Fort York Bridge Postponed

The much anticipated Fort York pedestrian and cycle bridge has been delayed indefinitely because of concerns about its cost. The bridge, two sculptural, inclined arches across a pair of diverging rail corridors, was intended to be a key link in the network of parks following the route of the long-buried Garrison Creek, connecting Trinity Bellwoods Park and Stanley Park to the Garrison Common, and thence to June Callwood Park, Coronation Park and the Martin Goodman Trail. It would have also provided a pedestrian- and cycle-friendly connection between the neighbourhoods north of the tracks – the Niagara Neighbourhood and Liberty Village – and the growing community south of Fort York Boulevard and the waterfront. Moreover, it was a key to making more parkland accessible in an area identified as being deficient in open space.

On April 27 the results of the tender call for the construction of the structure came before the City of Toronto’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee for approval to award a contract to the recommended bidder. Rather than do this, the Committee referred the item back to staff to recommend a lower cost alternative. A motion to keep the design moving forward by bringing the item directly to City Council for debate at its meeting on May 18 was defeated, leaving the fate of the bridge uncertain.

Construction was to have begun this summer, to take advantage of a relatively narrow window of opportunity provided by Metrolinx during the construction of the new Strachan Avenue overpass of the Georgetown rail corridor. While some have suggested that the bridge still could be constructed at a later date, almost certainly it will take a different form and come later than the celebration of the bicentennial. There is unlikely to be another window of opportunity to construct the bridge until 2015 at the earliest.

A Facebook and letter-writing campaign initiated by residents of the neighbourhoods near Fort York suggests that there is strong community support for the bridge. Staff is expected to report back on a new bridge design sometime in the fall, and it is to be hoped that a solution will be found then to allow this important community link to be built.