The Eglinton Crosstown must finally be getting closer to opening.
Here’s a clue: although as of press time an LRT opening date hadn’t been officially released, we’ve begun to receive specific information about bus route changes across the city. These route changes are designed to redirect buses directly to the new LRT stations along Eglinton Avenue.
Illustrated here is the new look South Leaside 88 route, effective since Oct. 12th. Added to its previous route is a link-up to the Laird station.
since Oct. 12th. Added to its previous route is a link-up to the Laird station.
By the way, in the spring of 2026, when the Beth Nealson construction project begins, the TTC will be adding a new, though temporary, bus to the area (the Route 156 Millwood). It will provide improved access among Line 1, the Line 5 LRT, and the businesses in Thorncliffe Park, as well as in the Leaside Business Park. This is the hybrid proposal successfully put forward last year to the TTC by Thorncliffe’s Jason Ash and myself and mentioned in my previous Leaside Life columns. More details to come!
Vision Zero
Nine years ago, as part of the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan, Toronto’s Transportation Services recommended a planning study be done to identify safety-enhancing measures for the full length of the Bayview Extension. Collisions, speeds, traffic volume, driver behaviour, and physical road involvement would be reviewed, safety issues identified, and cost-effective countermeasures proposed for all road users including cyclists and pedestrians. Nine years later, the study may soon see the light of day.
Several weeks ago, North York Community Council requested Transportation Services carry out a safety review of the Bayview Extension’s intersections with Bayview Heights Drive and Evergreen Gardens.
They also requested a safety review of “Pottery Road North,” the short northbound roadway on the east side of Loblaws connecting the Bayview Extension with the intersection of Moore Avenue.
Now, nothing terribly ambitious is likely to be undertaken. No alterations have been proposed yet. And there is no doubt that speeding is a problem in the area. But over the years, debates regarding the future of that little piece of Pottery Road running through the Loblaws parking lot have been complicated and controversial, to say the least. We should not be surprised if, like the mythological phoenix, those issues rise again.
The LRA board of directors meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. and meetings generally take place in the Trace Manes building at Rumsey Road and Millwood. These are public meetings, and you are welcome to join us and join in. Our next board meeting is on Wed., Nov. 5th.
Please note: Our December, January, February, March and April meetings will be on Zoom. For contact information and more details and updates, you can find us online at leasideresidents.ca. Press the Contact Us button, or visit leasideresidents.ca/contact-us.
