as I walk Toronto

… the northern end of the Ontario line that is.  It was a foggy, overcast day when I went searching so I have many grey low contrast pictures with the occasion sunny image when the clouds parted for a few minutes.   As construction progresses there will be lots of opportunities for better photography!  It may be many years yet.

The plans on the Metrolinx website show the Ontario Line ending at the Science Centre station at Eglinton and Don Mills.  From the Science Centre, an elevated line runs south to a Flemingdon Park station near Gateway Blvd and Don Mills Road.  The map suggests that the line runs over or parallel to Don Mills Road.

below: Northeast corner of Don Mills and Gateway Blvd.  Grey on grey I’m afraid.

below: Map, screenshot from Metrolinx website.  Pink sections of the line are elevated and blue sections are underground.

It is difficult to determine from the map the exact route the line will follow along Don Mills Road.  At the moment, the east side is largely undeveloped between the Science Centre just south of of Eglinton to the school at Overlea.   The west side of Don Mills Road is already home to a number of tall office and residential buildings as well as stores and restaurants.  Whatever the route, traffic on Don Mills is about to get ugly again (having just returned to normal after the Eglinton LRT construction).

below: West side of Don Mills Road, looking north towards Eglinton from hydro right of way.

South of Flemingdon, and before Overlea Blvd, the line swings west and crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the section of land that has been clear cut recently. It is on the northern edge of a Hydro right of way that crosses the city.

below: Photo taken from the same place as the one above, but looking more north.  It was a bit foggy but what you are looking at is E.T. Seton Park and the archery range there.  A tiny bit of the Science Centre can be seen near the top right.  The black bridge is the railway bridge just south of Eglinton near the foot of Leslie Street.

below: A spot of colour, spring blossoms on an old and gnarly crab apple tree.

below: More grey concrete.  A wall of  Valley Park Middle School at the northwest corner of Overlea Blvd and Don Mills Road.

When the Ontario line swings west of Don Mills Road, it will run parallel to Overlea Blvd as it crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the plaque on the bridge, the Charles Hiiscott Bridge apparently (does anyone call it that?).  It was named after the mayor of Leaside at the time (1960).  I’m willing to bet that everyone just calls it the Overlea bridge.  Whatever you call it, it’s 62 1/2 feet long and rises 115 feet above the valley floor.

below: Looking north from the bridge over the West Don River and the Seton Park trail.  There is a clear cut hill on near the top left corner of the photo where the Ontario Line will pass.  I have tried to find any drawing or plans that Metrolinx has that might illustrate what this section would look like beyond the fact that it will be elevated.  Some sort of bridge over the Don is needed but the details seem to be up in the air as well.

After crossing the West Don, the tracks will (probably) run behind the buildings on the north side of Overlea.  until Thorncliffe where a station is planned at the intersection of Thorncliffe and Overlea.

below: The Greek Orthodox church has a large presence in this stretch of Overlea.

below: There is a large community garden there now.

below: This is still on the Hydro right of way.

below: That’s the back of Costco just peaking into the photo.

below: Road closures and empty buildings.

below: A “trash panda” raccoon checks out the old metal bin behind Costco

below: On the west side of Costco there is a row of apple trees now in blossom

below: But on the other side of the apple trees is a very large, now vacant, plot of land surrounded by hoardings.  This is Metrolinx.  This is where the Ontario Line turns to join Overlea at Thorncliffe Park.

below: Much of Overlea to the west of Thorncliffe is either empty or about to be. The exception is the Salvation Army headquarters at the corner of Overlea and Millwood – the blue and white striped building in this photo.

below: Part of the plan for the neighbourhood is this new Islamic Centre that replaces an older building that will be demolished to make way for the Ontario Line.

below: A discovery – hiding in the bushes.  This looks like an old fire hydrant.

below: It’s actually a “fire main indicator post” made by the McAvity Company.    It marks an underground valve that controls the water supply.   Thomas McAvity started in business in 1834 in St. John New Brunswick; he was followed by most of his 6 sons and together they built a large, thriving company with foundries that produced plumbing parts, among other things.   They started making fire hydrants in 1903 but sold the company in 1960.

below: Digging holes on one side of the street

below: And laying orange conduit for future cable on the other side

below: Sidewalk hieroglyphics, speaking a language most of us don’t understand.

below: Looking east on Overlea approaching Millwood.  The new Islamic Centre is the building with the turquoise upper level.  Somewhere in here, sometime in the future, an elevated train will run.  At least that’s the plan.

From Thorncliffe Park station at the intersection of Thorncliffe Park and Overlea Blvd., a train running towards downtown will now need to cross Millwood, the Don River, and the Don Valley Parkway.

below: I had more luck with finding possible ideas for this second bridge.  On a page on the Metrolinx website there is a rendering of the bridge that will cross both the Don River and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP).  This view is from the northwest.  It shows the new bridge running parallel to the Millwood bridge (shown here as the shorter straighter bridge).

A pretty picture.  But what does in mean?  What are the implications?

A hint….

below: Another section of Toronto ravine lands cleared of trees. This is immediately west of the Millwood Overlea intersection. The Millwood bridge is in the background.

below: The clearing has made the North Toronto Wastewater Treatment facility much more visible. There is a lot of upgrade work going on there too!   Twenty five million dollars worth of upgrades in fact, yes $25,000,000.  (source: Bennett Construction Group)

below: “The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto” in stone and embedded in the concrete of the Millwood bridge.   In the center is the “Arms” of the municipality created in 1991.  Because the internet is the source of amazing trivia, this is the description that I found on the Governor General of Canada’s website, “Argent on a chevron Gules between two open books Argent edged Or bound Gules in chief and a caduceus Or fimbriated Gules in base a representation of the Royal Crown Or on a chief Azure a cogwheel winged Or;”   One questions leads to many more, right?  Well, “gules” = red, “fimbriated” = has a narrow border,

below: Under the Millwood Bridge.  The fence has been repaired so access to the structural underparts is restricted. Back in 2015 it was easy to get underneath – Under the Millwood Bridge.