Cherry Street streetcar line

     Cherry Street

Freshly laid tracks south of Cherry Street Hotel
Overview
Status under construction
Locale Toronto, Ontario
Termini King Street
Distillery Lane
Services 504 King
Operation
Operator(s) Toronto Transit Commission
Technical
Line length 0.7 kilometres (0.43 mi)
Track gauge 4 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1,495 mm) - TTC Gauge

The Cherry Street streetcar line is being built by Waterfront Toronto, in cooperation with the Toronto Transit Commission.[1] In 2012 construction began on the northern section of Cherry Street, from King Street to Distillery Lane. This section is projected to cost $90 million CAD.

In 2007, when the plan was being finalized, this route was to be the only route with a separate right of way beside a roadway.[2][3] A tree-lined median will separate the streetcar right of way from Cherry Street. Cherry Street will be reduced to just one lane in each direction. The sidewalks will be widened to 5 metres.

The initial segment of the line, from King Street to Distillery Lane, is approximately 700 metres long, and will have just three stops on it.[2] The northern portion of the Cherry Street line is along Sumach Street from Eastern Avenue to a junction with the King Street line. The TTC constructed this new junction in April and May of 2014.[4]

A streetcar loop is being built on Cherry Street across from Distillery Lane.

Original plans called for the line to extend further south into redeveloped Port Lands.[1] That extension would have pushed the budget for the line to $300 million CAD. The Toronto Transportation Commission operated, the former Toronto Railway Company, Ashbridge streetcar into that area in the 1920s.[5] It connected to the streetcar grid at Queen Street, just west of Broadview Avenue and ran south to Commissioners Street then west to Cherry Street.

Streetcar line is to be constructed in this strip east of the roadway, which is already paved
Sections of rail, prepared for the line, lie on Cherry St. south of Commissioners St.
Nearly completed track work on March 2014.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Adrian Morrow (2012-05-25). "A tiny perfect streetcar line is being laid along Cherry Street". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2012-07-19. There’s a new streetcar line under construction in Toronto, the first in more than a decade and a surprising development during the tenure of a mayor who is outspokenly opposed to light rail.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tess Kalinowski (2007-12-11). "Transit-first street plan hailed". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2012-07-19. Unlike Toronto's other streetcar routes, which traditionally run in mixed traffic and board passengers from platforms in the middle of the road, the Cherry St. plan calls for putting all the transit on the east side of the street, running in two directions, with a tree-lined platform separating it from other traffic. "Two figures incorrect in Cherry St. transit plan". Toronto Star. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2012-07-19. The transitway envisioned for this section is 700 metres.
  3. ↑ "STREETCARS ON CHERRY STREET AND SUMACH STREET SERVING THE WEST DON LANDS DEVELOPMENT" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  4. ↑ Steve Munro (2014-06-25). "King & Sumach: Connecting to Cherry Street (Update 9: June 25, 2014)". Steve Munro. Archived from the original on 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  5. ↑ James Bow (2012-04-03). "The Ashbridge Streetcar (Deceased)". Transit Toronto. Retrieved 2012-07-19.

External links

Media related to Cherry Street streetcar line at Wikimedia Commons