News   Jul 12, 2024
 1.3K     0 
News   Jul 12, 2024
 1.1K     1 
News   Jul 12, 2024
 387     0 

Dufferin Street: Eliminating the jog

If only they would put streetcars tracks there, then it could mean the return of the 522 Dundas Exhibition streetcar and which then run on the current route of the 193 Exhibition Rocket bus (Dundas West station, Dundas, and Dufferin to the west entrance of the CNE. But may have to wait until the new streetcars arrive.
 
Currently there are non-revenue tracks on Ossington from College to Dundas, and on Dufferin from Queen to the exhibition grounds. One long track down Dufferin, like Church or Parliament, would make a lot more sense, even if it's not for regular service.
 
When this jog is eliminated, that will leave the bigger Dufferin jog around Downsview Airport to contend with.
And the Lawrence jog, and the St.Clair jog, and the Leslie jog.......

Actually, I would be all for someone seriously proposing to fill in Lawrence if only to see the Bridal Path folks protesting.
 
Various Jogs

So I sat down and had a look the various jogs and seemingly incomplete roads.

I wanted to see how feasible different ones might be.

My conclusion, at first blush, is that Dufferin (@Downsview) is the easiest to fix.

Its relatively short, if the runway comes out, its easy as all get out, if not, it does mean a tunnel which isn't cheap, but it doesn't need to be that long, depending on where you connect it to Allen/Dufferin

However, in so doing, you create the problem of where do you put the NB Allen Traffic now using that corridor?

I happen to hate the Allen Expressway anyway, as I see it as divide between communities, wasted land etc.

It also has that illogical southern terminus (at Eglinton)

So, I posited this.

Allen Road is ripped out, the subway is covered by a tunnel, and the whole trench is filled back in.

Over the subway, a linear park is established, that becomes very thin right beside the stations, so as to accommodate new highrise infill.

Over the old road, you build a new, smaller, 4-lane road, with bike lanes, and sidewalks, using the extra room (from the old slopes where they existed) to accommodate additional development.

But what to about that southern terminus? I don't want it going through the valley, nor an hideous expensive tunnel.

Is there a road it could be connected to? (albeit with ripping down 200-300 homes.....YES THERE IS!

Ossington! There we have it, Allen Expressway morphs to Ossington; And a complete Dufferin.

I think its do-able, desirable and affordable, in the longer term (other projects, particularly transit and more important and should come first)

****

St. Clair - I can't find a sensible way to close this gap. O'Connor is too far south, Overlea too far north, you'd have too bulldoze a really nice stretch of Moore Park, and the Bridge(s) across the valley would be in the Billions.

Nowhere near enough added value to justify the effort and expense.

*****

Leslie

If connected from 1 Leslie to the other this is problematic, as the lower Leslie is small, and doesn't exist north of the rail corridor.

Very expensive, and potentially very damaging to the valley ravine system.

Though....a bit more tempting if we connect it to Greenwood......(but this requires moving Don Mills south of Eglinton and realigning it to connect to Coxwell via a bridge)...

As such, the sums again are astronomical. Not practical

****

Lawrence

This, on the other hand really is do-able, today Lawrence is actually almost connected (it runs from the east right down into the valley)

So this is really a matter of putting in a massive bridge, I suspect most Bridal Pather's wouldn't actually mind (except for the ones right on Lawrence (as this would draw traffic and buses off Post road).

But making a direct connection would really mess up the entrance to Glendon.......

OR

You could connect them going through the Bayview Bridge and then parallel and down meeting Lawrence right beside TFS.

It get complicated, but if could iron out the exact meeting point of Lawrence, it looks like an under 500M connection. Very functional.

*****

Now for the one nobody mentioned....Let's reconnect Woodbine Avenue! :D

(for those whose can't picture it/don't remember.....most of the DVP north of Don Mills Road is the old Woodbine Avenue alignment)
 
Not as bad as the jogs on Dundas Street. Before the 1950's, the Dundas streetcars had to go down a block because of the big jog at Bathurst Street, which is why Dundas is so much wider today between Bathurst Street and Denison Avenue.

Dundas Street used to end at 999 Queen Street West. Actually there was no Dundas Street West or East. Dundas turned south at Ossington, since Ossington ended at Dundas, and Dundas continued south to Queen.

All of Dundas east of Ossington were actually other named east-west streets. Such as Arthur Street (until Bathurst), St. Patrick (until McCaul), Anderson (until University), Agnes (until Yonge), Wilton (until the Don River), etc.

See this link for more information.
 
Keele should be re-connected too, as well as Weston/Old Weston road. That whole area is a mess. Other road connections I'd like to see: Sheppard extended west to link up with Rexdale Blvd at the Woodbine Centre, Wilson westward to meet Rexdale Blvd at Islington, Ossington south into Liberty Village, and Front street to Dufferin. A crazy one would be pushing St. Clair west to link with Rathburn...
 
North York has a lot of roads between the arterial roads that don't connect because of the 401, 400, and the railways. For example, Maple Leaf Dr. and Orfus Road don't connect because of the railway. Ditto for Bridgeland Avenue and Floral Parkway. Caledonia Road can't go north because of the 401.

They should do a "Dundas Street" with them and connect the roads.
 

Back
Top