Cherry Street streetcar line

Cherry Street

Tracks passing in front of Cherry Street Hotel
Overview
Status under construction
Locale Toronto, Ontario
Termini King Street
Distillery Lane
Services Future 514 Cherry (June 2016)
Operation
Operator(s) Toronto Transit Commission
Rolling stock CLRV (ALRV - TBD)
Technical
Line length 0.7 kilometres (0.43 mi)
Track gauge 4 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1,495 mm) - TTC Gauge

The Cherry Street streetcar line is a separated right-of-way streetcar route in Toronto, Ontario. It was built by Waterfront Toronto, in cooperation with the Toronto Transit Commission, to service the West Don Lands neighbourhood and the Distillery District.[1] Service on the line is to start in June 19, 2016 as part of route 514, which will also service King Street and Dufferin Street.

History

In 2007, the plan for the Cherry Street streetcar line was finalized.[2] Construction began in 2012 on the line along Sumach Street and Cherry Street, from King Street to Distillery Lane. This section was projected to cost $90 million CAD. In April and May of 2014, the TTC constructed the junction to the Cherry Street line at the corner of King Street East and Sumach Street.[3]

The 2016 budget, released in November, 2015, did not provide funding for regular streetcar service on Cherry Street in 2016. Service for part of 2016 would have cost $800,000; a full year of service would cost $2,100,000.[4]

In November, 2015, as part of a proposal to revise service in the areas of Cherry Street and Queens Quay East, the TTC is proposing the creation of a new 514 streetcar route that would run from the Distillery streetcar loop on Cherry Street via King Street to the Dufferin Gate Loop.[5] It was mainly to increase capacity to conveniently serve the growing ridership along the 504 King corridor, and accessibility concerns.[6] It was also proposed to run all day, everyday, while maintaining 504 King streetcar service.[6] According to Brad Ross, the proposal was approved, also stating it would use a mix of older streetcars and newer streetcars.[7]

Route

The line, from King Street to Distillery Lane, is approximately 700 metres long, and will have just three stops on it.[8] The northern portion of the Cherry Street line is along Sumach Street from Eastern Avenue to a junction with the King Street line. The southern portion of the line ends in a newly constructed loop on the north side the railway viaduct across from Distillery Lane.[3]

Both streetcar tracks run on the east side of the street with a tree-lined median separating them from two automobile lanes and bike lanes on either side of them. The entire width is 32.5 metres, including sidewalks 5 metres wide.[8]

View of the full width of Cherry Street south of Eastern Avenue

Future

Waterfront Toronto’s plan is to eventually extend the Cherry Street line south of the Gardiner Expressway into the Port Lands. It would meet with the proposed East Bayfront LRT running from Union Station along Queens Quay East to temporarily terminate in a loop west of Parliament Street.[1]

Older history

Between 1917 and 1924, the former Toronto Railway Company and, after 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission operated the Ashbridge streetcar line into the Port Lands. It connected to the streetcar grid at Queen Street, just west of Broadview Avenue and ran south to Commissioners Street then west to Cherry Street. The line was abandoned because a bridge it used to cross over the railway corridor and the Keating Channel became unsafe for streetcar use.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Service on the line is proposed to start in 2016 as route 514, which will also service King Street and Dufferin Street. Adrian Morrow (2012-05-25). "A tiny perfect streetcar line is being laid along Cherry Street". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2012-07-19. There’s a new streetcar line under construction in Toronto, the first in more than a decade and a surprising development during the tenure of a mayor who is outspokenly opposed to light rail.
  2. ↑ "STREETCARS ON CHERRY STREET AND SUMACH STREET SERVING THE WEST DON LANDS DEVELOPMENT" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  3. 1 2 Steve Munro (2014-06-25). "King & Sumach: Connecting to Cherry Street (Update 9: June 25, 2014)". Steve Munro. Archived from the original on 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  4. ↑ "2016 TTC and Wheel-Trans Operating Budgets" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. November 23, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  5. ↑ Steve Munro (November 23, 2015). "TTC Proposes Cherry Street Service Revision / Surveys Riders". Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  6. 1 2 "Improved_Transit_Service_in_EastCentral_Downtown_514_Cherry_.pdf" (PDF). TTC. March 23, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Relief in sight for King St. streetcar users as TTC approves 514 Cherry route". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  8. 1 2 Tess Kalinowski (2007-12-11). "Transit-first street plan hailed". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2012-07-19. Unlike Toronto's other streetcar routes, which traditionally run in mixed traffic and board passengers from platforms in the middle of the road, the Cherry St. plan calls for putting all the transit on the east side of the street, running in two directions, with a tree-lined platform separating it from other traffic. "Two figures incorrect in Cherry St. transit plan". Toronto Star. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2012-07-19. The transitway envisioned for this section is 700 metres.
  9. ↑ James Bow (2012-04-03). "The Ashbridge Streetcar (Deceased)". Transit Toronto. Retrieved 2012-07-19.

External links

Media related to Cherry Street streetcar line at Wikimedia Commons

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