[Mrgeosim]

I just reached out to Metrolinx for an update and this was their response:

"Over the last couple of months, Metrolinx has been working with its partners at the City of Toronto and with utilities operators (Hydro One and Toronto Hydro) to review in technical detail the design package to identify and mitigate any potential issues and impacts on utilities and drainage.​

​

You can track project progress through our Metrolinx website here. You can also subscribe to the Toronto West newsletter here.​

​

Thank you for your interest. We appreciate your support and will be providing further updates shortly. Please stay tuned for more information."​

​

Yeah this is definitely not happening in 2025. If they have to coordinate utilities and do assessments on possible impacts, 2026 is a best case scenario. I'd project a 2027 completion with how slow they've been and how low priority this project is to Metrolinx.

 

[Sqazi]

I received the exact same response word for word when I reached out to them last year. I later assumed when the RFI came out that the design package was complete but guess not.

 

[adityat]

I reached out to the Councillor’s office (Davenport) asking about updates on the project and here is what I heard from them

We don’t have a more substantial update available, but over the past few months we have heard from staff that Metrolinx has been entering into agreements for the use of City-owned land along the Greenway area. We believe that this is a good indicator that the work will be proceeding, though an exact timeline is not available yet.


Our office will provide updates in the Councillor’s newsletter as soon as we have more detailed information.

 

[smably]

I just reached out to Metrolinx for an update and this was their response:

"Over the last couple of months, Metrolinx has been working with its partners at the City of Toronto and with utilities operators (Hydro One and Toronto Hydro) to review in technical detail the design package to identify and mitigate any potential issues and impacts on utilities and drainage.​

​

You can track project progress through our Metrolinx website here. You can also subscribe to the Toronto West newsletter here.​

​

Thank you for your interest. We appreciate your support and will be providing further updates shortly. Please stay tuned for more information."​

I too reached out to Metrolinx and got the same response, word for word. I replied to share my disappointment that all this preparatory work wasn't sequenced in parallel with the guideway construction so work on the greenway could begin as soon as the site became available and they replied with the last two sentences copied and pasted from their previous message.

 

[bedoozled]

I too reached out to Metrolinx and got the same response, word for word. I replied to share my disappointment that all this preparatory work wasn't sequenced in parallel with the guideway construction so work on the greenway could begin as soon as the site became available and they replied with the last two sentences copied and pasted from their previous message.

It's so disheartening how so many projects in Toronto seem poorly organized or communicated, where the left hand isn't talking to the right hand, so they can't coordinate for things to get DONE instead of just sitting there half completed and abandoned. Adjacent to this project there's the Railpath gong show - I have seen more vandals and graffiti artists on site than I have ever seen workers.

 

[Allandale25]

Junction residents stage parade calling on Metrolinx to deliver years-delayed Davenport Greenway

Metrolinx says preliminary work to deliver the Davenport Diamond Greenway project will 'start in the next few weeks'

www.torontotoday.ca

Metrolinx told TorontoToday preliminary work on the Davenport Greenway is expected to start "in the next few weeks." Advance notice will be shared with the community before this work begins, a spokesperson said.

"Metrolinx is committed to delivering the Davenport Diamond Greenway project. We continue to work with our partners at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, the City of Toronto and Hydro One on pre-construction activities to prepare for early stages of work," Metrolinx said.

The article also contains reaction from residents to the:

east-to-west path that would connect Lappin Avenue and Antler Street — long separated by the Barrie GO Line tracks. In 2018, Metrolinx quietly dropped the Lappin-Antler connection from its plans for the greenway.

 

[bearcat]

"east-to-west path that would connect Lappin Avenue and Antler Street — long separated by the Barrie GO Line tracks. In 2018, Metrolinx quietly dropped the Lappin-Antler connection from its plans for the greenway."

I guess Metrolinx doesn't want to pay to buy the parking lot that's in the way? Maybe the city can do it?

 

[Sauga89]

I guess Metrolinx doesn't want to pay to buy the parking lot that's in the way? Maybe the city can do it?

