Lawrence-Kennedy
General information
LocationLawrence Avenue east of Kennedy Road
Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates43°45′2.8″N 79°16′12.4″W / 43.750778°N 79.270111°W / 43.750778; -79.270111
Owned byMetrolinx
PlatformsSide platforms[1]
Tracks2[2]
Connections
Construction
ParkingYes[1]
AccessibleYes
Services
Preceding station GO Transit Following station
Kennedy
towards Union Station
 Stouffville
Planned expansion
 Agincourt
towards Old Elm

Lawrence–Kennedy GO Station (also known as Lawrence East GO Station[3][4]) was a planned GO Transit train station to be built by Metrolinx under Lawrence Avenue in Toronto on the site of the existing Lawrence East station.[1] Parking, a kiss and ride area, a bus loop, and pedestrian access from the Lawrence Avenue overpass will be provided.[2] It was initially proposed as part of SmartTrack but was removed from the plan in January 2021.

History

The station was originally proposed in 2014 as part of Mayor John Tory's SmartTrack plan.[5]

In 2015, Metrolinx proposed it as the location of a new GO station alongside the other proposed SmartTrack stations[6] and it was confirmed to be part of the Regional Express Rail (RER) expansion program in 2016.[7]

In the fall of 2017, concerns were raised that the station would not have sufficient ridership to justify the loss of upstream riders and whether the Lawrence East station of Line 3 Scarborough could remain open during construction.[8] Concerns were also raised about how the station would be accessed from the Lawrence Avenue overpass.[9] Around this time, the Auditor General was asked to review the station alongside Kirby GO Station.[10]

In February 2018, Metrolinx made an updated report to address some of the concerns by adding a provision for a bus loop and the possibility of not commissioning a second track until Line 3 closes. However, the report still noted that the benefits were less than the costs.[1]

In December 2018, the Auditor General found that the station was inappropriately approved under political pressure from the City of Toronto and recommended that the Ministry of Transportation conduct an independent review of the station.[11] The report found that the station would cause ridership loss of 148,000 people in 2031.[4] At the same time, Metrolinx notified the City of Toronto government that they would use a market-driven request for qualifications and that the station, along with 5 others, would be removed from the procurement process for the rest of the RER project.[12]

In October 2019, Mayor John Tory acknowledged that the station could be affected by the Ontario government's three-stop proposal for extending Line 2 Bloor–Danforth.[13] In January 2021, the station was removed from the SmartTrack plan.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Technical Report: GO Expansion RER New Stations Business Case Analysis" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. February 2018. pp. 47–50. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Munro, Steve (March 7, 2018). "New SmartTrack/GO Station Designs (II)". stevemunro.ca. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  3. ↑ Spurr, Ben (June 2, 2016). "Version of SmartTrack taking shape with seven new stations". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Auditor General of Ontario (December 5, 2018). "Chapter 3|Section 3.06|Metrolinx—GO Station Selection" (PDF). auditor.on.ca. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  5. ↑ Adler, Mike (October 24, 2014). "TORONTO VOTES: SmartTrack could put new life into Ellesmere RT station while subway would kill it". Toronto.com. Torstar. Metroland Media. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ Woo, Leslie (September 22, 2015). "NEW STATION ANALYSIS Methodology and Process" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. p. 12. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ "GO Regional Express Rail 10-Year Program: New Stations Analysis" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. June 28, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  8. ↑ Spurr, Ben (October 15, 2017). "Concerns could derail Lawrence East SmartTrack station". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  9. ↑ Gupta, Rahul (October 11, 2017). "Concerns raised over proposed Lawrence SmartTrack station". Toronto.com. Torstar. Metroland Media. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  10. ↑ Boisvert, Nick (September 28, 2017). "Auditor general asked to review controversial GO stations proposed by Metrolinx". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  11. ↑ Spurr, Ben (December 5, 2018). "Metrolinx improperly approved GO stations under political pressure, Ontario's auditor general finds". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  12. ↑ "City of Toronto Report – EX4.1: Toronto's Transit Expansion Program – Update and Next Steps" (PDF). ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. April 11, 2019. pp. 28–29. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  13. ↑ Spurr, Ben (October 23, 2019). "Mayor acknowledges Ontario transit plans could affect SmartTrack stations". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  14. ↑ Spurr, Ben (January 20, 2021). "Mayor John Tory's SmartTrack plan loses another two stations". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
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