Ward 14 Construction & Transit Updates

501/301 & 503/303: Temporary Route Diversions: Feb 26th to March 5th

501/301 Queen and 503/303 Kingston streetcars will divert both ways via Broadview, Gerrard and Coxwell between February 26th to March 5th.

These diversions are required to accommodate TTC streetcar rail and concrete repairs.

501/301 Queen replacement buses will operate on Queen East between River and Kingston, diverting around the work area via Carlaw, Dundas and Broadview.

Read the TTC's construction notice for more details.

72 Pape Southbound Detour

The 72 Pape southbound bus is temporarily detouring west on Dingwall then south on Carlaw.

View the detour map here. The 72 Pape northbound routing has not changed. 

The temporary diversion is due to traffic restrictions in the Pape-Riverdale area required to accommodate Ontario Line construction.

This detour was originally scheduled to begin on February 16th but was postponed due to inclement weather. However, the detour is now proceeding and will remain in place until later in 2026.

Read the TTC’s notice for more information on the detour. Please note this notice still shows the previously scheduled detour start date of February 16th.

325 Don Mills Night Bus Routing Change

Southbound 325 Don Mills buses are diverting east on Danforth, south on Jones and west on Gerrard due to Ontario Line Construction.

Northbound routing will not be affected. Read the TTC's service advisory to learn more.

505 Diversion for Urgent Track at Work on Dundas at Don Valley Bridge

TTC staff have identified urgent rail repairs on Dundas Street East Streetcar track repair over the DVP bridge required to maintain safe streetcar service.

Work began this week and is taking place around the clock. Construction is expected to finish next week.

As all work will take place within the streetcar right-of-way, streetcars are diverting around the immediate area.

A 505/305 Dundas replacement bus service is operating on Dundas through the DVP work area.

 View this detour map for details. Read the TTC's construction notice to learn more.

TTC to Stop Accepting Tickets, Tokens & Day Passes After June 1st

The TTC will no longer accept TTC youth/senior tickets, tokens and day passes after June 1st, 2025.

The initial deadline of December 31st, 2024 was extended to give customers more time to use up their remaining tickets, tokens and day passes, as refunds, exchanges or credits will not be provided. 

Read the TTC's update to learn more.

Pape Bus Service Changes for Ontario Line Construction

The Pape Station bus terminal is fully closed to accommodate Ontario Line construction at Pape Station.

As a result, temporary diversions and service changes for several bus routes serving Pape and Broadview Stations are currently in effect.

These changes began in May 2024 and were initially scheduled to end last fall, but are now in effect until the end of 2025.

Details on the temporary route changes are as follows:

Pape Station Bus Routes & Wheel-Trans Changes

• The 25 Don Mills and 925 Express are diverting to Broadview Station via O'Connor and Broadview
• The 81 Thorncliffe Park is suspended and has been replaced by the extended 72A/72C Pape Bus
• Wheel-Trans buses are stopping on-street in front of Pape Station
• The 72B is suspended. The new 114 Queens Quay East route has replaced 72B service between Union and Commissioners only

The 72A/72C is the only bus route now serving Pape Station. 

There is no direct bus service from Pape Station to the Port Lands. Those travelling from Pape Station to the Port Lands can transfer from the 72C Pape to the 114 Queens Quay East via the Lake Shore & Carlaw stop.

Access to Pape Station will be maintained, though subway service may be disrupted intermittently to accommodate work in the subway tunnel. Advance notice will be provided.

The TTC has increased 25 Don Mills and 72 Pape service to help mitigate impacts of these changes.

Broadview Station Bus Route Changes

• The 8 Broadview and 62 Mortimer (eastbound & westbound) routes has been extended south to Bridgepoint Hospital. They are now serving Broadview Station via on-street stops
• 100 Flemingdon Park and 87 Cosburn service has not changed. They continue to Broadview Station via the bus terminal, though from different bus bays
• Wheel-Trans continues to serve Broadview Station from Bay 5

Learn more about the 8 Broadview and 62 Mortimer service changes.

These changes are to accommodate the temporary re-routing of the 25 Don Mills and 925 Don Mills Express to Broadview Station. Broadview Station subway service will not be impacted.

Read the TTC's service update for more on all of the above changes. 

You can also contact TTC Customer Service at 416-393-4636 or via telecommunications relay service at 1-800-855-0511 for help planning your trip or any other questions about the above changes.

Check back regularly as dates and other details may change. Subscribe to my weekly e-newsletter for the latest updates on TTC service changes impacting Toronto-Danforth.

