STOP THE TRAINS
IN OUR PARKS

Keep the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension underground in York South-Weston.

Indigenous-led coalition begins action to protect parkland and wildlife

A Sacred Fire has been lit and Tree Ceremonies are happening in Pearen Park in response to

Metrolinx’s and the Ford Government’s refusal to pause the 1.5km elevated section of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension that is planned to run through Fergy Brown Park, the Eglinton Flats and over the Humber River.

Indigenous Fire Keepers will keep the Sacred Fire burning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

and are leading the tree ceremonies.

How can you get involved?

Join us every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Pearen Park for a social gathering, or drop by anytime.
When you visit, ask to adopt and tie a cotton ribbon around a tree.
Have firewood you don’t need? Drop it off in Pearen Park or email us.
Email us at stopthetrainsinourparks@gmail.com to volunteer with the coalition.

LEARN MORE

Metrolinx wants to put what amounts to a 1.5km 'Gardiner Expressway' for LRT trains through the heart of York South-Weston's parkland as part of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE). We support the ECWE but want this section buried underground.

The train expressway would run through Eglinton Flats (including Fergy Brown Park), which is some of the most valuable parkland in the city. This parkland is designated a greenbelt zone, includes one of the city’s largest regional networks of sports fields and offers an idyllic setting to enjoy nature that is substantially buffered from roadways by large swaths of mature urban forests.

If the proposed elevated section of the ECWE were to proceed, clear cutting of large swaths of mature urban forests would be required to accommodate a massive launch portal within Fergy Brown Park, substantial concrete barriers and pillars to support the trains, and sizeable elevated transit stations over Jane Street and Scarlett Road that would require further encroachment into the parkland. This proposal also would require another massive launch portal just west of Scarlett Road that would see the train expressway pass directly in front of adjacent residential buildings in a similar way to how the Gardiner Expressway passes directly beside condominiums and other buildings in the downtown core.

Metrolinx plans to put most of the ECWE underground, but wants to run an elevated train expressway straight through our parks, rather than under them. Metrolinx's own Initial Business Case for the ECWE states that an underground solution would provide the best outcome "for livable and sustainable communities."

WHAT WE WANT

No train expressway in our parks. Period
Metrolinx to bury the trains underground in York South-Weston, like they're doing in Etobicoke.
Metrolinx to provide transparency about the project - its costs, its size, and its impact.

YORK SOUTH-WESTON DESERVES THE ECWE
AND OUR GREENSPACE!

ABOUT STOP THE TRAINS IN OUR PARKS (STOP)

We are a group of York South-Weston residents who support the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, but oppose putting a train expressway through our parks as part of the project. We believe greenspace should be for wildlife and people, not concrete and trains.

Learn More