extending to thousands more children.

Has reduced encampments by 70%

Has boosted TTC Service substantially.

Has approved Fare Capping for TTC beginning this September.

Has hired more police and more staff at 911, resulting in shorter waits to get your emergency addressed.

Further, she's taken on the issue of speeding up streetcars/LRT and we are beginning to see real differences there, with hopefully much more gain by fall.

She's also funding replacement of the out-dated streetlighting system and modernizing it to LED.

How's that for a start?

For detailed exchanges, please take this subject to the appropriate thread.

 

[WB62]

Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure SmartTrack came out after this was proposed, so this idea probably had a hand in shaping the former mayors campaign promise:

https://static.squarespace.com/static/52e56487e4b06bec4dd7898a/t/5395b705e4b0643446adb503/1402320645843/SRRA+-+Business+Case+Regional+Relief+Line.pdf

 

[PShells]

Photos that someone sent me show that an access road has been carved alomgside the east CpKC abutment. Whether this is to facilitate actual construction, or just to enable more ground testing and measurement towards design and procurement I can’t discern - but it is good to see at least something happening.

- Paul

I’m assuming the access road is within the CPKC right of way? Or are you referring to the landing created by the retaining wall in the photo below?

Here’s snapshots of the CPKC bridge from the GO train on May 29, 2026.

I’m looking east.

South side of the bridge

North side of the bridge

 

[Bordercollie]

I’m assuming the access road is within the CPKC right of way?

Here’s snapshots of the CPKC bridge from the GO train on May 29, 2026.

I’m looking east.

South side of the bridge

View attachment 739930


North side of the bridge
View attachment 739931

View attachment 739932

I feel like if the creek crests high during a torrential rain storm the tracks will be underwater.

 

[PShells]

I feel like if the creek crests high during a torrential rain storm the tracks will be underwater.

The tracks are pretty high up, but I don’t know the 1-in-100-year volume this creek can spike to.

https://assets.metrolinx.com/image/upload/f_auto,c_limit,w_1920,q_auto/Images/Metrolinx/image-1-2.png

 

[Metroscapes]

I feel like if the creek crests high during a torrential rain storm the tracks will be underwater.

From TRCA's floodplain mapping:

 

[nfitz]

To what depth? Richmond Hill was quite deep, with no lingering issues to the linear equipment. Would it even be deep enough to damage rolling stock, which we've seen for TTC and the Richmond Hill line?

Edit - or hang on, I can read a map ...

Looks like the extend of the flooding on the north side of Sheppard the flood line is 169 m AMSL. And the tracks there are 170 m AMSL.

At the north side of the 401 the flood line is, maybe, 167.5 m AMSL. And the tracks are about 167?

Should be fine - though perhaps that's why we hear of other spots flooding, not this one. Compare to Bloor Street ramps over the DVP, where it looks like the tracks would be 4 metres deep. I'd guess the mapping isn't quite catching the elevation of the track and/or the flooding never reached regional storm level during the snakes on a train incident, with the 4.9 metre high coaches. I'm not sure where the deepest point is either!

 

[Bordercollie]

To what depth? Richmond Hill was quite deep, with no lingering issues to the linear equipment. Would it even be deep enough to damage rolling stock, which we've seen for TTC and the Richmond Hill line?

Edit - or hang on, I can read a map ...

Looks like the extend of the flooding on the north side of Sheppard the flood line is 169 m AMSL. And the tracks there are 170 m AMSL.

At the north side of the 401 the flood line is, maybe, 167.5 m AMSL. And the tracks are about 167?

Should be fine - though perhaps that's why we hear of other spots flooding, not this one. Compare to Bloor Street ramps over the DVP, where it looks like the tracks would be 4 metres deep. I'd guess the mapping isn't quite catching the elevation of the track and/or the flooding never reached regional storm level during the snakes on a train incident.

That's why they put flood monitors on the Richmond Hill line. Remember when people had to be recused by boats?

 

[Yeltsa Kcir]

What construction is happening this weekend closure on the Barrie line?

 

[PShells]

https://assets.metrolinx.com/image/upload/Images/Metrolinx/Ontario%20Line/BiWeekly_In-Corridor_Update_LSE-05-29-2026_Final.pdf

Metrolinx is storing a tamper and other work trains on the out-of-service third track in the LSE corridor near Gerrard Square.

The update linked above suggests more track installation in the area will commence soon. There was a large queue of dump trucks depositing ballast along the GO portion of the corridor, both for the third track through the GO-Ontario Line sector and further east for the new fourth track.