A new residents’ group has formed in the neighbourhood. The Junction Triangle Rail Committee will focus on the merits of electrification - what increased diesel traffic means for our community - and the construction of the Davenport Diamond overpass/separation on the Eastern side of the neighbourhood. As a group, we are all for more trains – but we strongly feel electrification is long overdue and Metrolinx must consider the impact of their expansion plans on residents in this neighbourhood. GO Transit and the Government of Ontario have been talking about electrifying the lines since the 1960s, but each decade the plan gets dismissed for being too costly. And each decade, the costs increase. But what about the long-term costs of diesel exhaust? Surrounded by rails, the Junction Triangle stands right at the centre of this controversy and deserves a voice. If you’re interested in joining the push for electrification right here in your own neighbourhood and want Metrolinx to practise responsible construction methods that won't drive people from their homes, please contact us by emailing rail@junctiontriangle.ca or through the online contact form.

Irmina Ayuyao
Bruce Gavin Ward
Scott Dobson
Vic Gedris
Kristen den Hartog
Kevin Putnam
Jeff Winch

The Junction Triangle Rail Committee is on the web at: www.junctiontriangle.ca/rail

What does increased diesel traffic along the borders of our triangle mean for the community? The newly formed Junction Triangle Rail Committee will focus on the merits of electrification and the construction of the Davenport Diamond overpass/separation on the eastern side of the neighbourhood.

The Junction Triangle Rail Committee is all for more trains, but we strongly feel electrification is long overdue and Metrolinx must consider the impact of their expansion plans on residents in this neighbourhood. GO Transit and the Government of Ontario have been talking about electrifying the lines since the 1960s, but each decade the plan gets dismissed for being too costly. And each decade, the costs increase. But what about the long-term costs of diesel exhaust?

We're a new group, but we have several ideas brewing. Watch for our roving cameramen who'll conduct interviews with people on the streets of our community; and soon we'll announce details about a series of Sunday picnics in July, as well as a Nuit Blanche event at the Wallace Bridge in October.

We see ourselves as a distinct group, separate from others like the Clean Train Coalition, but also happy to overlap when necessary. So far we've discovered that these communities are officially for electrification:

West Bend Community Association
Roncesvalles-Macdonell Residents' Association
Junction Residents Association
Mount Denis Community Association
Weston Community Coalition
High Park Residents Association
Junction Triangle Rail Committee
Ritchie•Herman•Golden•Silver
Carleton Village Residents Association

We want the Junction Triangle to be part of that growing network.

Surrounded by rails, the Junction Triangle stands right at the centre of this controversy and deserves a voice. If you're interested in joining the push for electrification right here in your own neighbourhood and want Metrolinx to practice responsible construction methods that won't drive people from their homes, please contact us by emailing rail@junctiontriangle.ca or using the online contact form.

Davenport Diamond

Here's another update on Davenport Diamond grade separation project. What is this project about? In short, this project proposes to grade-separate the railway tracks that run along the east side of our neighbourhood (between Campbell Ave. and Lansdowne) and the CN Tracks on the north side of our neighbourhood (between Dupont and Davenport). This would involve creating a huge wall/overpass or trench east of Campbell Ave., with the possibility closing Wallace Ave. Whatever the outcome of this project is, it will have a major impact on our neighbourhood.

It seems that not too much has changed since the last update from GO/Metrolinx on November 10 2009, except that:

• GO/Metrolinx have purchased the entire Newmarket/Barrie railway corridor (as reported here on December 15th)
• The environmental assessment has been pushed back to 2012.

Read below for the email sent from Gary McNeil of GO/Metrolinx:

Davenport Diamond, where the railway tracks cross, north of Dupont St., west of Lansdowne Ave.

Photo by Vic Gedris, 2008-11-15.

GO Train crossing Wallace Ave.

According to Transit Toronto and the CBC, Metrolinx has purchased the remainder of the Newmarket Subdivision railway tracks from CN and now owns the complete corridor from Union Station to Barrie.

The Newmarket Sub is the railway track on the east side of our neighbourhood between Campbell Ave. and Lansdowne Ave. This is the track that Wallace crosses, next to the water tower (as in the photo). This track mainly serves GO Transit's commuter trains between Barrie and Union Station, as well as a few VIA and freight trains.

This is an important event for our neighbourhood. GO / Metrolinx are currently planning on expanding traffic on this rail corridor, which will involve adding at least one extra track as well as another massive grade separation project at the Davenport Diamond at the north-east corner of the Junction Triangle. Now that Metrolinx has purchased this rail corridor, they have much stronger control over how it will be developed.

GO / Metrolinx has said they will hold some community consultations about the Davenport Diamond Grade Separation project and rail expansion on this corridor sometime in the New Year. It will be extremely important for residents in our area to stay focused on this topic, as the implications may be immense and extremely long-lasting: More trains, a massive railway overpass/wall structure, a long trench/tunnel, the closing of Wallace Ave., increased diesel train traffic, and more.

It has been a while since we last heard from GO Transit about the Davenport Diamond Grade Separation Project. The last meeting took place on April 22 2009, with very poor notice given by GO Transit.

Some details and slides from that meeting are posted on this website here. In short, this project proposes to grade-separate the railway tracks that run along the east side of our neighbourhood (between Campbell Ave. and Lansdowne) and the CN Tracks on the north side of our neighbourhood (between Dupont and Davenport). This would involve creating a huge wall/overpass or trench east of Campbell Ave., with the possibility closing Wallace Ave. Whatever the outcome of this project is, it will have a major impact on our neighbourhood.

In this latest update, we find out that the Davenport Diamond Grade Separation has been rolled into a much larger environmental assessment for the expansion of GO Transit's Barrie Line.

WHAT: Public open house for GO Transit's Davenport Diamond grade separation project
WHEN: Wednesday April 22 2009, 5:30 to 8:30pm
WHERE: St. Josephat's School, 55 Pelham Ave. (map)

The following flyer is provided by GO Transit (Click through for a larger version):

PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE #1

Davenport Diamond Rail to Rail Grade Separation
City of Toronto

THE STUDY
GO Transit, the Province of Ontario's interregional public transit service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas, is involved in an environmental assessment of the Davenport Diamond. The Study Area extends from Keele and Dufferin Streets to the West and East, and adjacent to Rogers Road and College Street in the North and South (as shown in the map).

GO trains operating on the Newmarket corridor between Union Station and Barrie cross over the CP North Toronto corridor just south of Davenport Road. It is proposed that a grade separation of the Davenport Diamond will improve rail access along the two corridors.

A flyer for GO Transit's Davenport Diamond Rail to Rail Grade Separation project public meeting on Wednesday April 22, 2009.