Ontario Line Extension West of Ontario Place (Speculation)

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Yup. Humber Bay Shores has about 40k+ residents, with no current rapid transit options. Dundas West/Bloor has probably 15k in a 1km radius, and already has (several) rapid transit options. No question the western extension should go head west. It's also probably also the most dense area in North America without access to a rapid transit.

Once the Waterfront West LRT comes through Humber Bay will be ok.

 

[seanlucat]

Yup. Humber Bay Shores has about 40k+ residents, with no current rapid transit options. Dundas West/Bloor has probably 15k in a 1km radius, and already has (several) rapid transit options. No question the western extension should go head west. It's also probably also the most dense area in North America without access to a rapid transit.

I can understand the hunger/want to run the line westward towards HBS but dont see the purpose of duplicating GO services with a metro. If metrolinx sorts it sh*t out and gets on with electrification, Lakeshore could be run with run 8 car trains at 7.5 min frequencies. That would give it a capacity of 50,000ppdph* and thats more than sufficient for Humber Bay Shores.

A far better routing of the Ontario line would take it north on Dufferin to the CP corridor, then run along it to Jane, then up Jane to terminate it at Weston.

(* on 4 tracks)

 

[duty free]

I can understand the hunger/want to run the line westward towards HBS but dont see the purpose of duplicating GO services with a metro. If metrolinx sorts it sh*t out and gets on with electrification, Lakeshore could be run with run 8 car trains at 7.5 min frequencies. That would give it a capacity of 50,000ppdph* and thats more than sufficient for Humber Bay Shores.

A far better routing of the Ontario line would take it north on Dufferin to the CP corridor, then run along it to Jane, then up Jane to terminate it at Weston.

View attachment 715163
(* on 4 tracks)

Nice map. Something like this could work in theory.

Would an extension that combines Dufferin and Jane be more likely to be built?
Would it be much cheaper than building two separate lines?
Just curious why so many people choose combining Jane and Dufferin?
I get that Dufferin north of Eglinton is redundant to Line 1 running through the Allen, but is that the main reason?

I'm all for it if it's more likely to be built.

 

[Westey]

I can understand the hunger/want to run the line westward towards HBS but dont see the purpose of duplicating GO services with a metro. If metrolinx sorts it sh*t out and gets on with electrification, Lakeshore could be run with run 8 car trains at 7.5 min frequencies. That would give it a capacity of 50,000ppdph* and thats more than sufficient for Humber Bay Shores.

A far better routing of the Ontario line would take it north on Dufferin to the CP corridor, then run along it to Jane, then up Jane to terminate it at Weston.

View attachment 715163
(* on 4 tracks)

Same reason Dufferin is too close to the Spadina leg of the YUS, I think Jane is too.
I imagine it going up Weston Road and somehow to Rexdale, Humber College, Woodbine or YYZ.

 

[Transit]

Despite the city indicating they want Ontario Line extension to Dundas West Station, and the province at least once somewhat vaguely mentioning an extension to Kipling Station, I feel like what we are really going to get is Ontario Place Station.

With the 32-Storey Hotel X Phase 2 and 5,500-Seat Venue Proposed at Exhibition Place going forward, I feel like the city government actually would not be opposed to this, especially if they are not being asked to pay for it. Walking from Exhibition Station in sun, rain, snow, and sleet to Ontario Place after it has had billions and billions of dollars invested in it is not believable. And, driving there will still be a challenging / frustrating experience, even if there is a new parking garage when you arrive.

Note: I was not sure if Exhibition Stadium is at ground level or elevated for the Ontario Line.

 

[dougtoronto]

Crossposting my vision from the Fantasy Maps thread. I think the most practical way to extend the line west is to take advantage of existing rail tracks while also not duplicating GO service. I'd always preferred a Dufferin alignment but lately I've been thinking that it may be better to think more regionally and target neighbourhoods further west, rather than going up Dufferin (an alignment that could see better transit flow once we improve GO RER service on the Barrie Line in like 60 years lmao).

This vision would have a few benefits, such as about half of it going through existing rail tracks, bringing access to neighbourhoods that are awkward to get to sometimes like The Junction and South Parkdale/Sunnyside, and the fact that it would end as a phase 1 at Jane and Eglinton making it easy to go north via Jane (or other corridors) in the future.

While playing with the map I realized that a northward extension to Dufferin would either be too close to the Barrie line, the University line, or both. I think we have to be strategic (and so should our policymakers but alas) about making good use of existing transit before committing to new lines. We are already seeing the massive impact that Line 5 has been having on how we think about mobility in this city and unlocking trips that used to be messy and complicated, which I believe will also happen (x10) once we finally have GO RER.

 

[asey20]

Despite the city indicating they want Ontario Line extension to Dundas West Station, and the province at least once somewhat vaguely mentioning an extension to Kipling Station, I feel like what we are really going to get is Ontario Place Station.

With the 32-Storey Hotel X Phase 2 and 5,500-Seat Venue Proposed at Exhibition Place going forward, I feel like the city government actually would not be opposed to this, especially if they are not being asked to pay for it. Walking from Exhibition Station in sun, rain, snow, and sleet to Ontario Place after it has had billions and billions of dollars invested in it is not believable. And, driving there will still be a challenging / frustrating experience, even if there is a new parking garage when you arrive.

Note: I was not sure if Exhibition Stadium is at ground level or elevated for the Ontario Line.

