Metrolinx has released maps showing details of four new Ontario Line stations planned for downtown Toronto today (June 17).

The station sites are designed to offer easy connections to existing TTC routes at the existing Osgoode and Queen stations and in the Moss Park and Corktown neighbourhoods. TTC streetcar and bus stops and Line 1 subway platforms will be just steps away from the Ontario Line, making transit more convenient than ever.

This stretch of the Ontario Line will go under a section of the downtown core that is not only a well-established  centre for jobs, but home to a growing population that needs more transit. It’s also a focal point for the history of Toronto and Indigenous Peoples that have lived here since time immemorial.  

“Metrolinx understands our responsibility to preserve our heritage and we have the expertise to do that while delivering new transit solutions,” said Malcom MacKay, program sponsor for the Ontario Line.

A new Ontario Line station under the Line 1 TTC platform at Osgoode will make for easy transfers between the two, as well as the 501 Queen streetcar.

Roughly 12,000 people will go through the station each day during the busiest travel hour.

University and Queen is already a bustling corner and growth patterns suggest that, by 2041, there will be 16,500 residents within a 10-minute walk and 110,500 jobs in the area.

Transit is particularly critical for this neighbourhood, which currently has 8,700 households without a car.

New station entrances will be added at the northeast and near the and southwest corners of the intersection to accommodate an increasing number of subway riders. The entrances will be positioned to make it easy for customers coming from the subway to get to a streetcar stop without crossing this wide and busy intersection.

Special care will also be taken to preserve the unique historic character on display at Queen and University.

Metrolinx will work with heritage experts on a plan that will see the building at 205 Queen Street West carefully dismantled, with materials safely stored away until they are ready to be reassembled as part of the new station development. 

To accommodate a new station entrance at the northeast corner, small portions of the fence surrounding Osgoode Hall will be dismantled before construction and reinstated after, under direct supervision of a qualified expert with knowledge and experience in metal and stone masonry. Protective material will be placed around the rest of the fence, entrance gates and any landscape elements near construction work. 

The Ontario Line will provide another vital transfer point with Line 1 at Queen Station, allowing customers to seamlessly transfer between the two lines to get to and from one of the most popular areas within the downtown core.

Upgrades to the seven existing subway entrances here will provide easy access to both Line 1 and the Ontario Line that will run underneath it, not to mention the 501 Queen streetcar. This will be critical in accommodating the 16,600 people who are expected to use the new station during the busiest travel hour.

Its location in the middle of so many skyscrapers will put it within walking distance of more than 18,400 residents and 150,000 jobs by 2041.

The Ontario Line will give people a new, faster way to reach this bustling corner.

The new station at Moss Park on Queen Street, just west of Sherbourne, will connect a dense and fast-growing area of the city to the subway network, including the revitalized Regent Park neighbourhood. More than 23,600 people are expected to be living within a 10-minute walk by 2041.

The station will be located on the edge of the park, which will minimize impacts to existing buildings in the area and Queen Street traffic, ensuring that streetcars will continue running through here during construction. With the City of Toronto moving forward with plans to revitalize the park, Metrolinx will work with City partners to ensure any space needed for construction is beautified and improved upon once Ontario Line construction is finished, in keeping with revitalization plans.

The new station will connect with both the Queen streetcar and the popular 75 Sherbourne bus.

At King and Berkeley, just west of Parliament, the new station in Corktown will make it easier for people to visit this new and growing neighbourhood as well as the Distillery District and St. Lawrence Market area, both of which will be within walking distance of the station.

This is one of the fastest growing corners of the city, where 26,400 residents will be within a 10-minute walk of the station by 2041.

This station will be a natural hub for connections to surface routes as the site is currently served by the 504 King streetcar plus the 65 Parliament and 172 Cherry buses.

Respecting the First Parliament Site

The First Parliament Site, just south of Front Street, is an important part of the plan for the station at Corktown and the Transit-Oriented Community plans being led by Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation.

Metrolinx recognizes the extensive work the City of Toronto and its partners have completed envisioning a new future for the First Parliament site. Teams will work with Indigenous Nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit as the treaty holder, the Ontario Heritage Trust, the City, community groups and the public to build upon those plans and develop an Interpretation and Commemoration Plan for the site.

“A great deal of thought and planning has gone into the existing plans for this historic site and these ideas are extremely helpful as we work together on the Interpretation and Commemoration Plan for First Parliament,” MacKay said.

By the numbers

These four stations will serve growing and densely populated neighbourhoods as well as people coming in for work and entertainment.

“With so many homes, jobs and sought-after destinations and attractions in these neighborhoods, we put a lot of work into making Ontario Line connections as convenient as possible for riders,” MacKay said.

The figures below are estimates based on the year 2041:

• 84,900 people living within a 10-minute walk of the four stations
• 299,400 jobs nearby
• 16,800 transfers with TTC (subway and surface routes) during the busiest travel hour

Online open house

Tonight (June 17) at 6:30, Metrolinx will host an online open house, providing more information about these stations as well as newly established transit corridor lands for the project. You can register for the event here.