Donlands Station

The TTC has been meeting with residents to provide construction updates and mitigate issues throughout the project.

Please see the following updates:

February 9, 2021, 2 – 14 Strathmore Residents Construction Update Meeting 

February 22, 2021, Councillor Fletcher, TTC and City Transportation Meeting 

April 19, 2021, Councillor Fletcher, TTC and City Transportation Update Meeting 

February 10, 2022, Donlands Neighbours Meeting

October 18, 2022 - Donlands Neighbours Meeting 

February 28, 2023 - Donlands Neighbours Meeting

The TTC Board unanimously approved the Local Working Group's recommended Second Exit location at 17/19 Dewhurst Boulevard. The second exit will also function as an entrance for the day-to-day convenience of the local community.

Please see the Donlands Station Second Exit/Entrance and Easier Access Improvements – Construction Overview Online Open House from October 2020. 

• Meeting - November 29, 2016
• Meeting - April 6, 2017
• Meeting - July 18, 2017

1. As discussed at the Local Working Group meeting on May 17, 2016, all of the second exit location options (except for “G” at 1 and 3 Strathmore) would allow the City to sell 1 and 3 Strathmore. Therefore every option (except 1 and 3 Strathmore) will receive a credit in “Cost”.
2. Although the last Local Working Group for Chester Station suggested a range of costs rather than a specific number for all options, a specific cost number will be provided for all Donlands Station options.
3. At the LWG meeting on May 31st, 2016, more information will be presented on construction impacts, including on similar projects locally, and effective mitigation measures that have been put in place. The safety of our neighbours, customers, employees and contractors is of course TTC’s priority. More explanation will be provided, so everyone can better understand the projected impact at Donlands for various options and see specific related examples on mitigation during construction. More specifically, questions were asked on May 17th, 2016 about the landscaping impact and amount of soil cover between any new TTC structure and front yards of local homes. Staff are working on providing specific information on this item (including projected measurements to help with the Local Working Group’s evaluations).
4. In an effort to ensure construction impacts are not underestimated, TTC staff displayed the most impactful photos of heavy equipment and construction near Woodbine Station at the LWG meeting on May 17, 2016. That was important, but only provided part of the picture. The important part missing was mitigation efforts and coordination with our neighbours (residential, institutional or commercial), engineering and construction staff and contractors to reduce impacts, arrange safe access, monitor noise and vibration, and protect and restore any part of impacted properties to an attractive state with agreed-upon plans prior to construction. Therefore, TTC will give a short presentation on May 31st to discuss some experiences at nearby Danforth stations (Woodbine and Coxwell) and the efforts TTC has taken. Woodbine is undergoing both second exit and easier access elevator construction. Coxwell is still undergoing heavy construction specific to elevators. The impacts and mitigation measures are similar. There are some other projects directly adjacent to churches and businesses that are also relevant – particularly in relation to the two Donlands Avenue location options.
5. A discussion and explanation/clarification of best practise (not laws or regulatory requirements), regarding safety needs to occur at the May 31, 2016 meeting. We need to ensure there is an open discussion and explanation of how safety best practise is consistently applied to all of the location options. This requires more clarification and examination by all. A direct link to the Ombudsman Report.
6. There have been requests from some LWG members to include additional location options for the LWG’s review and rankings.

The request was put forward because:

• Option “F” (garage at 1 and 3 Strathmore) is not feasible and;
• Options “H” and “I” on Donlands Avenue have construction impacts that were not confirmed or understood until the meeting and presentation on May 17. In fact, these options were put forward in large part to avoid construction impacts for local residents. (The proposed stairwell for these options will be discussed in more detail on May 31 as part of a larger safety discussion as it applies to all locations consistently).

Therefore, TTC staff would be pleased to add options the LWG had previously put forward but did not make their final vote of 9. The LWG will vote to determine if they would like to analyze 3 additional options that they had put forward previously.

Finally, of course this is a sensitive and important process. A major construction project in a residential community potentially near homes, a school, churches/daycare and/or small businesses is not taken lightly.

The TTC invited applications for 10-15 Toronto residents representing as many of the below groups as possible to be part of the local working group for Donlands Station:

• Residents living in the vicinity of Donlands Station;
• Business owners and/or landlords with business interests in the vicinity of Donlands Station;
• Workers employed in the vicinity of Donlands Station;
• TTC customers who frequently use Donlands Station;
• Representatives of community groups operating in the vicinity of Donlands Station;
• Representatives of agencies and/or institutions operating in the vicinity of Donlands station;
• Representatives of the local BIA.

Those interested in helping shape the future of transit in the Donlands community provided a brief written submission on why they wanted to be part of the local working group for Donlands Station, and which category of the above they belonged to, if any.

There is an expectation that some work will be done by local working group members in between meetings.

Applications were reviewed by the members of the Expert Advisory Panel on Second Exits, who made the final decision about membership on the local working group. TTC staff were not involved with the selection process.

After receiving applications, 15 community representatives were selected by the Expert Panel. The Local Working Group held seven meetings in 2016.

• Meeting 1 - The meeting was held on February 18, 2016
• Meeting 2 – The meeting was held on Thursday, March 3, 2016 
• Meeting 3 – The meeting was held on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 
• Meeting 4 – The meeting was held on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 
• Meeting 5 – The meeting was held on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 
• Meeting 6 – The meeting was held on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 
• Meeting 7 – The meeting was held on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 (Final Rankings)

The following nine locations were chosen by the Donlands Station Local Working Group for technical analysis. Details for all options can be found here.

The evaluation process, scoring and ranking system, and the Local Working Group’s ranking of the options will be discussed at a community meeting after the working group completes its analysis. See below for details.