Metrolinx to remove over 2,500 trees in the Don Valley to make way for Ontario Line

Just weeks after Metrolinx removed several centuries-old trees at Osgoode Hall, they plan to cut several thousand trees down in the Don Valley to make way for the northern section of the Ontario Line.

The transit agency faced massive backlash over the decision and was even delayed by a court challenge that Metrolinx ultimately won.

The 2,787 trees will be removed to make way for the elevated track that will connect the future Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park Ontario Line stations.

Metrolinx says of the trees being removed, 456 are invasive, and 229 are pest or disease prone. They noted that some remaining trees that will also have to be pruned.

Concerns are now being raised about the damage that could be done.

“I think it’s shameful. We call it progress because we want transit, but cutting down trees is not progress. There’s got to be a way,” said Sherry Avison, an avid user of the trails.

Avison brings her dog Pepper into the Don Valley almost every day for a walk through the forest and along the trails.

“The construction will probably take ages. It will ruin the character of the place. It will make it busy. There will be trucks everywhere,” said Avison.

RELATED: Metrolinx given go-ahead to cut down 200-year-old trees at Osgoode Hall

A brand new bridge spanning the valley will be built for the subway line near the Leaside Bridge south of Thorncliffe Park, in addition to what’s being called the Walmsley Brook Crossing and the West Don Crossing south of the Ontario Science Centre.

Metrolinx said this work is critical to “bring much-needed subway service to communities underserved by transit like Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park.”

And it may not stop there. The need for whether more will need to be removed will be determined after additional planning work, Metrolinx said.

The agency says they plan to plant an average of three trees for every tree removed during the construction and are working with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority.

Environmental groups, like “Don’t Mess With the Don,” said the work needs to be done responsibly.

“We’re advocating for at least any expansion to be done in a responsible manner,” said Irene Vandertop with “Don’t Mess with the Don.” “So that they’re doing as little harm as possible to the environment as their building and also post building because after they take all these trees out will also have to replant whatever is regrowing underneath the bridges.”

The agency says they plan to plant an average of three trees for every tree removed during the construction and are working with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority.

Metrolinx said as a part of their restoration plans for this area, they will be working with the city to align with their ravine strategy. “This will include coordinating improvements to help prevent flooding, manage the growth of invasive plants and trees, promote the growth of native trees, restore wetlands and close gaps within the trail system,” read a statement from the agency to CityNews.

“[There] is the right way of doing this and a wrong way of doing this, and I think that’s where we come in and really have to advocate strongly for them doing a good job to restore the ecosystem,” added Vandertop. “If you restore the ecosystem that has been damaged around, there’s a lot of erosion around an invasive species immediately start to grow again in an area that is already under so much pressure in the Don Valley. It’s really important that we restore native species.”

Metrolinx is also facing a fight near the Humber River, where an Indigenous coalition has raised concerns with plans for an elevated portion of the Crosstown West LRT.

The work ahead in the Don Valley has the potential for a much larger impact.

“It will be really hard for cyclists and pedestrians and runners to go through these areas,” explained Vandertop.

“I really hope that they will find ways to navigate and that they don’t have to go through the natural spaces by making their own path which will only further destroy the ecosystem.”