- Thread starter interchange42
- Start date
Smiffy
New Member
Question: what is the blue thing?
(Edit) I know it's a tarp I just want to know what's under it
skycandy
Senior Member
I noticed a couple of days ago a sloped conveyor belt thingamabob with soil deposited on it, then ‘conveyed’ to the top and dropped onto a growing pile. Not sure if soil remediation is involved but maybe? So, soil, lots and lots of soil underneath the tarp.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
^...just look at it as a big blueberry jello pudding blob they extracted from isle 4. 
StreetcarRider
New Member
Here is the new picturesque rendering of Gerrard Station from Metrolinx, looking east. Personally I like it better than the big truss. Gerrard Station is basically going to be a ceiling over the Carlaw/Gerrard intersection. The truss would have been quite overbearing.
Gerrard Station
An estimated 3,300 people are expected to use Gerrard Station during the busiest travel hour.
www.metrolinx.com
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Here is the new picturesque rendering of Gerrard Station from Metrolinx, looking east. Personally I like it better than the big truss. Gerrard Station is basically going to be a ceiling over the Carlaw/Gerrard intersection. The truss would have been quite overbearing.
View attachment 667451
Gerrard Station
An estimated 3,300 people are expected to use Gerrard Station during the busiest travel hour.www.metrolinx.com
The big truss was like the initial renderings for East Harbour - it was never going to happen - especially from an organization known for architectural blandness. The final design for this neighbourhood station is perfectly fine
AoD
Northern Light
Superstar
It is 'fine'. Agreed.
But if bait and switch from private sector developers is obnoxious and arguably should be illegal (fraud), then it's utterly unacceptable from a public agency.
That's not an argument for/against any specific design, but the idea that we ought to expect and demand transparency and honesty in public officials.
I'm well aware we haven't been, but we really ought to start.
kotsy
Senior Member
Piling progress has revealed a partial outline of the Gerrard portal.
Province Breaks Ground on Second Ontario Line Tunnel
Future tunnel boring machines will dig from south Riverdale to the Don Valley
August 14, 2025
Ministry of Transportation
TORONTO – The Ontario government has broken ground on the second tunnel launch shaft near the site of the future Gerrard Station on the Ontario Line, marking another milestone in the province’s plan to protect Ontario by creating jobs, cutting commute times across the Greater Toronto Area and bringing nearly 230,000 more people within walking distance of public transit.
“The Ontario Line will introduce all-new rapid transit to the Gerrard and Carlaw community and surrounding neighbourhoods, part of our nearly $70 billion investment to deliver the largest transit expansion in North America,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “In the face of U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty, we are protecting Ontario’s economy by building the next generation of subway service that will create thousands of good-paying jobs and fuel long-term economic growth.”
From the launch shaft, tunnel boring machines will travel north, digging three kilometres of twin tunnels underneath Pape Avenue. The launch shaft will eventually serve as the tunnel portal, where Ontario Line trains will move from above-ground tracks to the underground tunnels. Gerrard Station, located just south of the launch shaft and future portal, will put nearly 12,000 people within walking distance of the Ontario Line, with over 3,000 passengers expected to use the station during rush hour every day.
Once complete, the Ontario Line will deliver quick, convenient subway service to Riverdale and many residents across the east end for the first time. A trip across the city from Exhibition Place to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road will take 30 minutes or less compared to the hour and 10 minutes it takes today. The Ontario Line will also offer more than 40 connections to TTC subways, buses and streetcars, as well as regional train services, bringing nearly 230,000 more people within walking distance of transit.
Quick Facts
• The 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line will have 15 stations, running from Exhibition Place through the downtown core and connecting to the Line 5 Eglinton at Don Mills Road.
• During peak periods like the morning rush hour, the Ontario Line will reduce crowding by up to 15 per cent on the busiest stretch of TTC’s Line 1 between Bloor-Yonge and Wellesley.
• The Ontario Line will support 4,700 jobs annually during construction.
• As part of the Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Ontario is investing nearly $70 billion over the next decade to build public transit, including the largest subway expansion in Canadian history – the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Yonge North Subway Extension.
Quotes
"The Ontario Line will be a game changer for residents of the Riverdale community, reducing gridlock and making it faster and easier for everyone to travel across the GTA. As part of our capital plan of more than $200 billion to protect and build Ontario, we are seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build two transit-oriented communities at the future Gerrard Station. These will include nearly 2,400 new homes, new retail and office space to support approximately 685 jobs."
- Kinga Surma
Minister of Infrastructure
"After breaking ground on the Ontario Line’s first tunnel launch shaft at Exhibition Station late last year, we’re here at Gerrard and Carlaw creating another starting point for the project’s second set of tunnels. These tunnels will run underneath Pape Avenue and create a direct connection to the TTC’s Pape Station, which will help reduce crowding on the busiest section of Line 2 by 21 per cent during rush hour. To put it another way, there will be 6,000 fewer people at Bloor-Yonge Station during the busiest travel hour of the day thanks to the Ontario Line."
