Yonge Subway Extension News

Residents of a Toronto neighbourhood say they’ve been blindsided by Metrolinx’s plans to build a new subway system beneath their homes.

The Yonge North Subway Extension will extend Line 1 of the TTC eight kilometres from Finch up to Richmond Hill.

What that route looks like exactly has yet to be determined. Two options originally proposed include subway trains moving northward in a relatively straight path, following Yonge Street.

But the latest proposal, dubbed Option 3, has enraged homeowners in Royal Orchard, an affluent community on the edge of Markham and Thornhill.

This newer proposal would see Line 1’s extension divert east off of Yonge Street, running underground just north of Royal Orchard Blvd., taking it beneath homes in the community, and re-emerging above-ground near the Holy Cross Cemetery.

The line would include four stations: Bridge, Clark, Steeles, and a fourth, which is still being determined.

According to a Metrolinx press release, Option 3 would be cheaper and built faster than other options by minimizing excavations, in turn “reducing inconveniences to neighbouring communities.”

But the Royal Orchard community is up in arms. So far, more than 1,100 people have signed a petition started by Markham councillor Keith Irish to stop Option 3 from happening.