Davenport Diamond

The railway junction where the CN Newmarket (Barrie GO) and CP North Toronto cross.

Barrie Line Rail Bridge - Meeting with Metrolinx

DIGIN has organized a meeting with Metrolinx regarding the proposed Davenport Diamond Grade Separation project. Details from DIGIN coordinator Donna Cowan below.

Hi all,

The meeting with Metrolinx regarding the upcoming renovations to the Barrie rail line has been set up for this Wednesday.

Here are the details:

Wednesday March 11th
7pm start
Doors open at 6:45pm

Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre
1900 Davenport Avenue
GARDEN Room

The room has been reserved under my name, DIGIN as well as Metrolinx.

Directions to the room:
Once in front door the reception will be on the left. Keep walking straight.
Stay to the left of the staircase. You will feel as if you are exiting the building.
Under the stairs on the right is the Garden Room. Was hrooms are on the left.

There are bike locks out front and possibly in the back in view of the room. Automobile parking is on the street.

Davenport Diamond Grade Separation

Metrolinx is planning 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). Here's the Google Map link.

Currently, these tracks cross each other at-grade, meaning that they intersect at ground level. Trains travelling along the north-south tracks must wait for east-west trains to finish passing through before they can proceed, and vice-versa. The grade separation plan proposes to elevate the north-south GO Transit Barrie Line tracks over the Davenport Diamond, eliminating the intersection and train traffic conflicts.

Though no details have been provided yet about exactly how this grade separation will occur, the summary basically goes like this:

  • A bridge will be built to carry GO trains on the Barrie line over the east-west freight line
  • The bridge would start ramping up from just north of Bloor St., proceed over the Davenport Diamond, and return to ground level north of the Diamond (probably between Davenport Rd. and St. Clair Ave.
  • Wallace Ave. would not be closed (as was possible in one of the previous grade separation proposals)
  • Some additional track crossings may be opened up, e.g. Paton Rd. or Antler St. / Lappin Ave.
  • Space under the bridge could potentially be re-purposed by the community (Park? Trail? Other?)

Timelines, construction methods, costs/funding, and other details have not been provided yet, though I expect some of that will be made available soon.

This thread will be updated as we continue to find out more. All comments and discussions related to this project will be consolidated here too.

Note: Grade separation was previously discussed in 2009 with a few options proposed, but this ended up getting rolled into a larger Barrie corridor expansion EA and shelved until recently.

Davenport Diamond grade separation: January 2010 update

Davenport DiamondDavenport 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:

Metrolinx buys Barrie rail corridor

GO Train crossing Wallace Ave.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.

Davenport Diamond grade separation update

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.

Davenport Diamond Grade Separation, Open House #1

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.

Davenport Diamond Grade Separation, Open House #1

Davenport Diamond Grade Separation, Open House #1

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

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