Clark Avenue selected as 4th stop on planned Yonge North subway extension
Posted July 16, 2021 1:43 pm.
Last Updated July 16, 2021 1:44 pm.
The Ford government has added a fourth station to its proposed Yonge North Subway Extension.
Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney confirmed the project will add a station at Clark Avenue in Thornhill and will make further adjustments to the eight-kilometre route, which will run from Finch Station to just north of Highway 7 in Richmond Hill.
The original plan was to have six stations along the route but that was scaled back to four stops in March — Steeles Avenue, Richmond Hill Centre and Highway 7 at Highway 407, with one other stop to be decided. Among the options being considered were Cummer Avenue in Toronto, Clark Avenue or Royal Orchard Boulevard, both in Thornhill.
A station analysis done by Metrolinx showed Clark station to be the best option, serving upwards of 2,500 riders during peak travel times, while offering seamless transfers between the Yonge North extension and the planned branch of York Region Viva Orange bus rapid transit.
“With this alignment we can deliver the greatest number of stations for the growing communities of York Region while staying within budget, capitalizing on benefits, and providing better regional connectivity, including to GO Rail, York Region Viva and other transit options,” Mulroney said in a statement Friday.
Provincial officials say they have not given up on the other two locations, adding they plan to work with York Region and the City of Toronto on possible funding options that could see stations added at Royal Orchard Boulevard and Cummer Avenue.
Metrolinx says it is also looking at changes to the route of the subway extension in order to minimize impacts to the communities it will serve. It plans to provide an update later this year.
Work on the Yonge North subway line is scheduled to start in late 2023 with an expected completion date in 2030.
The Yonge North Subway Extension is one of four transit projects announced by the Ford government which includes the Ontario Line, a three-stop Scarborough Subway Extension, and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.
