Pedestrian bridge to Fort York finally opens after being debated and postponed for years

Thestar.com
Oct. 2, 2019
David Rider

Eight years after it seemed doomed, a steel pedestrian and cyclist bridge spanning the rail corridor, connecting Liberty Village and other communities to Toronto’s waterfront, is finally open.

Mayor John Tory and councillors Mike Layton and Joe Cressy were among officials who cut a ribbon Tuesday on the Garrison Crossing that links Stanley Park, near Wellington St. west of Bathurst St., to the Fort York neighbourhood and Queens Quay to the south.

The project is actually two stainless steel spans, a 52-metre bridge over rail tracks to the north, from Fort York, and a 49-metre southern bridge over more tracks. City staff say the stainless steel structure is the first of its kind in Canada.

Tory said the “much debated and much postponed” bridge will finally help stitch together growing downtown neighbourhoods on both sides of the rail divide, adding visitors often ask him how Toronto has such a vibrant downtown.

“We have a neighbourhood to neighbourhood, and people to people, connection ,and the opening of this bridge today is a very important part of making sure that that remains in the front of our minds as we oversee a growing city,” he said.

Plans for the span started brewing in the early 2000s. Rob Ford opposed it as too pricey while Etobicoke councillor and later as mayor. It was supposed to open in July 2012 in time for ceremonies to mark the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

But in 2011 a committee froze the project, asking city staff to find a cheaper option, after the forecast cost jumped from $18 million to $23 million. Mike Layton, the local councillor, tried to revive the original plan but was outvoted by Ford and his allies.

He then worked behind the scenes with some of those allies to find a cheaper option. The next council, headed by Tory, approved a simpler design with $19.7 million budget. Construction, including new parks on either side of the bridge, started in 2016.

Staff say community benefits paid by developers of nearby condos, in exchange for height and density beyond city guidelines, contributed about $5 million toward that expense. The politicians credited developer Steve Diamond with helping bring the bridge back to life.

Layton noted challenges even late in the process, including finding enough people skilled at working with stainless steel, and getting approvals from the provincial Metrolinx agency to build over a busy GO train corridor.

“I’m proud to see that the hard work by our partners, and the support from the community for the project, has helped bring us to where we are today,” he said.