The Waterfront West LRT was a proposed light rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was part of the Transit City proposal announced on March 16, 2007, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. As the shortest and least expensive Transit City line, it was expected to cost approximately $540 million. The line was to open in four stages and and be completed by 2015 as the third of the seven Transit City lines after the Sheppard East LRT and Etobicoke-Finch West LRT lines.
However, Mayor Rob Ford cancelled the line after taking office in December 2010.[1]
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The Waterfront West LRT line would run for 11 km, estimated to account for 21 million trips in 2021. The western terminus of the line would be built at the Long Branch GO Station in Etobicoke. The line would use an exclusive right of way along Lake Shore Boulevard West, and follow the existing right of way used by routes 501 and 508 through Humber loop, and along the Queensway. A new right of way would parallel King Street West east of Roncesvalles Avenue, and follow the rail corridor to the existing Exhibition loop facility. It was initially designed to operate via the existing Harbourfront streetcar right-of-way from the exhibition loop facility to Union Station, however, now it has been recommended that it operate via a new right-of-way to be constructed under the Gardiner Expressway, and along Bremner Boulevard to a new portal that will allow it to access the Union Station streetcar tunnel. This was because of concerns over operating too many streetcars through complex multi-phase intersections at intersections like Fleet St., Lake Shore Blvd. W, and Bathurst St., as well as service reliability and speed[2].
The TTC has predicted an average daily ridership of over 40,000 on the segment that would serve the developing Liberty Village and CityPlace neighbourhoods, as opposed to approximately 2,200 per peak hour on the western segment of the line. There is some concern over the necessity of a full right of way on Lake Shore Blvd. West, as there is very little, if any, congestion due to traffic, and that segment already has safety islands at most of its stops.
This segment is not actually part of Transit City. It may be constructed at the same time the rest of the line is built or later.
The Waterfront West LRT had long been conceived to continue west into Peel Region from the currently proposed terminus at the Long Branch GO Station. This extension takes the Waterfront West LRT from Long Branch GO Station west to cross the Toronto/Peel Region border and continue to an undisclosed location within Peel Region.
The TTC has indicated that stops will be spaced on average 370 m apart from Long Branch GO Station to Park Lawn Road. This list does not include potential extensions of the Waterfront West LRT. The distances between these stops varies, but they are likely candidates, from west to east to Park Lawn Road:
Major streets and landmarks crossing the Waterfront West LRT (from west to east from Park Lawn Road):
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