Leaside station

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

Leaside
Main entrance under construction in January 2024
General information
Location	615 Eglinton Avenue East Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°42′40″N79°22′37″W / 43.71111°N 79.37694°W / 43.71111; -79.37694
Platforms	Centre platform
Tracks	2
Connections	TTC buses
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Under construction
History
Opening	TBA [1]
Services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Mount Pleasant towards Mount Dennis Line 5 Eglinton (under construction) Laird towards Kennedy
Location

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. ^[2] It is located in the Leaside neighbourhood at the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue. An opening date for this station is yet to be announced. ^[1]

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". ^[3]

Leaside station secondary entrance

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). ^[4] Nearby destinations include Howard Talbot Park, Leaside High School, 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 was to acquire 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".^{[ citation needed ]} Councillor Jon Burnside voiced concern that the developer would 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.

On September 24, 2015, a McDonald's restaurant on the southeast corner of Bayview and Eglinton Avenues was closed to make way for the station. Its closure had been a contentious topic at town hall meetings, reflecting widespread concerns about the local impact of the new transit system. ^[7] The McDonald's had been a neighbourhood landmark due to its unique design, with the dining area elevated above a ground-floor parking lot, and its proximity to Howard Talbot Park, where patrons could watch students from Leaside High School play baseball after buying dinner. ^[8]

Surface connections

Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

As of November 2023 ^[update] , the following are the proposed connecting routes that would serve this station when Line 5 Eglinton opens: ^[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 Kennedy station

References

1. "Eglinton Crosstown will open no earlier than mid-2025, TTC chair says". CBC News. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
2. "Bayview Station". Eglinton Crosstown. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
3. "Line 5 Eglinton Station Names" (PDF). Board Presentation. Toronto Transit Commission. November 23, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2019. 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.
4. "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
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. Wood, Eric Emin (October 9, 2015). "No More Burgers Served Here". Town Crier. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
9. "2024 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. November 17, 2023. p. 106.

External links

• Bayview Station project page at the Eglinton Crosstown website.