TTC planning new shuttle buses to connect riders to Mimico GO station

Getting to the GO station could soon be a lot easier for residents of Humber Bay Shores and the Mystic Point neighbourhoods.

On Thursday the TTC unveiled plans for a new community shuttle bus, connecting tens of thousands of people to the Mimico GO station.

The frequency, and costs of the run, are still being worked out while the community has a chance to provide input, but the goal is to have it running by the summer.

“We are going to try to get this thing going hopefully by the summer. This will get people to and back from the GO station Mimico,” Mark Grimes, councillor for Etobicoke-Lakeshore told CityNews.

Although there are tens of thousands of people living in the largely vertical neighbourhoods, there is currently no transit connection to the GO station — forcing people to park illegally on side streets to catch the GO or get in their cars to commute downtown.

“Transit is seriously lacking,” area resident Sandra Dundek says. “It’s always congested — even when it’s not rush hour.”

To make matters worse, even more people are moving into the area. There are over a half dozen developments under way in the Mystic Point / Humber Bay area, with several others in the works in nearby Mimico.

In 2016, Mimico station had an average weekly ridership of 3200 passengers — making it the 6th busiest station on the Lakeshore West line. But Grimes believes ridership would be much higher if the station was located closer to the higher density neighbourhood of Humber Bay Shores.

Although Metrolinx has already eliminated Parklawn from a shortlist of potential new GO stations, area politicians continue to lobby for a stop at the old Mr. Christie’s plant.

“You have all four politicians from the area on board.The mayor is board. I had council make the station a priority a few months back at city council so we have done all the things we can …” explains Grimes.

“The initial conversation, they are open to a GO Station”.

Meanwhile, TTC board members discussed new strategies Thursday to address overcrowding issues on Line 1.

A report presented at the meeting claims the problem has reached “historical maximums” during the morning rush.

The TTC estimates that between 28,000 and 30,000 commuters travel south of Bloor-Yonge station every hour during the peak of the morning rush.

Mayor John Tory says a number of options are being explored including adding more trains to the line to help relieve the overcrowding.

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