TTC Second Exit/Entrance and Easier Access Projects

The Donlands Station Second Exit/Entrance & Easier Access and Greenwood Station Easier Access projects are underway to improve accessibility, safety and convenience for TTC customers.

Read more about the TTC’s second exit planning and consultation process.

Donlands Station Easier Access & Second Entrance/Exit Project Complete

The long awaited Donlands Station second exit/entrance and elevators are now open.

Located on Dewhurst, the second exit/entrance will improve safety and convenience for local transit users.

The two brand-new elevators now connect street level to the subway platform level, allowing customers access to both the eastbound and westbound subway platforms. The opening of the elevators makes Donlands the TTC's 55th accessible station. Read more.

Learn more about the project on the TTC's website.

Greenwood Station Easier Access Project

The TTC is conducting work at the intersection of Strathmore & Linnsmore to make Greenwood Station accessible. 

Construction is expected to finish in mid-2025 once the new elevators are in service.

View the latest Greenwood Station project updates. Learn more about the project here.

Greenwood Station Bus Loop Reopened

The Greenwood Station bus loop re-opened on September 1st, 2024

The 31 Greenwood will continue extending to Coxwell Station to provide an accessible connection for any customers requiring elevators.

Buses to Eastern and Queen will board at Bay 2, while buses to Coxwell Station will board at Bay 1.

Read the TTC's construction notice for more details.

Linnsmore & Strathmore Reopened to Vehicular & Pedestrian Traffic

Construction on the Greenwood Station Easier Access Project progressed to Stage 5 in late July 2024. This has allowed for the reopening of the Strathmore & Linnsmore intersection to vehicles and pedestrians.

Construction will continue underground, on street level around the station building and within the station.

Read the TTC's construction notice for more details.

Port Lands Construction

Port Lands Flood Protection Project

Work on the Port Lands Flood Protection Project (PLFPP) is underway. This historic $1.25 billion project will provide critical flood protection and transform our waterfront, resulting in a new piece of Toronto in the Port Lands.

The naturalization of the mouth of the Don River is a key part of this work, fulfilling a long awaited dream of many east-enders for a new river course into the Inner Harbour of Lake Ontario.

The PLFPP will result in the creation of a new river valley, approximately 100 acres of parkland and our new island Ookwemin Minising, the east end's future waterfront community in the Port Lands.

Scroll down for project updates and details on temporary and permanent traffic, pedestrian and cycling changes resulting from this work.

January 2024: New Indigenous Street Names in the Port Lands

The city has renamed several streets as part of a series of measures to help complete the road network in our transformed Port Lands.

These include:

• Renaming New Cherry Street between the Keating Channel to Commissioners Street to Cherry Street
• Renaming Cherry Street between the Keating Channel to Commissioners Street to Ookwemin Street
• Renaming a remnant portion of Cherry Street between the Gardiner Expressway and the Keating Channel to Lake Shore Boulevard East

View map showing all the newly re-named streets here. 

The renaming of Cherry between the Keating Channel to Commissioners to Ookwemin Street follows the Indigenous naming in late 2024 of Ookwemin Minising, our new island in the Port Lands, and Biidaasige, the extensive new park being built in the Port Lands.

It demonstrates the city's commitment to reconciliation and recognizing our Waterfront's Indigenous history.

Read the city's report to view the full list of traffic network measures and learn more.

November 2024: Don River Reconnected to Lake Ontario Creating Our New Island

In November 2024, a historic milestone in the Port Lands was reached: the new Don River was completed.

With the removal of the 'north plug', the Don River is now free to run directly into the harbour, fully creating our new island: Ookwemin Minising.

This remarkable feat of engineering marks a big step in the eight-year, $1.4 billion Port Lands Flood Protection Project.

Funded by all three levels of government, this historic project was undertaken to protect Leslieville, Riverside and surrounding areas from flooding.

In doing so, it's unlocking up to 240 hectares of land to construct the city’s largest park network in a generation and create a truly mixed, affordable waterfront community.

This achievement was made possible thanks to the exceptional work of Waterfront Toronto and the commitment and funding of the three levels of government.

I'm so proud to see our new waterfront come to life after helping push this project forward from the get-go.

Thank you to Waterfront Toronto, City Planning staff, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and all those who made this long-awaited dream a reality.

In a few years new generations of Torontonians will make their home on our beautiful waterfront. It's a milestone moment for our city.

Read Waterfront Toronto's update to learn more.

July 2024: "West Plug" Removal Complete

We celebrated a big milestone in the historic transformation of the Port Lands in July 2024.