View attachment 715692

Or this would be the perfect opportunity to build an elevated 6-7 stop people mover like the one in Pearson airport or Disneyland that would loop around the area. More seriously though I would imagine this as a mini version of the Yurikamome line in Tokyo. It would be fully elevated and would likely face no opposition.

 

[nfitz]

Or this would be the perfect opportunity to build an elevated 6-7 stop people mover like the one in Pearson airport or Disneyland that would loop around the area.

I'm not sure either technology would be on the table. Six to seven stops would likely be too many for a cable car. And the monorail is a bit of a unicorn.

Maybe something like the people mover in Detroit or at JFK. Though it would make it a challenge to get to Ontario Place during heavy snow.

On the other hand, I can't think where you'd build a third stop after Exhibition or Ontario Place. King-Liberty? Garrison Common? If it's only one stop, that puts a cable car like at Pearson in play.

 

[Leo_Chan]

This is the MCC Hurontario LRT loop but for Line 3.

 

[Transit]

Or this would be the perfect opportunity to build an elevated 6-7 stop people mover like the one in Pearson airport or Disneyland that would loop around the area. More seriously though I would imagine this as a mini version of the Yurikamome line in Tokyo. It would be fully elevated and would likely face no opposition.

I'm just fooling around with the idea. It doesn't seem like the public-facing design of Exhibition Station has made any allowance for a separate peoplemover, et cetera though. But, maybe I have missed something in the schematics.

Either way, it does seem to be the case that headed in any direction west from Exhibition (except to "Ontario Place Science Centre Station") eventually puts the Ontario Line in competition with either existing GO Transit and/or UPX services, or potential TTC improvements. So, it is hard to say what the future holds for Ontario Line West unless/until there is more clarity about those services' future paths too.

 

[asey20]

I'm not sure either technology would be on the table. Six to seven stops would likely be too many for a cable car. And the monorail is a bit of a unicorn.

Maybe something like the people mover in Detroit or at JFK. Though it would make it a challenge to get to Ontario Place during heavy snow.

On the other hand, I can't think where you'd build a third stop after Exhibition or Ontario Place. King-Liberty? Garrison Common? If it's only one stop, that puts a cable car like at Pearson in play.

I was actually thinking about the Detroit People Mover too — the whole “6–7 stops” thing was more of a meme than a serious proposal

What I meant originally was that if we’re talking about vanity projects, there are way better ones than spending limited money just to add one extra stop to hit Ontario Place directly. If that’s all the province had in mind, it seems like a missed opportunity when the Ontario Line could potentially push further west or north where there’s real long-term growth potential.

That said, I actually don’t hate the idea of a small elevated line if it were done cheaply and the area keeps getting more investment. If the waterfront turns into a full-on entertainment district — new NHL arena, expanded convention space, NFL expansion pipe dream, giant Ferris wheel/casino — then a tourist-focused circulator could make sense.

But realistically, It is pretty low priority right now.

 

[CapitalSeven]

Despite the city indicating they want Ontario Line extension to Dundas West Station, and the province at least once somewhat vaguely mentioning an extension to Kipling Station, I feel like what we are really going to get is Ontario Place Station.

With the 32-Storey Hotel X Phase 2 and 5,500-Seat Venue Proposed at Exhibition Place going forward, I feel like the city government actually would not be opposed to this, especially if they are not being asked to pay for it. Walking from Exhibition Station in sun, rain, snow, and sleet to Ontario Place after it has had billions and billions of dollars invested in it is not believable. And, driving there will still be a challenging / frustrating experience, even if there is a new parking garage when you arrive.

Note: I was not sure if Exhibition Stadium is at ground level or elevated for the Ontario Line.

View attachment 715692

Feasible idea but I don't think it or anything else will happen. I took a look backward, and I predicted in 2020 and 2023 that nothing beyond a sidewalk is going to link the parts of Doug Ford's imploding Ontariorgasm fever dream, and I believe they announced last year or so that the "last (half-)mile" is indeed going to be just a better sidewalk. Maybe they'll name it after Mike Harris if he conveniently drops dead soon, given his expertise in burying transit visions.

 

[Westey]

Despite the city indicating they want Ontario Line extension to Dundas West Station, and the province at least once somewhat vaguely mentioning an extension to Kipling Station, I feel like what we are really going to get is Ontario Place Station.

With the 32-Storey Hotel X Phase 2 and 5,500-Seat Venue Proposed at Exhibition Place going forward, I feel like the city government actually would not be opposed to this, especially if they are not being asked to pay for it. Walking from Exhibition Station in sun, rain, snow, and sleet to Ontario Place after it has had billions and billions of dollars invested in it is not believable. And, driving there will still be a challenging / frustrating experience, even if there is a new parking garage when you arrive.

Note: I was not sure if Exhibition Stadium is at ground level or elevated for the Ontario Line.

View attachment 715692

I planned an 8 stop line. Gondola?

 

[Mihairokov]

Would absolutely be in favour of this running up Roncy, especially if there's a station directly across the street from the Revue. That'd be swell, thanks.

 

[jmi22]

Once the Waterfront West LRT comes through Humber Bay will be ok.

No, a tram that moves at an average speed of 15kmph with a fraction of the capacity of a subway will not make a 50,000 person high-rise community "ok" on the transportation front. Any serious city would be serving such a density node with AT LEAST one subway line, and either a second subway line or regional rail stop.