More than 150 people attend Richmond Hill open house to learn more about Yonge North subway extension
Thornhill resident Alexandra Kobriansky is interested in the future Yonge North subway extension.
She had an apartment on the plot line and wanted to know more about it. That led her to attend an open house hosted by Metrolinx in Richmond Hill on January 25th.
“It’s been a while. I think it’s important to get it done,” she said. “We hope we can enjoy the fruits of this construction.”
York Region residents gathered at the Langstaff Community Center in Richmond Hill this week to learn more about the subway extension that will transform regional transportation.
More than 150 people attended the open house. Staff were on site to answer questions and exhibits were on display highlighting various aspects of the project, including milestones to date.
Metrolinx said the event was a success.
“The opportunity to connect one-on-one with residents, share information and answer questions is invaluable as we work to expand subway service to York Region,” the group said.
Metrolinx says the extension of Line 1 service will allow more people to use transit, cutting commute times by up to 22 minutes and offsetting 4,800 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
The subway is currently in the procurement process to build the tunnel, at an estimated cost of $5.6 billion. The procurement is expected to be completed at the end of 2024.
Metrolinx said it will confirm the construction and completion schedule once the procurement is complete.
The proposed route would pass through Vaughan, Markham, and Richmond Hill, with five stations along the eight-kilometre stretch.
Additionally, the open house highlighted consultation and preparation leading up to the procurement stage, including the initial construction of Finch Station.
Markham resident Peter Miasek said as someone who has researched the project a lot, nothing at the open house surprised him. He said that for people who haven’t looked at the project that closely, it seems better.
Still, Miacek said he supports the project but is concerned about how much it will cost.
“I’m concerned about rising costs because a lot of the subways are very deep and depth costs money,” he said. “Furthermore, the entire construction industry is under cost pressure.
“We hope it goes on schedule and on budget,” he added, adding that he also hopes the line will include adequate parking facilities, similar to Finch Station.
Sandra Montana said the expansion will cause a boom in the area. She praised the open house.
“I learned something else today that I needed to know, which is great,” she said.
Kobryansky said he came to Canada from Ukraine many years ago. She said trains are much more popular and developed than in Canada.
“I hope it gets better, it will improve,” she said.
