Metrolinx on collision course with residents, council over building part of Ontario Line above ground

Despite opposition from many in the community and from Toronto city councillors,it may be full steam ahead to run theOntarioLine above ground throughLeslieville and Riverside.

Phil Verster, the CEO of the province's regional transit agency,Metrolinx,says five options were considered and the benefits ofusing a portion of the existing Lakeshore East rail corridor outweighdigging a tunnel underneath the two neighbourhoods.

"Yes, anything can be done, but the costs are prohibitive so there's really no practical reason why it should be done," saidVerster.

"Below ground is hugely expensive and more disruptive."

In2019, Premier Doug Ford unveiled the proposed Ontario Line, a 15-stop subway route that's slatedtorun 16 kilometres from Ontario Place through the downtown beneath King Street, then north up to the Ontario Science Centre.

The line, estimated to cost $10.9 billion,is expected to becompleteby 2030. The plan replaces a subway routethe TTChad been planning called theRelief Line, which wasdesigned to relieve the crowding on the Yonge-University-Spadina line.

Verster estimated it would add $800 million to bury the section of the Ontario Line in question.

"Going above ground is not just the most efficient way to do it, but it's also the most community friendly way to do it."

But people who live in the area disagree, citing noise andthe destruction of trees and animal habitats. They also worry abouthealth and safety concerns posed by not just the construction of the line, but increasing the number of trains from 170 a day to around 800.

"It's like talking to a wall," saidEon Song, who belongs toa group calledSave Jimmie Simpson, a neighbourhood park localsbelieve could bejeopardized byan above-groundOntario Line.

"No information actually ever comes back. And we've raisedhealth concerns that they say they will look and come back to us, but we haven't heard any answers."

Song also says the health impacts of trains rumbling by constantly have not been studied and that the seven-metre-tall sound barrier walls are not only unproven, they will dividethe neighbourhood.

"When you cut down all the trees and put up walls, it's goingto look like Guantanamo Bay," said Coun.Paula Fletcher, who represents Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth.

This week, Fletcher moved a motion assertingthat it is impossible to add three new tracks for the Ontario Line and GO expansion of the Lakeshore East line without"considerable negative impact."The motion, passed by council, also calls for a return to the plan to build that section of the line underground as laid out in the Relief Line project.

"It's pretty clear what our position is. It is important to be on the record," she said of thelargely symbolic motion.

"The province ripped up the [Relief LineEnvironmental Assessment]after three years of working on it. They took the project away. They make all the decisions and the federal government knows it too."

Richard Worzel, who lives north of the area in Riverdale, says the TTC should have been allowed to proceed with constructing the Downtown Relief Line.

"By doing this they've set the whole project back by years and it will be more expensive," he said.

Residents also are upset with how Metrolinx has dealt with their concerns.

"Everybody seems to feel that this is being pushed through without community consideration and consultation," saidRebecca Wood, who lives in the area.

Claire Hastings and her son Alec, 4, live just across the street from the rail corridor. She'sworried about what the Ontario Line will do to her neighbourhood.

"Metrolinx has not listened to the community's preference for burying the line," saidHastings.

"We aren't anti-transit. Everyone here takes public transit. We want to be partners in the process and not be ignored or overruled for reasons no one will share with us."

Metrolinx's Verster says community consultation has been meaningful and will be incorporated at the stage where bidders submit their proposals for consideration.

He says noise and safety concerns will be addressed by bidders with community involvement and that new technologies for sound barrierswill address many of the concerns.

"We cannot consult enough. And we understand that. We need to go out of our way to listen, and we do," saidVerster, who plans to meet with Coun. Fletcher next week.

But Michael Crabb, who has lived in Leslieville for 37 years, says if the projectgoes ahead, it will be like an inner city expressway running through a vibrant neighbourhood.

"Why do they want to put this aboveground here where they will totally disrupt the neighborhood and do so much destruction to wildlife habitats as well as to the social life of this community?" askedCrabb.

"This is not just a vacant piece of land."