The "west plug" was removed, a key step in reconnecting the lake and renaturalized river.

I'm so proud to see our new waterfront come to life after helping push this project forward from the get-go.

Thank you to Waterfront Toronto, City Planning staff, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and all those making the historic Port Lands Flood Protection Project a reality.

Read Waterfront Toronto's update update to learn more.

New Bridges and Roads Opened

The Cherry Street North and Commissioners Street bridges along with the newly realigned Cherry and Commissioners Streets opened in late January 2024.

In addition, the gradual flooding of the new Don River began in early February 2024.

These are important milestones in the historic Port Lands Flood Protection Project, which you can read more about here.

New Bridges

The Cherry Street North and Commissioners Street bridges are part of a series of new bridges needed to connect the future "Villiers Island" and other areas in the transformed Port Lands to each other and the rest of the city.

Commissioners Street Bridge

The Commissioners Street Bridge spans the new river valley west of Don Roadway and connects the new Villiers Island to the rest of the Port Lands.

Cherry Street North Bridge

The Cherry Street North Bridge crosses the Keating Channel, connecting pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to New Cherry Street from Lake Shore.

It replaces the existing bridge, which will be removed.

New Road Alignments

New Cherry Street and the realigned Commissioners Street are now open. Some portions of existing Cherry Street and Villiers Street will be closed.

New Cherry Street

The new alignment of Cherry, called 'New Cherry Street' for now, creates a simpler crossing of Lake Shore. It also has a fully separated multi-use trail and sidewalk.

• New Cherry Street is now open between Lake Shore and Commissioners. 
• The old alignment of Cherry between Villiers and Commissioners remains open. It continues to be called 'Cherry Street' for now.
• The old alignment of Cherry between Lake Shore and Villiers is permanently closed.
• Traffic signals at Lake Shore and the old alignment of Cherry have been turned off.

This map outlines the above changes to Cherry.

Lake Shore is restricted to two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound between Don Roadway and Cherry. Don Roadway south of Lake Shore remains closed. 

Commissioners Street

Commissioners has been rebuilt between Cherry and Saulter with new bike lanes on either side and the just-opened bridge over the new river valley.

• Commissioners has reopened between Cherry and Saulter, connecting to the new extension of Commissioners west of Cherry and the existing roadway east of Saulter.
• Villiers is closed east of Munition Street.

Access to businesses in the all the above areas will be maintained.

This map shows the status of all roads in the Port Lands as of January 24th, including New Cherry Street and the reconfigured Commissioners Street.

Read the construction notice for more details.

Getting Around the Port Lands

Driving

Vehicles heading to the Port Lands via New Cherry Street:

• To access New Cherry Street from the east, go south on Carlaw and turn right onto Commissioners.
• Traffic traveling north/south and from the west can access New Cherry Street at Lake Shore

Cycling and Walking

The multi-use Martin Goodman Trail now runs along New Cherry Street south of Lake Shore and continues past Commissioners.

This is now the new north-south cycling and pedestrian route through the Port Lands.

Commissioners will replace Villiers Street as cyclists' and pedestrians' main east-west connection through the Port Lands and across the Don River.

Read the construction notice or view this map of available cycling routes for more details.

Transit 

TTC bus service began operating along the realigned Cherry Street and Commissioners Street in January 2024. 

Jump to Transit Updates or check current TTC service advisories for current detours and other service changes in the Port Lands.

Read the construction notice or visit Waterfront Toronto's website for more details.

Visit Waterfront Toronto's website for more on:

• The Port Lands Flood Protection project
• Recent or upcoming public meetings

Lake Shore Boulevard East Project

Waterfront Toronto's Lake Shore Boulevard East Project is supporting the Port Lands Flood Protection and Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard Reconfiguration projects.

View the latest construction updates here.

Port of Toronto Ship Channel Bridge Rehabilitation Project

PortsToronto in partnership with the City of Toronto are conducting rehabilitation works to modernize the ageing Ship Channel Lift Bridge on Cherry Street. 

The Ship Channel Bridge Rehabilitation Project began in March 2022 and is expected to finish in 2027.

Emergency Repairs Complete: Bridge Now Open

Critical repairs to the Ship Channel Bridge are complete and the bridge has returned to regular operation. The roadway is open to vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic

Visit PortsToronto's website for updates and information on Ship Channel Bridge emergency repairs.

PortsToronto and the city will now continue the Ship Channel Bridge rehabilitation program, which is anticipated to commence in late December 2024/early January 2025 with structural steel rehabilitation.