- Michael Lindsay
President and CEO of Metrolinx
Future tunnel boring machines will dig from south Riverdale to the Don Valley
August 14, 2025
Ministry of Transportation
TORONTO – The Ontario government has broken ground on the second tunnel launch shaft near the site of the future Gerrard Station on the Ontario Line, marking another milestone in the province’s plan to protect Ontario by creating jobs, cutting commute times across the Greater Toronto Area and bringing nearly 230,000 more people within walking distance of public transit.
“The Ontario Line will introduce all-new rapid transit to the Gerrard and Carlaw community and surrounding neighbourhoods, part of our nearly $70 billion investment to deliver the largest transit expansion in North America,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “In the face of U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty, we are protecting Ontario’s economy by building the next generation of subway service that will create thousands of good-paying jobs and fuel long-term economic growth.”
From the launch shaft, tunnel boring machines will travel north, digging three kilometres of twin tunnels underneath Pape Avenue. The launch shaft will eventually serve as the tunnel portal, where Ontario Line trains will move from above-ground tracks to the underground tunnels. Gerrard Station, located just south of the launch shaft and future portal, will put nearly 12,000 people within walking distance of the Ontario Line, with over 3,000 passengers expected to use the station during rush hour every day.
Once complete, the Ontario Line will deliver quick, convenient subway service to Riverdale and many residents across the east end for the first time. A trip across the city from Exhibition Place to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road will take 30 minutes or less compared to the hour and 10 minutes it takes today. The Ontario Line will also offer more than 40 connections to TTC subways, buses and streetcars, as well as regional train services, bringing nearly 230,000 more people within walking distance of transit.
Quick Facts
• The 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line will have 15 stations, running from Exhibition Place through the downtown core and connecting to the Line 5 Eglinton at Don Mills Road.
• During peak periods like the morning rush hour, the Ontario Line will reduce crowding by up to 15 per cent on the busiest stretch of TTC’s Line 1 between Bloor-Yonge and Wellesley.
• The Ontario Line will support 4,700 jobs annually during construction.
• As part of the Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Ontario is investing nearly $70 billion over the next decade to build public transit, including the largest subway expansion in Canadian history – the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Yonge North Subway Extension.
Quotes
"The Ontario Line will be a game changer for residents of the Riverdale community, reducing gridlock and making it faster and easier for everyone to travel across the GTA. As part of our capital plan of more than $200 billion to protect and build Ontario, we are seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build two transit-oriented communities at the future Gerrard Station. These will include nearly 2,400 new homes, new retail and office space to support approximately 685 jobs."
- Kinga Surma
Minister of Infrastructure
"After breaking ground on the Ontario Line’s first tunnel launch shaft at Exhibition Station late last year, we’re here at Gerrard and Carlaw creating another starting point for the project’s second set of tunnels. These tunnels will run underneath Pape Avenue and create a direct connection to the TTC’s Pape Station, which will help reduce crowding on the busiest section of Line 2 by 21 per cent during rush hour. To put it another way, there will be 6,000 fewer people at Bloor-Yonge Station during the busiest travel hour of the day thanks to the Ontario Line."
- Michael Lindsay
President and CEO of Metrolinx
reinventingthewheel
Active Member
From OL social media:
Looks like the big truss design spanning the intersection is gone for good.
Looks like the big truss design spanning the intersection is gone for good.
StreetcarRider
New Member
Who's going to want to hang out in that park over the portal? OnlyRAILFans? /s
Anyway, hopefully it will connect to a future redevelopment on the south side, so that the tracks can be crossed without all the Pape Ave switchbacks.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Interesting. I think that's the first visualization of the tunnel portal here that we have seen.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
Source: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2025/0...begins-north-redesigned-gerrard-station.59223
...yep, this project had way too much vision, forthright and empathy for ye ole Dougie. /bleh
officedweller
Senior Member
A first step would be to incorporate that pedestrian overpass that's right there
(I doubt there are plans to have a road bridge over the tracks?)
TossYourJacket
Senior Member
Unrelated to the station design, I find it very funny that they've depicted an Alstom Citadis (aka, the Finch Line trains) as a TTC streetcar, given that MX really doesn't want the LRT lines to be seen as streetcars.Here is the new picturesque rendering of Gerrard Station from Metrolinx, looking east. Personally I like it better than the big truss. Gerrard Station is basically going to be a ceiling over the Carlaw/Gerrard intersection. The truss would have been quite overbearing.
View attachment 667451
Gerrard Station
An estimated 3,300 people are expected to use Gerrard Station during the busiest travel hour.www.metrolinx.com