Toronto residents will soon be able to enjoy a nice, relaxing day in a local parkette, but this new public space will come with an exciting twist — the grassy expanse will serve as a viewing platform overlooking the upcoming Ontario Line subway’s massive high-level bridge over the Don Valley.
The new Don Valley Crossing bridge will stand as the most significant new infrastructure built over the Don Valley in a century, carrying Ontario Line trains high above the valley floor between the tunnelled section to the south and the elevated stretch of the line that will be constructed north of the valley.
To construct the new bridge and the portal where trains will enter and exit the tunnels, crews have cleared a construction staging area on Minton Place, which required the demolition of homes that previously occupied the site.
Four properties at 158 Hopedale Ave., 156 Hopedale Ave., 15 Minton Pl., and 17 Minton Pl. were acquired by Metrolinx and later demolished in mid-2024.
This cordoned-off area on Minton Place will play a key role in construction beyond its importance in staging work for the bridge. Tunnelling work for the approximately three-kilometre eastern underground section of the Ontario Line will conclude at this site.
Following construction work for the portal, bridge, and tunnels, an emergency exit building will rise on the former work zone. This small building will allow evacuation of the tunnels in the event of an emergency.
Once the emergency exit building is complete, Metrolinx will transform the site into a parkette serving the local community.
While a lone rendering of this parkette doesn’t offer much in the way of detail, aside from some landscaping surrounding the emergency exit building, the public space’s position perched atop the tunnel portal will likely afford spectacular views down the barrel of the subway bridge, giving parkgoers the opportunity to interact with the new transit infrastructure.
In fact, I will go out on a limb and say that the combination of trains hurtling along the bridge and the Don Valley’s reputation for spectacular fall colours will probably be enough to make this one of the most popular photography spots in town, during the fall months, once open to the public.
The Ontario Line will add 15 stations to the city’s rapid transit network. Previously slated for a 2031 opening, the province has since blurred the project timeline with an adjusted and seemingly noncommittal “2030s” window.
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