Project Update - March 2011

New and Improved Streetcars Arriving in 2013

The TTC is committed to improving your streetcar service. The following key customer service enhancements will be delivered on the Queen St. 501 and all streetcar routes:

  • Enhanced comfort and reduced crowding
  • Fast boarding through multiple entrances
  • A new Fare Collection System to reduce line-ups
  • Low-Floor access for persons with disabilities, seniors, strollers
  • Accommodation for bicycles
  • Air conditioning in the summer

Thirty-three new streetcars will begin arriving in 2013, followed by three more per month, until the full fleet of 204 is operational.

Bombardier Flexity- Streetcars in Innsbruck, Austria.

Bombardier Flexity-Innsbruck, Austria. The new vehicles will be constructed on a similar platform and have many of the same features as pictured above.

Learn more at www.lrv.ttc.ca This is an external site and will open in a new window.  

Project Approval

On December 6, 2010, the Ontario Minister of the Environment issued a “Notice to Proceed” for the project, consisting of a facility at Ashbridges Bay and connecting tracks on Leslie St. The Environmental Project Report can be viewed on-line at www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/lrv This is an external site and will open in a new window.

The Commission directed staff to explore the feasibility and cost of storing some of the vehicles off-site and to review routing to the facility.

Artist rendering of Ashbridges Bay Maintenance and Storage Facility.

Construction Update

On February 2, 2011, the Commission (TTC) authorized award of the contract for site preparation, including the removal of the mound (approximately 385,000 cubic metres of impacted soil). This must be removed before the TTC can begin construction of the facility. Soil removal will be completed in accordance with Ministry of the Environment regulations and protocols. Air monitoring will be undertaken at the property boundaries of the construction site, and measures will be put in place to contain dust.

In order to minimize traffic, the TTC has stipulated that haulage vehicles may only use designated routes to exit the city core. These vehicles will be restricted to using routes that keep vehicles off residential streets. Work crews are scheduled to begin removing the soil in April 2011 and will have this initial part of the project completed in approximately thirteen months.

Ashbridges Bay Maintenance & Storage Facility

  • 400 New Trees
  • Green Roof
  • Built to Green Development Standards
  • Storm Water Management
  • Integrate with The Martin Goodman Trail
  • Landscape Design Competition

Artist rendering of Ashbridges Bay Maintenance and Storage Facility. View from Lake Shore Blvd.

The Ashbridges Bay Facility will ensure the new streetcars are effectively maintained, bringing comfortable and reliable transit to Toronto. The project will be comprised of three components; a maintenance building for the fleet of 204 vehicles, a connection track between the facility and Queen Street and storage tracks for 100 of the new streetcars. Staff are currently reviewing the possibility of reducing this storage area by using other TTC properties. The remaining fleet of 104 vehicles will be stored at Roncesvalles and Russell Facilities.  Unique features of the Ashbridges facility include a green vegetative roof and skylights to allow for natural light to enter the building. A storm water management pond will be located at the eastern end of the facility to collect and treat run-off water. These features will minimize energy consumption and add to Toronto’s environmental initiatives.

New Tree Plantings

Trees on the contaminated mound will be removed as part of the soil removal contract. City of Toronto Urban Forestry identified seven trees, measuring over 30 cm in diameter that are affected by the City of Toronto Tree By-law. The remaining trees are shrubs, bushes and saplings growing in contaminated soil. The TTC will plant over 400 new and healthy trees to replace them.

Artist rendering of trees and landscaping at the Ashbridges Bay Maintenance and Storage Facility.

Landscape Design Competition Update

On September 28, 2010, the City of Toronto’s Design Review Panel favourably reviewed The Brown and Storey landscape design plan. The Brown and Storey team won the competition to design the perimeter area of the TTC’s Ashbridges Bay Facility along Leslie Street and Lake Shore Blvd. The design team will now begin work on detailed plans adjacent to the facility.

For further information, please contact:

Lito Romano
Community Liaison Officer
Tel: 416-397-8699
email: lito.romano@ttc.ca
Web: www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/lrv This is an external site and will open in a new window.