PHOTOS: Here’s What the LRT Would Look Like on Main Street in Brampton
Published July 10, 2018 at 3:20 am
After Brampton City Council infamously nixed the Hurontario Light-Rail Transit (LRT) project running down Main Street to Brampton GO Station, many residents were confused about why.
After Brampton City Council infamously nixed the Hurontario Light-Rail Transit (LRT) project running down Main Street to Brampton GO Station, many residents were confused about why. Brampton is now considering alternate routes down McLaughlin or Kennedy.
Currently, the Hurontario LRT project is set to run from Port Credit GO in Mississauga to Brampton Gateway Terminal, boasting 22 stops with three of them in Brampton. Brampton City Council voted last year to spend $4.4 million to conduct environmental assessments on proposed LRT routes along either Kennedy or McLaughlin Road.
The LRT extension is slated to run from Brampton Gateway Terminal to Brampton GO Station without passing through Main Street.
But it’s still fun to see what an LRT might have looked like on Main Street, cutting through downtown Brampton.
Metrolinx has a wealth of LRT-related documents, including some old renderings of the LRT running on Main as part of a streetscape and urban design strategy report.
Videos
Let’s take a look!
Hurontario and Steeles
Features increased cycle-friendliness, a widened platform, open space and public art opportunities, and space for pedestrians and bus drop-off.
Nanwood Drive
Features rolling curbs, possible shared lanes, public art to mark access to the trail system, and enhanced streetscaping.
Wellington/Queen Street
Public art opportunities in plazas, at the GO tunnel, and at the GO bridge, and features urban streetscaping from north of Wellington to the GO bridge.
Brampton GO
Complete with seating areas and an open platform.
Recently, the City held a public information session on the LRT to gather feedback on the alternate route options. Now, the City has officially compiled a shortlist of alternate LRT routes and potential stops for a future LRT along McLaughlin Road and Kennedy Road.
The environmental assessment includes alternative alignments, underground or elevated sections, shared running, one-way loop, and two-way loop options.
As for the Kennedy route, the LRT could run down Queen Street East, or along the GO Kitchener Line.
There’s also a Kennedy South connection option, running alongside the 407 and passing by the CAA Centre (formerly the Powerade Centre).
The McLaughlin route could circle Shoppers World, it could run by Sheridan College, down McLaughlin, and finally along Queen Street, or even along the Orangeville-Brampton Railway.
The city is also looking to establish a location for an Operation, Maintenance and Storage Facility, including the possibility of a shared facility with the Hurontario LRT.
This is a long-term project. While the current plans for the Hurontario LRT could see it running by 2022, some are apprehensive about when Brampton will actually see stops north of Brampton Gateway Terminal.
Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon once projected that it could be 10 years before there’s an LRT north of Brampton Gateway Terminal.
The city has hired HDR Inc. to study alternate routes.
We’ll keep you posted on what happens next.
Where do you think the LRT should run in Brampton?
Graphic and information courtesy of Metrolinx
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