Simcoe St. Underpass & Extension

[MatrixElement]

Open, August 14

Here is a poor quality cellphone picture from today around suppertime.
The interior has very bright lights and is all painted white, so it is very bright.

 

[AKS]

A little off topic, but does anyone know what that new building is north of lower simcoe and front st?

 

[DSC]

A little off topic, but does anyone know what that new building is north of lower simcoe and front st?

The sales office for the Ritz-Carlton condos.

 

[kettal]

***breaking news***

they are tearing down the fences as i type... It's opening!!!

party time!!

 

[yyz]

You have been waiting 2 years for this? Do you live at Infinity and work at Simcoe Place? It is a fairly minor tunnel connecting two streets with very little traffic. While it is an improvement I have never had a problem getting around because it wasn't there.

i live at lower simcoe and queens quay (round about), and yes i work around simcoe place. not only is it about work, its about play. york street is a dirty filthy overcrowded joke, and its the only way to get to front. the rivers of people in the afternoons rushing to union is a major reason as well. try walking north when the river of people is "flowing" south, again, a joke. until today getting to the entertainment district involved walking up over and down all the stairs and walkways around the rogers centre and cn tower, which again is crowded with tourists, and people going to games/concerts. not to mention it would cost an additional $2-5 per trip in a cab, because the cabbie would have to drive around the rogers centre or the acc (come out on event night, have a look at the traffic!)

if you don't realise the MAJOR difference this "minor" underpass makes, then you clearly don't live in the area, or you have car, and aren't affected by it as much as people like myself who choose not to own a car. everyone in the immediate area has been waiting ages for this damn thing. trust me, for most this is a minor deal, for the residents in the immediate vicinity, its HUGE!

 

[Dan416]

I don't think the issue is how major or minor this street is, so much as how ridiculously long it took for them to complete it. It's frankly unbelievable.

 

[Komiksulo]

Yay! It's open! :: happy dance ::

I hope to repeat this post with other important pieces of infrastructure in the coming years.

 

[andomano]

I don't think the issue is how major or minor this street is, so much as how ridiculously long it took for them to complete it. It's frankly unbelievable.

That should become Toronto's new motto. It's so applicable to so many things Toronto.

Toronto. It's frankly unbelievable.

 

[EnviroTO]

if you don't realise the MAJOR difference this "minor" underpass makes, then you clearly don't live in the area, or you have car, and aren't affected by it as much as people like myself who choose not to own a car.

I live on Queens Quay also and I am in the Starbucks almost every day. I also do not own a car. I don't find the underpass to be a big deal. I have never found walking against the crowd past SkyDome to John St, the SkyWalk, or in the York Teamway that difficult. Cutting through Union via the ACC is definitely tough against the crowd. I guess I must handle crowds better or not have the same aversion to walking up stairs. I'm looking forward to Union Station, Roundhouse Park, and the Queens Quay redo being done far more than I have been for this underpass. I also don't use a cab to go such a short distance.

 

[Ramako]

***BREAKING NEWS***

They are tearing down the fences as I type... IT'S OPENING!!!

 

[drum118]

Just after 12pm

 

[Dan416]

I wonder when Google Maps will update this? They'll probably take a Toronto-style approach most likely.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Well to be fair to the city of Toronto, the Simcoe St Underpass and its bike lanes were included on the 2009 Cycling Map that was out in the spring.

 

[TOareaFan]

You have been waiting 2 years for this? Do you live at Infinity and work at Simcoe Place? It is a fairly minor tunnel connecting two streets with very little traffic. While it is an improvement I have never had a problem getting around because it wasn't there.

For a small stretch of road, however, it will make a fairly significant impact on, particularly, the afternoon rush hour....especially once the RBC/Ritz project is in full use.

 

[EnviroTO]

I don't think they built many parking spaces for RBC Dexia. This street misses the Gardiner on-ramp that Bay and York drivers use and only has access to the Spadina ramp via Bremner which puts people in the same jam they would be in if they took Front to Spadina. Northward connections are complicated by Simcoe being one-way, closed north of Queen, and the need to make left turns. The benefits of this link seem more local in scale. The Porter bus will probably use it, people going go the south convention centre entrance or CN Tower perhaps, but the fact Simcoe is one-way and closed north of Queen and has no access to ramps means its utility is limited. I would expect to see less traffic through this tunnel than on the Blue Jays Way bridge.