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6 Line 5: Forest Hill Gets A Subway
Rapid transit will soon arrive on one of Midtown Toronto’s most vibrant main streets, with four stations along Eglinton Line 5 nearing completion in the scenic Forest Hill area. Soon, many residents of the Art Deco apartments and stately homes that define the neighbourhood will be within a short walk of the new line. For those living farther from the route, minor adjustments to the local bus network are planned to ensure easy connections to the new LRT, underground through this entire stretch.
Forest Hill holds a unique place in Toronto’s history and geography, blending both urban and suburban characteristics. Established as a village in 1923, the early community was centred around its main street at Spadina Road and Lonsdale Road. That charming retail strip remains to this day, though Forest Hill has expanded outward in the century since its founding, particularly in real estate descriptions.
For years, the area’s pleasant rolling hills, near-total absence of heavy industry, and lush residential streets attracted many of Toronto’s wealthy. Among them, for a brief period in the 1920s, was the famed Ernest Hemingway; the globe-trotting novelist lived in an Edwardian apartment building in Forest Hill South while working for the Toronto Star. That building still stands at 1599 Bathurst Street and has, fittingly, been renamed The Hemingway Apartments.
As a result of its northward growth, the community’s primary commercial street is now Eglinton Avenue West, stretching between Allen Road and the office cluster at Yonge and Eglinton. Lined with bagel shops rivalled only by those in Montreal, along with green grocers and other local retailers, the strip evokes the character of more urbane districts south of Bloor Street.
Following a boom in apartment construction from the 1930s to the 1960s, the area remained largely unchanged in its built form well into the early 21st century. With the advancement of Eglinton Line 5 and devolving growth restrictions in Toronto, that has begun to change. Over the past decade, several high-rise and mid-rise projects have been completed along Eglinton Avenue, most notably The Forest Hill Condominiums and The Hill Condos, rising 17 and 9 storeys respectively. More recently, assuming a resumption of Toronto’s currently stalled condo sales, the once-sleepy village is poised for a new development boom. Multiple proposals have emerged, one slated to rise 48 storeys, in anticipation of faster commutes downtown with the LRT’s opening, as well as the expanded development permissions tied to Line 5’s designated Major Transit Station Areas.
Long considered a prime candidate for rapid transit, the neighbourhood will soon be served by a tunnelled LRT—though at the time of writing, its opening has once again been delayed. In anticipation, the area’s bus network will be reconfigured to improve connectivity. The following outlines every planned route cancellation, extension, creation, and rerouting in the neighbourhood once Eglinton Line 5 opens:
Eglinton West (to be renamed Cedarvale) station:
90 Vaughan: The 90 Vaughan will see a small but important extension to ensure both its termini are at rapid transit stations. Now originating in the north at Cedarvale station (currently Eglinton West, to be renamed when Line 5 opens) on University Line 1, the 90 will travel briefly along Eglinton Avenue West and Oakwood Avenue to reach Vaughan Road. From here the 90 will continue its existing run, travelling the length of Vaughan Road before turning onto St Clair Avenue West to reach its southern terminus at St Clair West station on University Line 1.
164 Castlefield: The 164 Castlefield is a new route, to originate in the east at Cedarvale station on Eglinton Line 5 and University Line 1, today known as Eglinton West station. It will travel primarily along Castlefield Avenue and Roselawn Avenue, before arriving at its western terminus at Keelesdale station on Eglinton Line 5. The 164 will also briefly travel along Kincort Street, Danesbury Avenue, Marlee Avenue, and Keele Street to reach its termini.
7 Bathurst: The 7 bus will gain an additional rapid transit interchange once Eglinton Line 5 opens, with no changes to its routing. Northbound Bathurst buses will stop at the northeast corner of Eglinton Avenue West and Bathurst Street, where passengers will access Forest Hill station via the on-street station entrance. Southbound buses will perform an identical manoeuvre, except at the southwest corner of the intersection, where the second station box has been incorporated into a residential development.
33 Forest Hill: The 33’s route will not change with the opening of Eglinton Line 5, but riders will now enjoy rapid transit connections at both ends of its termini. This transfer will be made via a stop in front of Chaplin stations street level entrances.
13 Avenue: The 13 bus will undergo a minor routing change with the opening of Eglinton Line 5. To provide riders with a direct connection to Avenue Station, service will be removed from Oriole Parkway between Chaplin Crescent and Eglinton Avenue West. Instead, buses on Oriole Parkway will turn onto Chaplin Crescent and continue to Avenue Road, from where they will run to Avenue Station. The short jog along Eglinton Avenue West and Duplex Avenue to connect with Yonge Line 1 at Eglinton Station will be retained, ensuring continued direct access to the subway.
This article is the fourth in a series examining the planned bus service changes accompanying the opening of Eglinton Line 5, with a line-by-line breakdown of the adjustments in each affected neighbourhood. You can find our previous story on Mount Dennis station here. UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on Eglinton Line 5, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database files, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum threads or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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