SENT: March 8, 2018
Phil Verster
Chief Executive Officer
Metrolinx
ceo@metrolinx.com
Re: Mimico GO Station Upgrades
Dear Mr. Verster,
I am writing on behalf of the Mimico Residents Association (MRA) to applaud the recommendation made in the “New Stations Business Cases Technical Report” published in February 2018 regarding the development of the Park Lawn GO Station. The creation of a new Park Lawn GO Station – in addition to the continued operation of the current Mimico GO station – offers a realistic and practical path forward for sustainable transit along the Toronto section of the Lakeshore West rail corridor.
However, as Metrolinx continues to pursue this strategic direction, we, on behalf of Mimico residents, urge you to concurrently move forward with the much-delayed implementation of scheduled improvements to Mimico GO Station.
As highlighted in Metrolinx reports, Mimico GO station is an important and well used transit option in Mimico, with a ridership of around 3,000 per day (forecasted to grow to 4,000-8,000 per day). However, to facilitate this growth construction for accessible, barrier free access needs to start as soon as possible. Improvements to the Mimico GO Station offer many benefits to our community which is currently ill served by TTC transport alternatives and has a large proportion of seniors and young children who currently struggle to access the station.
The Mimico GO Station preliminary design includes:
- A new station building and replacement of existing (west) tunnel,
- A new south entrance and east tunnel connecting across the railway corridor, and
- New elevators and other features to make the station compliant with accessibility requirements outlined in provincial legislation (e.g., AODA).
An update provided in August 2016 stated that construction was scheduled to occur between 2018 and early 2021; to date work on these items has not been initiated and no further updates have been received regarding when this work will initiate.
We respectfully request that you move decisively to make swift and much needed improvements to the Mimico GO Station and maintain your current strategy of running any future Park Lawn GO Station in tandem with the existing Mimico GO Station, which is a vital transport hub for our community.
Yours truly,
Chris Moore
President
Mimico Residents Association
cc: Mark Grimes, Councillor – City of Toronto – Ward 6, councillor_grimes@toronto.ca
cc: Peter M. Zuk, Chief Capital Officer, peter.zuk@metrolinx.com
cc: Leslie Woo, Chief Planning Officer Planning and Policy, leslie.woo@metrolinx.com
cc: Peter Milczyn, MPP Etobicoke-Lakeshore, pmilczyn.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
cc: John Tory, Mayor – City of Toronto, mayor_tory@toronto.ca