Toronto Ontario Line 3 | ?m | ?s

False. Metrolinx has been eying a 'Lakeshore' relief line since at least 2011.
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And a relief line going to Donmills and Eglinton has been envisioned since at least 1985.
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This is partially right. This plan has been in the works for a while. But of course, it was rejected for the Dundas West Queen Pape plan the first time. It's telling Metrolinx lobbied to switch to this rather than just use the city plans.
 
I think the Ontario Line would be a good spot to have our city's first *branched* subway line.

One branch turns north and follows Dufferin or the Kitchener line north to Line 2.

The other branch goes along the waterfront to serve Humber Bay Shores.
Excellent idea and given how little interlining and how few stations there will be through the area from GO expansion, still sorely-needed for the west end.
 
I'd like to see more coverage, but not sure there is enough capacity for 2 branches, given that the OL trains will be smaller than the TTC Line 1 and 2 trains.

Perhaps the Humber Bay Shores will be fine with only getting every 2-nd train. Not many feeder buses there. But the branch that goes up Dufferin or together with the Kitchener line, would see lots of transfers from Line 2, from ECLRT, and from numerous bus routes. Doubt every 2-nd OL train would handle the demand. On top of that, Metrolinx wants the OL Libverty Village station to intercept some of the GO riders and thus relief the Union station.

I'd rather extend OL along the west shore only, avoiding tunneling and going either elevated or at-grade in the rail corridor. Perhaps 1-out-of-2 or 2-out-of-3 OL trains would actually serve the west shore, the rest would short-turn at Liberty Village and provide the relief capacity that Metrolinx wants there.

And for the west-end-to-downtown line, I would select a completely new route. Perhaps going across downtown under Dundas, then either up Dufferin or with the Kitchener line.
 
Once both Crosstown and Ontario Line are open we have a better sense of commuter flows -

who is staying on Crosstown past Don Mills, why didn’t they transfer
How is demand adapting to Lawrence buses coming down Don Mills rather than going via Leslie
What sort of day 1 saturation are we seeing on Ontario Line
How is the Pape interchange coping with OL-L2 transfers

While some enabling works could be looked at, whether or not OL will be east of the DVP by the time it hits Lawrence is a pretty significant question. Presumably the Shops at Don Mills and Fairview Mall would prefer a straight run up Don Mills. Pushing OL east of DVP might materially reduce pressure on Sheppard East buses heading into Fairview and therefore the business case for a Sheppard extension.
 
So politics then.

I hope phase 2 becomes public in the next year. And the western half (Exhibition to Pearson or Mount Dennis depending who you talk to) is also brought up. We should be pushing as many riders off Yonge-University as possible.
I'm not sure why folks here are so convinced that Phase 2 is going to be the eastern extension. I would bet good money that OL is going west before it ever touches Sheppard.

Consider who is calling the shots at Queens Park right now and where his riding/house is.... Also consider the plans for Pearson to become a new multimodal hub... Also consider where a certain Bonnie Crombie is going to be most competitive for seats...

Expect an announcement late 2025/early 2026.
 
I'm not sure why folks here are so convinced that Phase 2 is going to be the eastern extension. I would bet good money that OL is going west before it ever touches Sheppard.

Consider who is calling the shots at Queens Park right now and where his riding/house is.... Also consider the plans for Pearson to become a new multimodal hub... Also consider where a certain Bonnie Crombie is going to be most competitive for seats...

Expect an announcement late 2025/early 2026.
RTP published by DoFo's government suggests an OL eastward extension up to 407/RH centre, then west to Pearson. The so-called Ontario Line Loop.
 
RTP published by DoFo's government suggests an OL eastward extension up to 407/RH centre, then west to Pearson. The so-called Ontario Line Loop.
Worse than that. The 2050 plan shows absolutely nothing for the Ontario Line heading west. Its called the Ontario "Loop", but there is a gap between Kipling and Exhibition on the official plan.

were still quoting that? its just a line on a map by 2050
Its the only thing we have that shows us Metrolinx' mentality and long term plans. If we disregard that document for whatever arbitrary reason you come up with, we're left with literally nothing. Fact of the matter is, as things stand right now in terms of publicly available information, a northern extension of the Ontario Line to Sheppard and even Highway 407 is WAY more likely than any extension westward/north-westward, unlike what @torontologist is saying.
 
Ontario Line supports the intensification of Thorncliffe/Flemingdon/Golden Mile (latter via Crosstown) and East Harbour. What are the equivalent wins for a west side Ontario Line? Once that is discovered, a route will be obvious. I don’t think that Metrolinx wants to build an automated metro to relieve existing congestion only.
 
I'm not saying it wont happen by 2050, I'm saying don't count on extensions being started before mid 2030s.
Don't get me wrong, id love to see it built, north or west. I really don't care which. Just that its a long ways off
 
I'm not saying it wont happen by 2050, I'm saying don't count on extensions being started before mid 2030s.
Don't get me wrong, id love to see it built, north or west. I really don't care which. Just that its a long ways off

As plans stand today, and of course, these are are subject to change......I agree w/the timeline you have above.

The northern extension will proceed sometime after 2033, but likely before 2040, with a multi-year delivery window.

Its not the next large project; and there a couple of medium sized ones ahead of it too.
 

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