Petition calls on Metrolinx to build promised pedestrian path under GO train bridge

Residents in Toronto's Wallace-Emerson area want the city and Metrolinx to come together to follow through on a promise to connect neighbourhoods that were divided by the Davenport GO train bridge.

People living in the area say Metrolinx failed to deliver on a promise to create a pedestrian path under the elevated bridge.

Metrolinx — which manages regional transit for Toronto and Hamilton — built the overpass to carry GO Transit trains over the CP rail corridor near Dupont Street and Lansdowne Avenue. A barrier put in place during the construction remains in place, dividing Lappin Avenue West and Antler Street.

Nithya Vijayakumar, a transportation planner who has been living in the neighbourhood since 2018, said the promised connection between the two areas was one of the reasons she thought it was a good idea to move there.

"I've been looking forward to this happening for a while, I assumed this connection was happening and then during the pandemic realized that it had been taken off the table," she told CBC Toronto.

Vijayakumar has started a petition to get Metrolinx to put the promised pedestrian path back on the table and to have it built. As of Saturday more than 1,000 people had signed the petition.

According to Vijayakumar, Metrolinx has stated publicly that the pedestrian path is no longer in the scope of the project and that it will be up to private owners or the city to include a path in the future. But she said this is unacceptable.

"For me personally I have a six-year-old son, I live on one side of the tracks," she said.

"The park, his school are all on the other side of the tracks. So, we either have to walk up to Dupont or down to Wallace and around to get to all the things that we love in this neighborhood, and Dupont is very noisy and has a lot of traffic. Wallace is also very noisy and has really narrow sidewalks."

Meanwhile, Vijayakumar said "it would just be really great to have a safer, quieter path for pedestrians and cyclists to get to the different amenities on either side."

She said the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre is on one side of the tracks while the new public library is on the other side.

"So, it's just going to allow a lot more movement and connection to our community," Vijayakumar said.

According to residents, the pedestrian pathway would allow neighbours on the west side of the tracks, who live on Antler Street, Symington Avenue and Campbell Avenue to get to the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre faster and more safely.

It would also allow neighbours on the east side of the tracks, who live on Lappin Avenue, Ward Avenue, and St. Clarens Avenue to get to Campbell Park and local schools faster and more safely.

'What we need right now is action'

Alejandra Bravo, Toronto city councillor for Ward 9 Davenport, supports the residents' call for the pedestrian path, saying that it "suddenly disappeared" from the plans in 2018 "without consultation or without notification to the community."

"This is something that really isn't acceptable if you think about how crucial this kind of benefit is when we have local infrastructure projects in any neighborhood," Bravo said.

Bravo, who lives in Davenport, said the pedestrian path is a very small and simple thing that people have asked for.

She said she has been working with the local Member of Provincial Parliament, Marit Stiles — who's a big supporter of the effort — and she will be tabling the residents' petition at the next city council meeting.

"What we need right now is action. We need for this long promised connection between these two streets, Antler and Lappin, to actually come to fruition," Bravo said.

"Right now the project is not part of the plans, but I want to make sure that it actually is returned, as was promised more than seven years ago.

"I think what we need now is a recommitment here at the City of Toronto to join alongside the community in making sure that this happens," Bravo added.

Connection not within project scope, Metrolinx says

On Tuesday, April 4, the first GO Transit trains carrying paying passengers crossed the new Davenport Diamond Guideway.

Metrolinx says it has designed the Greenway to allow for a future pedestrian connection at Lappin Avenue should the City of Toronto develop a plan for the connection with a city-initiated acquisition of the privately owned lands.

"The Lappin Avenue connection is not within Metrolinx's project scope," the agency said in an email to CBC News.

"Metrolinx remains open to working with the City of Toronto should they decide to fund this connection in the future."

For its part, the city says it recognizes the community's request for a pedestrian connection.

"During Metrolinx's construction, the city made efforts to ensure that access to Antler Street and Campbell Park would be created,"  a city statement sent to CBC Toronto said.

"Following construction completion, Metrolinx has erected a fence on their property line separating the rail corridor from the commercial complex located at 90 Ward St. and adjacent to Lappin Street.

"A pedestrian connection would require access from Metrolinx's property through the commercial property located at 90 Ward St. to reach Lappin Avenue."

According to the statement, the local city councillor and MPP have engaged with Metrolinx to encourage the agency to resume talks with the commercial property owner.

"An agreement would need to be made between Metrolinx and the commercial property owner for a pedestrian connection to be made," the city said.