Oakwood station (Toronto)

Oakwood

The main entrance to the Oakwood LRT station will be on the north side of the intersection of Oakwood and Eglinton.
Location Eglinton Av/Oakwood Av
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 43°41′50″N 79°26′35″W / 43.69722°N 79.44306°W / 43.69722; -79.44306Coordinates: 43°41′50″N 79°26′35″W / 43.69722°N 79.44306°W / 43.69722; -79.44306
Platforms Centre platform
Tracks 2
Connections TTC buses
Construction
Structure type Underground
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Status Under construction
History
Opening 2021[1]
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Mount Dennis
 Eglinton
Opens 2020
toward Kennedy

Oakwood[1] is an LRT station under construction on the Toronto Transit Commission's Line 5 Eglinton.[2] It will be located in Little Jamaica[3] at the intersection of Oakwood Avenue and Eglinton Avenue.[4] It is scheduled to open in 2021.

Local Member of Provincial Parliament Mike Colle organized a petition that led to a station at Oakwood being added to the Crosstown plan.[4][5]

Both entrances will replace existing storefronts; the main entry will be located directly at the northern end of Oakwood Avenue, while the secondary will be on the south side of Eglinton some 80 metres (260 ft) west.[2]

The National Post reported that contractors who thought they were pumping grout into holes they had drilled had filled a sewer near Oakwood station with cement, shortly before Christmas 2013.[6][7] The report quoted local business leader Nick Alampi, who said, due to Metrolinx attitude, his section of the Avenue "almost feels like it’s the wild, wild west." The report asserted the accident increased local displeasure with the construction period. Locals had initially been mystified when sewage had backed up into their basements.

In March 2015, the east-west laneway south of Eglinton, near the station, was named Reggae Lane.[8][9][10] Alampi credited the building of the station as a trigger to redeveloping the lane. The lane had once been the heart of Toronto′s recording of Reggae music.

In June 2015, Metrolinx plans to expropriate a barbershop near the station triggered comment.[11] The owners, Maureen and Ian Young, told the CBC News that Metrolinx had failed to contact them, prior to announcing the expropriation in a local paper.

The secondary exit would replace Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen; the fried chicken restaurant moved to a new location one block west of Dufferin on Eglinton.

The main destination will be the Eglinton West commercial strip.

In a report to the TTC Board on 23 November 2015, it was recommended that stations on Line 5 Eglinton LRT should be given unique names.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Line 5 Eglinton Station Names" (PDF). Board Presentation. Toronto Transit Commission. 23 November 2015. Retrieved November 2015. TTC staff evaluated the initial report and the proposed names and provided feedback and recommendations. A primary TTC concern was to avoid replication and redundancy with existing TTC station names. The proposed names are unique and are not likely to be confused with existing station names. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. 1 2 "OakwoodStation". The Crosstown. Retrieved September 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ↑ Tess Kalinowski (5 April 2013). "Crosstown LRT: Eglinton's big dig ends 30-year wait for renewal". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 2014. Folks are lined up out the door of Randy’s, waiting to buy some of the best Jamaican patties in the city. This stretch of Eglinton Ave., near Oakwood, is where Rasta meets pasta in Toronto. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. 1 2 Rahul Gupta (2012-08-29). "Oakwood Avenue light rail station closer to reality". Inside Toronto. Archived from the original on 2015-01-23. That’s the contention of local city councillor Josh Colle, who believes provincial transit planning agency Metrolinx will eventually add an Oakwood stop to the station map for the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT line scheduled for completion in 2020.
  5. ↑ Rahul Gupta (2012-10-26). "Modified LRT master agreement puts Oakwood station on the map: Colle". Inside Toronto. Archived from the original on 2012-10-29. Provincial Minister of Transportation Bob Chiarelli also indicated Friday in a tweet directed at Toronto Community News’ TOinTransit and Colle that an Oakwood stop on the Crosstown LRT is confirmed.
  6. ↑ Peter Kuitenbrouwer (2014-03-14). "'Wild west' in Eglinton LRT line construction after word Metrolinx punctured sewer line, pumped in cement". National Post. Retrieved 2015-08-16. Metrolinx has taken some time to acknowledge that its crews caused the sewer problem. Finally on Friday Metrolinx put a notice on its website: “Crews will be repairing a small section of City of Toronto sewer adjacent to the sidewalk on Eglinton Ave., west of Oakwood Ave. for several weeks.” The work will begin Monday.
  7. ↑ "Immediate Sewer Repair on Eglinton at Oakwood". The Crosstown. 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  8. ↑ Ryan Ayukawa (2015-04-18). "Toronto laneway to become reggae hot spot (once again)". Blog TO. Retrieved 2015-08-16. Ward 15 City Councillor Josh Colle was instrumental in nominating "Reggae Lane" for an official title. Colle, who lived in the area, wanted to help recognize the rich history of Little Jamaica and the music of the '70s and '80s in the area.
  9. ↑ Dominik Kurek (2015-03-17). "Reggae Lane selected for improvement project". Inside Toronto. Retrieved 2015-08-16. The changes are coming with the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which is scheduled to open in 2020. “With the coming changes to Eglinton with the LRT, potential buildings, condos, this is a space that should not be neglected, especially because it’s literally no more than a footstep away from a main artery of Oakwood and Eglinton,” Alampi said.
  10. ↑ Dominik Kurek (2015-06-02). "York community comes together to envision future of Reggae Lane". Inside Toronto. Retrieved 2015-08-16. He said the community needs Reggae Place, which could run along Eglinton from Marlee Avenue to Dufferin Street, and which would be a viable destination thanks to its proximity to the subway and access from the future underground Eglinton Crosstown LRT system.
  11. ↑ "Metrolinx expropriates Toronto family's Eglinton Ave. property: Ian Young said he was never contacted by Metrolinx, which says letters went unanswered". CBC News. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2015-08-16. Metrolinx recently placed a notice of expropriation in a local newspaper, which is normally a last resort when the owners can't be located. The commercial property at 1565 Eglinton Ave. W., near Dufferin Street, is near the construction site for the Oakwood station of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.