Don Valley West Debate Dominated by Opposition to Train Yard Being Placed in Thorncliffe Park
The Don Valley West debate on May 19th, 2022 held at 45 Overlea Blvd was dominated by protest and questions opposing the placement of the train yard. The moderator for the debate had to limit the overwhelming number of questions. The candidates were further peppered with questions after the debate ended.
After learning about the placement of the train yard in April 2021, over 13,000 plus signatures have been collected from petitions opposing a train yard being placed in Thorncliffe Park. Residents are frustrated, and do not know whether the candidates value the lives of predominantly immigrant renters, or are immigrant voters just a vote to get them elected.
The Liberals, PC’s and Greens, were not able to address the negative long term impact on the placement of a train yard in Thorncliffe Park. Some of the negative impacts are:
Walling off the community from the rest of East York and further confining the neighbourhood
The loss of transit oriented development by utilizing the lands next to a train station for a train yard
Loss of a third of Thorncliffe Park space
Introducing heavy industrial use that replaces 30 businesses and 1,200 community jobs
Multiple forms of pollution – light, noise, dust, increased level of traffic, etc.
Increased stigmatization of the community
The social, health and crime challenges that will arise from all of the above
The continuation of the unwritten discriminatory practice of using poor minority communities to dump the most unsavory elements of infrastructure projects
While there a number of everyday issues that need to be addressed for our residents, the Ontario Line train yard is a legacy project that will impact Thorncliffe Park for generations to come. This legacy project, if not changed will be a stain on this government and those who choose to sit on the sidelines.
To contact SaveTPARK:
Email: notrainyard@savetpark.ca or Phone: 1-855-657-2750