St. Clair Streetcar Line Up And Running
Posted December 21, 2009 6:51 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s been a long time coming, but the St. Clair streetcar right-of-way is up and running.
The TTC rolled out its first cars on the new tracks over the weekend.
The elevated line now runs from Bathurst Street to Lansdowne Avenue, shaving off about five minutes for the total commute from Yonge Street to Lansdowne.
The stretch between Lansdowne and Keele Street is expected to be completed in 2010.
“A basic TTC project became an opportunity for Enbridge to renew its infrastructure, for Hydro to renew its infrastructure, for waterworks to renew its infrastructure, and that’s why something that should have been done a couple of years ago took extra time,” Councillor Joe Mihevc told CityOnline.
Construction lasted four years and many business owners along the strip protested the decision, saying the loss of parking – not to mention the constant digging – hurt their bottom line.
However, some merchants said that the rejuvenation – which includes buried hydro wires, new trees and lamps, and moving hydrants to make room for street parking – is worth the wait.
“I think [business] will be better when people start noticing that it’s actually running again,” shop owner Marianna Ng said.
“I was looking forward to seeing it finished,” area resident Antoni Fredrick smiled.
The 6.7 kilometre right-of-way started construction in 2005 and was supposed to cost $65 million and take only two years to finish.
Phase 1 between Yonge Street and Bathurst Avenue opened in 2007. But the rest of the project has been plagued by delays, which the TTC blamed on contractors’ scheduling problems.
