Metrolinx proposes Woodbine GO station

Hwy. 27 area near racetrack has ‘significant development potential,’ new report indicates

It looks like GO Transit could be off to the races.

Metrolinx, the provincial transportation agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, is recommending moving ahead with plans for a new GO rail station next to Woodbine Racetrack.

A report that will be discussed at a Metrolinx board meeting Thursday determined a station on GO’s Kitchener line just west of Highway 27 would attract thousands of riders every day and improve access to Woodbine, which is set to become a major employment and entertainment destination.

“We’re excited about the possibility of a new Metrolinx train station at Woodbine. This has the potential to be a positive development for the entire region and an opportunity to help attract more people to our site,” Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson said in a statement.

The new Woodbine-Highway 27 stop would be added as part of a major GO service expansion Metrolinx is planning, and would replace the existing Etobicoke North station two kilometres to the east.

Metrolinx says the existing stop needs to be demolished to allow for new rail infrastructure required for service improvements. About 625 daily riders use Etobicoke North as their home station.

In April, city council approved expanded gaming operations at Woodbine. The Ontario Gaming GTA Limited Partnership (OGGLP) has plans to build an “integrated entertainment complex” on the 280-hectare site in North Etobicoke that would include an expanded casino, performance venue, retail and commercial spaces, restaurants and hotels.

The Metrolinx report found that projected employment and population densities surrounding the Woodbine station site fall far below the minimum normally recommended for a new stop, but the area has “significant development potential in the long-term.”

Metrolinx’s target for a new express rail station is a combined 150 people and jobs per hectare in the area surrounding the station. There would be just 20

people and jobs per hectare around Woodbine-Highway 27 by 2031, the report says. Redevelopment of the racetrack facilities wasn’t accounted for because most of it would take place just outside of the station’s 800-metre catchment area. The Woodbine-Highway 27 GO station would attract a projected 14,700 daily riders by 2031, 3,600 of which would be new to the network.

The projections depend on fares for the TTC and GO Transit being equal, a policy that has not yet been committed to by the provincial government.

The Woodbine station proposal brings to10 the number of new GO stops within Toronto that Metrolinx is considering adding. Six of the 10 stops are considered part of Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan.

But it’s unclear how many of the new stations will actually be built. A separate report the Metrolinx board is expected to approve Thursday recommends the agency move away from the traditional model of funding the construction of new stations using public funds.

Instead, it recommends Metrolinx adopt a “market-driven” strategy that would rely on third parties, such as private developers, to pay for the stations in exchange for benefits. Asked whether Woodbine would agree to fund a new station, Lawson, said: “It’s incumbent on us to explore all possibilities to increase visitors to Woodbine and are always open to exploring new opportunities to help us do that.”

Metrolinx estimates the capital costs of the WoodbineHighway 27 stop at between $92 million and $117 million.