[Northern Light]

I contacted Metrolinx last week about the tunnel connecting Dundas West subway station with Bloor GO and was sent this email:

"Preliminary design and site investigations were completed at the end of March 2020. Detailed design has commenced and is now scheduled to be complete by early 2021, after added site survey and preliminary design work delayed the start of detailed design. Following design work, the project will be tendered for construction in mid-2021, with completion of construction expected during Spring 2023."

8 years behind schedule but the wheels are a-turning.

Ok you get points for contacting Metrolinx.

But you get bonus points for getting them to give you a straight-forward, honest, specific answer!!!

Perhaps I can share your contact info with a few reporters; they'd love to know how you did it!

 

[smably]

Heck, that's lightning speed! Normally something like this would drag on for 15 years, before all the studies came to an end...and another cycle of studies would then start named "The Dundas West/Bloor Mobilitiy Hub Reset Plan". Because you know, the initial 15 years of studies wouldnt have been comprehensive enough.

I hate to break it to you, but this tunnel was first proposed in 1987. At this point, the plan is older than me. The round of studies that started 15 years ago is the reset.

 

[Towered]

I contacted Metrolinx last week about the tunnel connecting Dundas West subway station with Bloor GO and was sent this email:

"Preliminary design and site investigations were completed at the end of March 2020. Detailed design has commenced and is now scheduled to be complete by early 2021, after added site survey and preliminary design work delayed the start of detailed design. Following design work, the project will be tendered for construction in mid-2021, with completion of construction expected during Spring 2023."

8 years behind schedule but the wheels are a-turning.

I wonder how they finally got the Crossways to play ball...

 

[urbanyimby]

I suggest to wait for them to actually start construction before we start celebrating

 

[smably]

I wonder how they finally got the Crossways to play ball...

My understanding is that they are expropriating.

 

[Northern Light]

I hate to break it to you, but this tunnel was first proposed in 1987. At this point, the plan is older than me. The round of studies that started 15 years ago is the reset.

Smably! Who knew you were such a youngin!

 

[Towered]

My understanding is that they are expropriating.

And it took 33 years for them to do that?

 

[smably]

Smably! Who knew you were such a youngin!

When your point of reference is Toronto's deferred transit projects, anyone can feel young!

Maybe someone can find more information?

Indeed, this is 1540 Bloor West and there's a forum thread for it -- https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threa...t-87m-25s-trinity-group-core-architects.4431/

 

[Garuda]

I contacted Metrolinx last week about the tunnel connecting Dundas West subway station with Bloor GO and was sent this email:

"Preliminary design and site investigations were completed at the end of March 2020. Detailed design has commenced and is now scheduled to be complete by early 2021, after added site survey and preliminary design work delayed the start of detailed design. Following design work, the project will be tendered for construction in mid-2021, with completion of construction expected during Spring 2023."

8 years behind schedule but the wheels are a-turning.

Thanks for doing this!
Like others said, I’m surprised you got such a detailed answer. I have a feeling that Metrolinx had to pull the expropriation card when Crossways wouldn’t play nice.

 

[junctionist]

I'll never understand the Crossways owner's position on these transit connections. They had this high-density mixed-use complex with retail, office, and residential next to some of the best transit infrastructure in the city, even in the 1990s. Yet they always declined a subway connection to Dundas West and opposed this build this tunnel. These opportunities to make the property more marketable and desirable and to build goodwill in the community were right there, yet they declined them.

 

[Garuda]

I'll never understand the Crossways owner's position on these transit connections. They had this high-density mixed-use complex with retail, office, and residential next to some of the best transit infrastructure in the city, even in the 1990s. Yet they always declined a subway connection to Dundas West and opposed this build this tunnel. These opportunities to make the property more marketable and desirable and to build goodwill in the community were right there, yet they declined them.

They are properly an older generation and don’t understand the value of pedestrian traffic. Same way Kodak didn’t see the value in digital photography and online sharing.

 

[Johnny Au]

They are properly an older generation and don’t understand the value of pedestrian traffic. Same way Kodak didn’t see the value in digital photography and online sharing.

...or Blockbuster didn't see the value of online streaming (they had the opportunity to purchase Netflix, but Blockbuster declined).

 

[CapitalSeven]

They are properly an older generation and don’t understand the value of pedestrian traffic. Same way Kodak didn’t see the value in digital photography and online sharing.

Off topic, but I own an ancient Kodak digital camera that came with elaborate software for photosharing. It still takes excellent photos nearly 15 years later. They saw the value too late is all.

 

[Coolstar]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1275890128905482241

 

[Amare]

I'm not excusing Metrolinx or the City of Toronto on their ineptness on this file, but the owners of the Crossways are the biggest bozos i've ever heard of. For all this time they didn't want a tunnel that would actually benefit them?

If that's the case they should construct the tunnel so it literally bypasses through their property with no connections to it at all. Apply the screwdriver to them to the fullest extent possible I say.