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Junction residents are hoping a new downtown project will finally tie the neighborhood together, years after it happened.
Metrolinx was supposed to remove the fence dividing Lapine Avenue and Antler Street, but they quietly abandoned the project and what should have been a two-minute walk is now a 20-minute detour.
“There are hundreds of people in this complex and there are thousands of people there, all of whom are taxpayers, who were promised this link and they didn’t get it,” said neighborhood resident Barry Stevens.
It has been a frustrating battle for residents who have protested and pleaded for years for Metrolinx to fulfill its promise to build a route, which this neighborhood considered their reward for completing years of construction as the province raised the Barrie Geo Line tracks.
“There was a tremendous amount of noise, a tremendous amount of smoke and disruption, and at the end of the day the basic thing was that we would have access to that beautiful park and the park beyond that, and then they left the fence up there and they won’t do that,” Stevens said.
The ends of Lapin and Antler are about 20 meters apart from each other, separating residents from parks, schools, libraries and more.
Jeff Packman, another area resident, said, “We see the traffic, we see the bridge, we hear the noises and it keeps reminding us that the fence is still there because we see that too.”
“We walk right down the street, and say, ‘It would be nice if we could walk straight, but no. We have to walk all the way down.'”
Packman said the split caused him and his wife to choose a different school for their daughter. “The way it was set up changes the whole way to get to Perth [Avenue Junior Public School]“A lot of our time would have been wasted because of this.”
“It’s bigger than just schools … it’s kind of a community cohesion thing,” he said.
Now, more than a decade after the project was proposed, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s in the capital budget, $2.5 million to move this project forward. Metrolinx walked away and abandoned the community, the provincial government said no after promising it, but the City of Toronto has stepped in,” said Councilor Alejandra Bravo.
Bravo, whose ward includes The Junction neighborhood, worked with city staff to set aside funds in this year’s budget to do so. This project is personal for Bravo.
“Campbell Avenue is where I grew up, I spent my youth there. I know these streets like the back of my hand, and I can’t wait to see the opening. It’s not going to happen right away but we’re on our way to doing the right thing in this neighborhood, and now is the time.”
She said she understands the frustration of neighborhood residents, which has motivated her to continue the effort for these funds.
“It’s really important for community safety, for people to live in walkable neighborhoods, for people to go to school, to the park, to the library,” Bravo said. “What was promised to this community was not fulfilled..”
If approved, project funding would not actually be made available until 2027 or 2028.
“We’re committed to it. We’re going to put money into it… so now, it’s time to study what needs to be done, look at the design and then actually build it,” Bravo explained.