![]() Primary entrance under construction in January 2024 | |||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||
Location | Eglinton Avenue / Oakwood Avenue Toronto, Ontario Canada | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 43°41′50″N79°26′35″W / 43.69722°N 79.44306°W | ||||||||||
Platforms | Centre platform | ||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
Connections | ![]() | ||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||
Structure type | Underground | ||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||
Status | Under construction | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opening | 2024[1] | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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Oakwood 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 will be located in the Little Jamaica neighbourhood [3] at the intersection of Oakwood Avenue and Eglinton Avenue. [4] It is scheduled to open in 2024. [1]
Local member of Provincial Parliament Mike Colle organized a petition in 2012 that led to a station at Oakwood being added to the Crosstown plan. [4] [5] The main destination will be the Eglinton West commercial strip.
Both entrances replace existing storefronts; the main entry will be located directly at the northern end of Oakwood Avenue, serving as that street's terminating vista, while the secondary will be on the south side of Eglinton some 80 metres (260 ft) west between Oakwood Avenue and Times Road. The station will provide outdoor space to park 24 bicycles. [2]
Oakwood station has an art installation by Nicolas Pye displayed on the main station entrance façade consisting of a photograph of colourful pick-up sticks on a white background. [6] [7] The work suggests the intersection of transit routes on a map as well as symbolizing cultural diversity in the neighbourhood.
The National Post reported that contractors who thought they were pumping grout into holes they had drilled had filled a sewer near Oakwood station with cement, shortly before Christmas 2013. [8] [9] The report quoted local business leader Nick Alampi, who said, due to Metrolinx attitude, his section of the Avenue "almost feels like it's the wild, wild west." The report asserted the accident increased local displeasure with the construction period. Locals had initially been mystified when sewage had backed up into their basements.
In March 2015, the east–west laneway south of Eglinton, near the station, was named Reggae Lane. [10] [11] [12] Alampi credited the building of the station as a trigger to redeveloping the lane. The lane had once been the heart of Toronto's recording of Reggae music.
In June 2015, Metrolinx plans to expropriate a barbershop near the station triggered comment. [13] The owners, Maureen and Ian Young, told CBC News that Metrolinx had failed to contact them, prior to announcing the expropriation in a local paper.
The secondary exit's location is the former site of a Popeyes fried chicken restaurant.
An overhead crane was assembled on the pile wall at the site of the station's main entrance. According to Metrolinx, this is the first time in Canada an overhead crane has been used over an open excavation. The site had no space to install a more typical tower crane or a luffing crane. The crane stands 12 metres (39 ft) tall and, when combined with its beams, weighs 73 tonnes (80 tons). It went into operation in mid-September 2017. [14]
By September 2021, Oakwood station was nearing completion, with track laid and electrical overhead catenary installed. The station was built by "mining" (meaning its excavation was done entirely underground) rather than cut-and-cover. Mining activities began in October 2017. [14] The mining excavation technique resulted in the finished station having a cylindrical shape. [15]
As of November 2023 [update] , the following are the proposed connecting routes that would serve this station when Line 5 Eglinton opens: [16]
Route | Name | Additional information |
---|---|---|
34 | Eglinton | Westbound to Mount Dennis station and eastbound to Kennedy station |
63 | Ossington | Northbound to Cedarvale station and southbound to Liberty Village via Ossington station |
90 | Vaughan | Northbound to Cedarvale station and southbound to St. Clair West station |
Michael Colle is a Canadian politician who has served as deputy mayor of Toronto since 2023, representing North York. He was elected to represent Ward 8 Eglinton—Lawrence on Toronto City Council in the 2018 election. Colle served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2018 and was a Cabinet minister during Premier Dalton McGuinty's tenure. He was formerly a York city councillor and Metro Toronto councillor, where he sat as the chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) from 1991 to 1994.
Eglinton West is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the median of Allen Road on the north side of Eglinton Avenue West.
Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Highway 407 at the western limits of Mississauga, as a continuation of Lower Baseline in Milton. It traverses the midsection of both cities and ends at Kingston Road. Eglinton Avenue is the only street to cross all six former cities and boroughs of Metropolitan Toronto.
Little Jamaica, also known as Eglinton West, is an ethnic enclave in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Eglinton Avenue West, from Marlee Ave to Keele Street, and is part of four neighbourhoods: Silverthorn, Briar Hill–Belgravia, Caledonia–Fairbank, and Oakwood–Vaughan. The commercial main street has been recognized to be of great cultural heritage significance to the city of Toronto, as a distinct ethnic and cultural hub for Afro-Caribbean immigrants for many decades.
Line 5 Eglinton is a light rail line that is under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Metrolinx and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the line will be part of the Toronto subway system as its fifth route. The first phase of the 19-kilometre (12 mi) line will include 25 stops along Eglinton Avenue, from Mount Dennis station mostly underground to Laird station, after which it will run predominantly at-grade within the street's median to Kennedy station, where it will connect underground with Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. The second phase, a 9.2-kilometre (5.7 mi) westward extension from Mount Dennis, will run mostly underground or elevated to Renforth station, with 7 new stops.
Line 6 Finch West, also known as the Finch West LRT, is a light rail line under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. The 10.3-kilometre (6.4 mi), 18-stop line is to extend from Finch West station on Line 1 Yonge–University to the North Campus of Humber College in Etobicoke. The line will operate in a dedicated above-ground right-of-way, much of it within Finch Avenue, segregated from street traffic. The line will use transit signal priority and standard gauge rather than the broad Toronto gauge. The line is forecast to carry about 14.6 million rides a year or 40,000 a day by 2031 and will replace the 36 Finch West bus route, which is one of the three busiest bus routes in Toronto. The line is expected to open within the first half of 2024, with an estimated cost of CA$2.5 billion. For budget purposes, the TTC made the assumption that Line 6 would open no earlier than September 2024.
