Moving Forward with the Waterfront East LRT

I strongly support the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit (LRT), a city-led project to bring higher-order transit to Toronto's fast-developing eastern waterfront. This month, City Council approved the alignment and directed staff to complete 60% of the design, using a phased approach. In partnership with the TTC and Waterfront Toronto, City staff have achieved 30% design completion to-date and finalized a preliminary design business case, constructability assessment, and phasing plan.
 
The Waterfront East LRT combines the Union Station - Queens Quay Link and East Bayfront LRT, running from Union Station to Villiers Island via Cherry Street and Commissioners Street. In addition, the proposed route includes an extension of the King streetcar from the current Distillery Loop to Villiers Island. At this time, staff will be proceeding with design work for Segments 2 and 3, based on the constructability assessment and analysis of the City's finances. When fully built, the line will extend 3.8km and will be used for an estimated 50,000 daily trips.

The Waterfront East LRT is needed to support the significant development underway on the City's eastern waterfront. According to growth projections, this critical transit link would support an estimated 100,000 residents and 50,000 jobs in the area, while providing access to 34 acres of planned parkland in the Port Lands and large-scale events on Villiers Island.
 
The estimated cost of the project is $2.57 billion, which is currently unfunded. The Waterfront LRT has been discussed for years at City Hall, and I am frustrated that this priority project is not further along given the pace of new waterfront development. City staff will be reporting back to City Council with further updates on the project next year. In the meantime, you can find more information on the City's website, here.