The odd thing to me is that it looks like Metrolinx has two potential negotiating partners. Aside from that industrial parking lot (from which Metrolinx I think would only need a 5 metre strip - not the whole thing), there is also a condo block to the north. I wonder if a deal could be made with the condo board. The condos would lose 7 outdoor parking spots, but gain more direct park access, and trail access for cyclists. Judging by the number of bikes in the condo parking lot on Google Maps, that deal might please a lot of condo residents.

 

[Metroscapes]

Re-upping this for context on the Antler-Lapplin parking lot:

I did a little sleuthing for this. The parcel fabric suggests the parking lot is a parcel addressed as 90 Ward Street, separate from 80 Ward Street, where the two-storey non-residential building stands.

A decade-old report on the city's website reveals it was purchased by the City in 1953 for a watermain, and then authorized for sale in 2012 for $145,000. A listing of property classifications for small business tax suggests 80 and 90 Ward Street are grouped together as of March 2022.

So it seems like the owners of the adjacent building may still own it, and has not given the lot up for sale.

 

[cplchanb]

any updates on the second track? when will that be connected? i

 

[ProjectEnd]

The odd thing to me is that it looks like Metrolinx has two potential negotiating partners. Aside from that industrial parking lot (from which Metrolinx I think would only need a 5 metre strip - not the whole thing), there is also a condo block to the north. I wonder if a deal could be made with the condo board. The condos would lose 7 outdoor parking spots, but gain more direct park access, and trail access for cyclists. Judging by the number of bikes in the condo parking lot on Google Maps, that deal might please a lot of condo residents.

812 Lansdowne is not part of this in any way. There is a significant grade change between the two lots which would prevent any connection from their lands to to the planned greenspace to the west. The parking spaces are not theirs either. They are owned by 80 Ward and (mostly) leased to Ubisoft.

 

[Sauga89]

812 Lansdowne is not part of this in any way. There is a significant grade change between the two lots which would prevent any connection from their lands to to the planned greenspace to the west. The parking spaces are not theirs either. They are owned by 80 Ward and (mostly) leased to Ubisoft.

Here is a quick streetview from before the new overpass was built. The ground level of the condo (the bottom of the wooden fence on the left) at 812 Lansdowne is only a metre or so higher than the future greenway. It doesn't look like it would be hard to punch a hole in the fence and build a short ramp.

Also, these 7 parallel parking spaces on the left in the image above are what I was referring to. They are in the condos' parking lot, with the future greenway behind the fence.

 

[ProjectEnd]

Here is a quick streetview from before the new overpass was built. The ground level of the condo (the bottom of the wooden fence on the left) at 812 Lansdowne is only a metre or so higher than the future greenway. It doesn't look like it would be hard to punch a hole in the fence and build a short ramp.
View attachment 656153

View attachment 656160
Also, these 7 parallel parking spaces on the left in the image above are what I was referring to. They are in the condos' parking lot, with the future greenway behind the fence.

It's over two metres behind the wooden fence at the end of your second image. I lived in 812 for almost five years while this was being constructed. There are hundreds of photos in the preceding pages taken from the other side of the fence on the Newmarket Sub itself.

 

[Sauga89]

Construction on the greenway trail will start this month, according to a construction notice posted today on Metrolinx's website. Construction is supposed to last until spring 2027. The south sidewalk on Dupont will be closed for the full two years.

 

[bedoozled]

Construction on the greenway trail will start this month, according to a construction notice posted today on Metrolinx's website. Construction is supposed to last until spring 2027. The south sidewalk on Dupont will be closed for the full two years.

That's my daily (walking commute)! Thanks for the heads up. I was actually wondering why the construction pylon and hole in the sidewalk had finally been removed/repaired a few weeks ago, it's because it's about to be closed entirely. It had become a bit of a local fixture - I think the pylon was there for almost 2 years? I kind of miss it now that it's gone! It was a good reminder to watch where you step since that part of the Dupont sidewalk is always covered in feces.