On 30 March Toronto mayor Olivia Chow welcomed Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to the city for a joint announcement on investing CAD 8.8bn in housing and infrastructure. The infrastructure includes CAD 3bn to build the Waterfront East light rail line, a project planned as long ago as 2018 but never funded until now (though CAD 36M has been spent on planning and design).
The 3.8km Waterfront East line will start in subway at Union Station, running south to Ferry Docks, then surface to run along Queens Quay East to Cherry Street and Commissioners Street, serving the Port lands redevelopment area where 75 000 new homes are planned. 50 000 passengers/day are predicted when the line opens in 2032 and it will generate more than CAD 13.2bn in economic benefits, including 100 000 new jobs. The city, the province and the federal government will each contribute CAD 1bn towards the cost of building light rail.
A map of the Waterfront East light rail line; segment 1 is in subway. (City of Toronto)
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