Josh Colle is a Canadian politician. He was the councillor for Ward 15 on Toronto City Council for the years 2010-2018. Colle was the Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission during the period 2014-2018.
Mount Dennis is an intermodal transit terminal under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located east of the intersection of Eglinton Avenue and Weston Road in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood in the district of York, the station will be the western terminus of the future Line 5 Eglinton as well as an intermediate station on the GO Transit Kitchener line and Union Pearson Express. The station has been designated as one of many "mobility hubs" in Greater Toronto. It is scheduled to open in 2024.
Keelesdale is an underground light rail transit (LRT) station under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a new line that will be part of the Toronto subway system. It will be located in the Silverthorn neighbourhood at the intersection of Keele Street and Eglinton Avenue and is scheduled to open in 2024. Nearby destinations include the York Civic Centre, Keelesdale Park and Chris Tonks Arena, York Memorial Collegiate Institute, George Harvey Collegiate Institute, and the Silverthorn neighbourhood.
Caledonia 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. It will be located along Eglinton Avenue between the GO Transit Barrie rail corridor and the entrance to the Westside Mall. This is about 200 metres (660 ft) west of Caledonia Road opposite Blackthorn Avenue.
Fairbank 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. It will be located in the Fairbank neighbourhood at the intersection of Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue West. Destinations include the Fairbank neighbourhood and Fairbank Memorial Park. As of 2017, construction work related to the station was in progress, having been scheduled to begin in 2014. The station is scheduled to open in 2024.
Forest Hill 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. It will be located in the Forest Hill neighbourhood at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue. It is scheduled to open no earlier than 2024.
Chaplin 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. It will be located in the Forest Hill neighbourhood at the intersection of Chaplin Crescent and Eglinton Avenue, and is scheduled to open in 2024.
Avenue 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. The station is located in North Toronto on Eglinton Avenue between Avenue Road and Highbourne Road. It is the deepest underground station on the line. Destinations include the Chaplin Estates neighbourhood, Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School, the Eglinton Theatre, and Eglinton Park. The station is scheduled to open in 2024.
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. It is located in the Leaside neighbourhood at the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue. It is scheduled to open in 2024.
Laird 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. It is located in the Leaside neighbourhood in East York at the intersection of Laird Drive and Eglinton Avenue. It is scheduled to open in 2024.
Sunnybrook Park is a surface light rail transit stop under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a future line that will be part of the Toronto subway system. It will be located at the intersection of Leslie Street and Eglinton Avenue. The intersection is largely surrounded by park lands in the valley of the West Branch of the Don River, which includes destinations such as E.T. Seton Park, Serena Gundy Park, Wilket Creek Park, Sunnybrook Park and Edwards Gardens. This will be the westernmost at-grade surface stop. The station is scheduled to open in 2024.
Hakimi Lebovic is a surface light rail transit (LRT) stop under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a new line that is part of the Toronto subway system. It will be located in the Golden Mile neighbourhood at the intersection of Eglinton Avenue and Lebovic and Hakimi Avenues. It is scheduled to open in 2024.
Renforth, referred to during planning as Renforth Gateway, is a bus station on the border of the cities of Mississauga and Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. Located at Eglinton Avenue and Renforth Drive, it is the eastern terminus of the Mississauga Transitway and is close to the interchange between Highway 401 and Highway 427.
Reggae Lane is a roadway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that runs east from Oakwood Avenue, behind a strip of buildings on the south side of Eglinton Avenue in the Little Jamaica ethnic enclave. For most of its history it had no official name, but the imminent arrival of Oakwood LRT station helped trigger its 2015 official naming.
Folks are lined up out the door of Randy's, waiting to buy some of the best Jamaican patties in the city. This stretch of Eglinton Ave., near Oakwood, is where Rasta meets pasta in Toronto.
That's the contention of local city councillor Josh Colle, who believes provincial transit planning agency Metrolinx will eventually add an Oakwood stop to the station map for the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT line scheduled for completion in 2020.
Provincial Minister of Transportation Bob Chiarelli also indicated Friday in a tweet directed at Toronto Community News' TOinTransit and Colle that an Oakwood stop on the Crosstown LRT is confirmed.
Metrolinx has taken some time to acknowledge that its crews caused the sewer problem. Finally on Friday Metrolinx put a notice on its website: "Crews will be repairing a small section of City of Toronto sewer adjacent to the sidewalk on Eglinton Ave., west of Oakwood Ave. for several weeks." The work will begin Monday.
Ward 15 City Councillor Josh Colle was instrumental in nominating "Reggae Lane" for an official title. Colle, who lived in the area, wanted to help recognize the rich history of Little Jamaica and the music of the '70s and '80s in the area.
The changes are coming with the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which is scheduled to open in 2020. "With the coming changes to Eglinton with the LRT, potential buildings, condos, this is a space that should not be neglected, especially because it's literally no more than a footstep away from a main artery of Oakwood and Eglinton," Alampi said.
He said the community needs Reggae Place, which could run along Eglinton from Marlee Avenue to Dufferin Street, and which would be a viable destination thanks to its proximity to the subway and access from the future underground Eglinton Crosstown LRT system.
Metrolinx recently placed a notice of expropriation in a local newspaper, which is normally a last resort when the owners can't be located. The commercial property at 1565 Eglinton Ave. W., near Dufferin Street, is near the construction site for the Oakwood station of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.