Here’s What’s Happening With the LRT in Brampton

Published June 19, 2018 at 6:03 pm

If you’ve been waiting for an update on what’s happening with Brampton’s possible future LRT, you’re in luck.

If you’ve been waiting for an update on what’s happening with Brampton’s possible future LRT, you’re in luck.

Though Brampton city council infamously nixed the Hurontario Light-Rail Transit (LRT) project running into the city’s downtown core, the city has one again picked up the task of studying alternate routes for the LRT in Brampton. 

Now, the city has officially compiled a shortlist of alternate LRT routes and potential stops for a future LRT along McLaughlin Road and Kennedy Road.

The LRT extension is slated to run from Brampton Gateway Terminal to Brampton GO Station without passing through Main Street.

Here’s a look at the shortlist, courtesy of recent city council documents: 

The environmental assessment includes alternative alignments, underground or elevated sections, shared running, one-way loop, and two-way loop options.

As for the Kennedy route, the LRT could run down Queen Street East, or along the GO Kitchener Line.

There’s also a Kennedy South connection option, running alongside the 407 and passing by the CAA Centre (formerly the Powerade Centre).

The McLaughlin route could circle Shoppers World, it could run by Sheridan College, down McLaughlin, and finally along Queen Street, or even along the Orangeville-Brampton Railway.

The city is also looking to establish a location for an Operation, Maintenance and Storage Facility, including the possibility of a shared facility with the Hurontario LRT.

Initially, the city held an open house on April 25, 2018, to “introduce the project to the public, provide background information, and seek input on a map of an initial long list of alternative LRT routes and the evaluation criteria to be used to evaluate the alternative LRT routes,” read recent council documents.

About 75 people attended and commented on the alternate routes.

You might be wondering if the city is considering a Main Street alignment.

“Some members of the public expressed a preference for the Main Street alignment; however, the Main Street alignment was previously removed from further consideration by Council and is not part of this study,” reads the document.

More open houses are coming up. Here’s a look at the next steps for this project:

The June 25, 2018, open house is happening in the City Hall Atrium from 6-8 p.m., so if you have some opinions on the potential stops and shortlist, you might want to attend.

Currently, the Hurontario LRT project is set to run from Port Credit GO in Mississauga to Brampton Gateway Terminal, boasting 22 stops with three of them in Brampton. Brampton city council voted last year to spend $4.4 million to conduct environmental assessments on proposed LRT routes along either Kennedy or McLaughlin Road.

This is a long-term project. While the current plans for the Hurontario LRT could see it running by 2022, some are apprehensive about when Brampton will actually see stops north of Brampton Gateway Terminal. 

Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon once projected that it could be 10 years before there’s an LRT north of Brampton Gateway Terminal.

The city has hired HDR Inc. to study alternate routes.

We’ll keep you posted on what happens next.

Where do you think the LRT should be extended in Brampton?

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