Mimico residents vow to keep pressure on Metrolinx to make local GO station accessible
CBC
South Etobicoke residents are vowing to continue the pressure on Metrolinx to make the GO station in their area more accessible, despite reassurances from the provincial transit agency that improvements are coming.
On Tuesday, residents gathered near the Mimico GO station to demand that Metrolinx begin work as soon as possible. A Metrolinx representative told residents at the demonstration that the Ontario government has awarded a contract to begin the design phase of planned accessibility upgrades at the station.
There is no start date for construction.
Rozhen Asrani, president of the Mimico Residents Association, said Tuesday that residents have been waiting for Metrolinx to break ground on accessibility updates to the station for about a decade.
Previous projects to make the station more accessible were linked to larger developments of the area that included housing. Two projects collapsed, one in 2023 and one in 2012.
"The community is very frustrated. Patience has run out. It's been a decade of a lack of accessibility and multiple failed promises by Metrolinx," Asrani said.
There is no elevator at the station.
"It's difficult to get to," said Asrani. "There are all kinds of issues for people who use strollers, have mobility constraints, bicycles they are trying to get up and down the stairs. There are lots of barriers."
Asrani said residents were promised by Metrolinx that the station would be fully accessible by 2023 but that did not happen. Now, she said, there are no new project completion dates and no clear timelines.
Asrani said that's unacceptable and is violation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The community is growing and residents deserve to have an accessible transit station, she added.
"An announcement of a contract is great, but what we really need is shovels in the ground and actual timelines," Asrani said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Metrolinx noted that the Ontario Ministry of Transportation announced on May 14 that a contract was awarded for "design development and construction management services to support accessibility upgrades and other enhancements at Mimico GO."
Metrolinx added: "The station improvement project will provide better connections and improved amenities to ensure a seamless and barrier-free experience for customers travelling across the GO network.
When the development phase is complete, Metrolinx said the contractor will submit a proposed construction schedule and associated costs. If approved, a construction contract will be awarded, at which point project timelines will be more clearly defined, Metrolinx said.
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