This major transit route could also link up with Pearson Airport in Mississauga
Published May 9, 2022 at 11:34 am
Work on a huge light rail transit (LRT) route that may eventually connect Toronto with Pearson Airport in Mississauga is on track to be completed next year.
Project officials with the Finch West LRT say about 35 per cent of the 25.6 kilometres of track have been laid as they look to open the transit line to passengers sometime in 2023.
While Pearson Airport officials have been keeping a close eye on another massive LRT project–the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) that could see a connection to Pearson in the next decade or so–they also have a stake in the progress of the Finch West LRT.
Metrolinx, the provincial agency heading up both LRT projects, says that while “an airport extension (of the Finch West LRT) is likely,” no funding has yet been set aside for such an undertaking.
The Finch West LRT is a planned 11-kilometre route that will take riders along Finch Ave. W. in Toronto between Keele St. and Humber College.
The 18-stop transit line, to be run by the TTC, will connect to other local transit services including MiWay (Mississauga), GO, Viva (York Region), and Züm (Brampton), as well as provide an important link to Humber College, Metrolinx says.
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Officials with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which runs Pearson Airport, have been keeping a close watch on the Finch West LRT, which they hope will be extended farther west from Humber College to include a stop at Woodbine and then the airport.
They note that connecting Pearson with both the Finch West LRT and the ECWE is crucial. The Pearson Airport Employment Zone, which includes parts of Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto, is Canada’s second-largest employment area, trailing only downtown Toronto’s financial core.
The GTAA and Metrolinx have been working together towards extending both major LRTs to Pearson.
The 2010 Environmental Assessment for the Finch West LRT includes plans for an extension from Humber College to Woodbine and Pearson Airport.
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