Most of the remaining rehabilitation work is intentionally scheduled for the winter when the bridge lift is not operational to allow vehicles and pedestrians to cross. Learn more about the project.

I will also continue sharing updates in my weekly e-newsletter.

Subscribe to my weekly e-newsletter for the latest updates on the exciting and historic project in the Port Lands.

Eastern & Adelaide Bridge Rehabilitation Work

The city has begun long-term rehabilitation work on the Eastern Avenue Bridge, Richmond Street East over the King Street East Bridge, Adelaide Street East over the King Street East Bridge and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) southbound Richmond Street off-ramp.

In addition to state-of-good-repair work, a multi-use trail on the Eastern Avenue Bridge will also be built.

Work began this month and is anticipated to finish in early 2027.

Work will occur seven days a week (including holidays) between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Some tasks will also require overnight work, though this will be communicated in advance and noise mitigation measures implemented.

Construction will be carried out in multiple phases and result in various impacts. Scroll down for details.

Construction Impacts & Updates

Lane/Road Restrictions & Closures

Initial construction will entail vehicle lane restrictions on Adelaide and Eastern.

There will be periodic traffic restrictions on the DVP and nearby streets throughout the project. However, these disruptions will not all occur at the same time and all impacted roads will continue to stay open to traffic.

Stage 2 Lane Closures & Restrictions

• One eastbound and one westbound through lane on Eastern between Broadview and Sumach is closed until spring 2025
• One eastbound lane on Adelaide between Eastern and Sumach is closed until spring 2025
• The northbound acceleration lane of the Don Valley Parkway between the Eastern on-ramp and Queen will remain open but be slightly narrower.
  • A partial closure of the acceleration lane will occur later in the project. Advance notice will be provided.

DVP off-ramp to Richmond Street

The southbound DVP off-ramp to Richmond Street will be fully closed for approximately five months as part of this work. However, the closure is scheduled for the later half of the project to minimize disruptions from other nearby construction projects.

Demolition Work Underway

Demolition work is underway on the Eastern Avenue Bridge as part of Stage 2 of the Eastern/Adelaide Bridge Rehabilitation project.

This phase includes noisy work. Asphalt removal, concrete chipping, and heavy breaking will take place at various times during the day, with all demolition activities limited to the hours between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Demolition work began January 2025 and will continue until late February 2025.

Cyclists

This work will impact cycling routes on Bayview Avenue and Lower River Street. The multi-use trail on Bayview Avenue will remain open throughout the work but will be narrowed in the vicinity of the bridges to accommodate construction.

The Lower Don River Trail is currently closed due to the Lower Don River Trail Improvements Project. Bridge work has been planned to minimize impacts to the trail once opened.

Pedestrians

Localized sidewalk detours within the construction zone will be required to ensure work is completed safely.

Transit

TTC service will continue to operate normally. Streetcar routes on King Street and Sumach Street will not be impacted.

Reducing Impacts Through Better Construction Management

With major projects happening in Toronto-Danforth and across the city, we must be thoughtful and coordinated in managing construction to ensure we minimize impacts on residents and local businesses wherever possible.

Given these bridges and elevated roadways are a critical link to downtown and beyond for many Ward 14 residents, I have worked to ensure:

• city staff explore all options to accelerate the completion of this project
• coordination with the Gerrard/Dundas/Riverdale Pedestrian Bridge Rehabilitation project so only eastbound Adelaide and Eastern lanes are closed this year instead of also closing westbound lanes on Eastern and Gerrard as was initially planned. This avoids concurrent closures in the same direction on these parallel streets
• work is coordinated to avoid impacts to the Lower Don Trail once the Lower Don River Trail Improvements Project is complete
• ensure staff coordinate with Metrolinx who are conducting Ontario Line-related construction on the Eastern Avenue Rail Bridge

Read the city's initial construction notice or visit the project webpage to learn more. You can also subscribe for project updates from the city here.

I will also share regular updates on this project in my weekly e-newsletter.

Millwood Road Safety Improvements

State-of-good-repair work on Millwood, Pape and Donlands just south of the Leaside Bridge is now complete.

These improvements will increase safety and connectivity for all road users. Upgrades include:

• New separated cycle tracks on Millwood (Leaside Bridge) south of Overlea
• New intersection design at Pape and Donlands (just south of the Leaside Bridge) including new pedestrian crossings, new/upgraded bikeways, wider sidewalks and relocated bus stops
• Changes to the design of several intersections along Pape
• Road resurfacing on Pape from O’Connor to south of Hopedale

Visit the project website to learn more.