Metrolinx is holding public consultations on the subway expansion of Toronto’s Line 4 Sheppard line. The 5.5-kilometre Sheppard Line, which opened in 2002, runs between Yonge Street and Don Mills Road. It’s the shortest subway line on the TTC and has often been criticized as a “stub-way” or a “subway to nowhere” as it services less than 10 per cent of the trips the Bloor Line sees on a typical day.

In October, Metrolinx announced that it would begin gathering feedback from the community about the extension as part of their planning work—the three upcoming community consultations will build upon the feedback received during the first round. A range of transit concepts will be considered, including the route, station locations, speed, frequency, and capacity.

Anyone who is interested in the project can participate in the following upcoming meetings:

• June 18: Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
• June 20: Earl Bales Community Centre from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
• June 25: Parkway Forest Community Centre from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

“These consultations are the next step in developing an initial business case (IBC) and selecting a preferred option for further refinement and design for new transit along Sheppard Avenue,” the regional transit agency posted on its website. “The IBC will review the potential project at a high level, assessing how it addresses existing problems and opportunities.”

The extension would improve transit connections in Toronto’s north end, making it easier and faster for people to get around Toronto and the GTA.

A rapid transit connection along the Sheppard corridor would have potential connections to multiple existing and planned rapid transit lines. Analysts are looking at extending the line both east and west as well as to other routes, alignments (e.g., underground, elevated, surface), station locations, and technologies (e.g., heavy rail, light metro, LRT). The plan is for it to be a mixed-grade subway that runs below ground and/or elevated, at an operating speed of 30-50km per hour, at a max frequency of every 2 minutes, and a maximum of 30,000 people per hour per direction.

To date, the following subway expansion concepts have been created for public feedback:

• Concept 1 proposes a subway extension from Don Mills to McCowan, connecting to the future Line 2 Extension.
• Concept 2A and 2B introduce the west subway extension from Sheppard-Yonge Station to Sheppard West Station, although concept 2B is different in the east as it ends at Scarborough Centre.
• Concept 3 proposes a subway extension east of McCowan Rd, ending at Sheppard and Morningside Ave.

For those who are unable to attend in person, presentation materials and virtual feedback options on the subway expansion are available on the project’s website.