In July 2016, City Council approved a SmartTrack/RER integration scenario option that includes six new stations on the Kitchener, Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO Rail Corridors and agreed to the locations of two new stations along the Barrie GO Rail Corridor.

In November 2016, City Council committed to funding preliminary planning and design for SmartTrack. This work is currently underway; City staff are working in partnership with Metrolinx and TTC to plan eight new SmartTrack/GO stations within the city of Toronto.

Six new SmartTrack stations are being planned along the Kitchener, Lakeshore East and Stouffville Rail Corridors at the following locations:

• Finch Avenue East, between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue
• Lawrence Avenue East, between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue
• Gerrard Street East at Carlaw Avenue
• East Harbour (between Eastern Avenue and Lakeshore Boulevard East, east of the Don River)
• King Street West, at Liberty Village
• St. Clair Avenue West, between Weston Road and Old Weston Road

In addition, Metrolinx is planning two new GO stations in Toronto along the Barrie Rail Corridor at the following locations:

• Spadina Avenue at Front Street
• Bloor Street West, between Lansdowne Avenue and Symington Avenue

The new stations are illustrated on the map below.

Subject to Council direction, the City and Metrolinx will be undertaking a Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP) under Ontario Regulation 231/08 to assess the potential environmental effects of each of the new stations.

• Public and stakeholder consultation will be an important component of this process.
• Existing environmental conditions will be determined and the significance of specific features will be evaluated.
• Potential impacts of the project on these features will be identified and documented.
• Appropriate mitigation measures, monitoring strategies and future studies will be recommended.

In October, we will be hosting public meetings across the city to provide information about the new SmartTrack/GO stations and to get public feedback. The purpose of these meetings will be to provide an update on station planning and design work, and receive feedback about local context, challenges and opportunities. The following public information sessions are planned:

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10
Scarborough Civic Centre
150 Borough Drive
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Presentation begins at 7 pm 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11
Riverdale Collegiate Institute
1094 Gerrard Street East
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Presentation begins at 7 pm

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12
Bloor Street Collegiate Institute
1141 Bloor Street West
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Presentation begins at 7 pm

The feedback from the public consultations will inform the staff report going to Executive Committee on October 24,2017.

Few issues are as important as transit in our city and the most critical aspect of an effective transit system is integration. To better serve our residents and transit users we need a transit system that networks our city together and integrates with regional destinations.

As we know in Ward 18, rush hour service on the Bloor Subway line, as well as the Dundas, College and Queen Streetcar lines, need urgent relief and it's time to put customers first by looking at creative solutions to these issues.

For this reason, I have been working with TTC staff and the TTC Chair, Karen Stintz, to explore opportunities to use the Georgetown GO line to benefit our community. Recently this work, along with Councillor Layton, brought forward a motion entitled "Putting the Customer First" which requested TTC and Metrolinx staff to engage in a pilot project to integrate GO and TTC fares through Presto card technology at Bloor GO Station and Exhibition Go Station.

This motion received unanimous approval at the October Commission meeting and will report back with an update at the upcoming November Commission meeting.

But we need your support. By signing this petition you join your voice with other community members in asking for relief to local transit pressures through fare integration.

I will continue to work on behalf of our community for effective transit planning and welcome you to share your thoughts and ideas.

Sincerely,