TORONTO — Construction has officially begun on the future Pape Station, part of the Ontario Line.
Ontario government representatives were at the site of the new station this morning (July 16) to announce ground has been broken and construction work is underway.
The new interchange station will connect the Ontario Line with the TTC’s Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth). The station is expected to serve tens of thousands of commuters every day.
“Construction at Pape Station is now underway with work to build the foundations required for excavations that will ultimately connect to the two subway lines,” said Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria.
Once complete, the 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line will have 15 stations, running from Exhibition Place through the downtown core and connecting to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. The line will bring 227,500 more people within walking distance of transit and reducing daily car trips by at least 28,000, Sarkaria noted.
“Right here in Toronto, we are getting shovels in the ground to build new subways like the Ontario Line,” he said, adding Ontario is investing nearly $70 billion over the next decade to build public transit. “The line will be a total game-changer for anyone who relies on public transit and it will encourage more people to leave their cars at home and ride the rocket.”
Ontario Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma said the government is seizing the opportunity to build mixed-use communities, which will create more housing, jobs, retail and commercial spaces as well as community amenities like parks and public spaces around transit stations.
“At the future Pape Station, the proposed transit-oriented community would create more than 400 new housing units including affordable housing options and more units that are two to three bedrooms which will be suitable for families and larger households,” said Surma. “It would also recognize Danforth Avenue’s role as one of the busiest commercial thoroughfares in Toronto by including retail and office space for businesses.
“Our agency, Infrastructure Ontario, recently completed public consultations on the proposed Pape transit-oriented community,” she added.
Work is also underway to deliver transit-oriented communities at 12 future stations along the Ontario line, the Yonge North Subway Extension and the Scarborough Subway Extension, she noted.
“These transit-oriented communities will create about 79,000 new jobs and 54,000 new residential units including affordable housing,” she said.