Leaside station

Leaside is an underground light rail transit (LRT) station under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a new line that is part of the Toronto subway system.[3] It will be located in the Leaside neighbourhood at the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue. It is scheduled to open in 2022.[2]

This article is about the future Eglinton LRT station. For the 1894 railway station, see Leaside station (CP Rail).

Leaside
The former McDonald's at the site of the main entrance[1]
LocationEglinton Av/Bayview Av
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°42′40″N 79°22′37″W
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections TTC buses
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Disabled accessYes
Other information
StatusUnder construction
History
Opening2022 (2022)[2]
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Mount Dennis
 Eglinton
(opens 2022)
toward Kennedy

During the planning stages for Line 5 Eglinton, the station was given the working name "Bayview", which is identical to the pre-existing Bayview station on Line 4 Sheppard. On November 23, 2015, a report to the TTC Board recommended giving a unique name to each station in the subway system (including Line 5 Eglinton). Thus, the LRT station was renamed "Leaside".[4]

Located at the intersection with Bayview Avenue, this underground station will have two entrances on opposite corners: the main entry at the southeast (replacing a McDonald's) and a secondary entry on the northwest (in the corner of a retail parking lot).[1] Nearby destinations include Howard Talbot Park, Leaside High School, the Leaside neighbourhood, Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery, and the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre complex.

Station site

In October 2013, local residents learned that Metrolinx negotiations with Countrywide Homes, the current owner, allowed the owner to propose to build a new condominium over the station.[5] Metrolinx will be acquiring several adjacent properties, not necessary for constructing the station, because they fit within the plan to put the property to dual use.[6] Sam Balsamo, an executive with the developer, characterized the dual-use plan "a unique opportunity because it will potentially be one of the only stops where you’ll have residential right above a subway stop". Councillor Jon Burnside voiced concern that the developer will use the association with new line to argue for an exemption to the current height restrictions for the area of nine storeys and instead build a high-rise.

A McDonald's restaurant, on the southeast corner of Bayview and Eglinton Avenues, was closed on September 24, 2015, to make way for the station. The restaurant had been part of the community for over 30 years. It had been a contentious subject during town hall meetings, as the construction of the new light rail system that is replacing it will have a great impact on the community.[7] The McDonald's had been a neighbourhood icon thanks to its distinctive design, with the restaurant perched on top of a ground-floor parking lot, and its proximity to neighbouring Howard Talbot Park, where residents could often watch students from nearby Leaside High School play baseball after buying dinner.[8]

Surface connections
Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

The following routes would serve this station according to the report presented at the board meeting on February 25, 2016:[9]

Route Name Additional Information
11 Bayview Northbound to Steeles Avenue via Sunnybrook Hospital and southbound to Davisville station
34 Eglinton Westbound to Mount Dennis station and eastbound to Science Centre station

References
  1. "McDonalds to be demolished for Bayview LRT". Bayview News. November 7, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2015. The Bayview-Eglinton station will be built on the site of the McDonalds restaurant
  2. Spurr, Ben (February 17, 2020). "Eglinton Crosstown faces another setback, delayed until 2022 | The Star". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  3. "Bayview Station". Eglinton Crosstown. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  4. "Line 5 Eglinton Station Names" (PDF). Board Presentation. Toronto Transit Commission. November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 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.
  5. Peska, Samantha (October 13, 2015). "Eglinton LRT station plus a condo at Bayview and Eglinton?". Post City. Instead of purchasing or expropriating the site, Metrolinx chose to negotiate a deal with the owner of the property, Countrywide Homes, that would allow them to build above the station.
  6. "WILD & CRAZY 2: Is Ontario trying to pull a RioCan?". South Bayview Bulldog. October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015. Now Metrolinx has created a much larger footprint for this possible undertaking by purchasing the two four-plexes on the east side of Bayview to the immediate south of the station.
  7. "Leaside residents brace for Eglinton LRT construction". CityNews. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  8. Emin Wood, Eric (October 9, 2015). "No More Burgers Served Here". Town Crier. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  9. "Changes to TTC Bus Routes in Eglinton Corridor for Line 5 Rapid Transit Line" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. February 25, 2016.
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