With traffic issues being a major community issue, the Redway Road Extension was brought back to the discussion table three years ago.

Many thought, as I did, that extending Redway Road to connect Millwood Avenue to Bayview Avenue would be attainable.  Although we knew there would be several large hurdles — opposition from some environmentalists, the cost and the fact that Redway Road is not actually in Ward 26 — there are now several new challenges that may prove insurmountable.

The preferred path of the Redway Road Extension is over an unused CP spur line owned by Metrolinx that cuts under Bayview Avenue south of Nesbitt Drive. This line runs along the top of the valley bank and is unstable, so it would require shoring up at a considerable cost.

More challenging is the fact that its position vis-à-vis the valley bank brings it under the purview of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), which sent me a two-page letter of concerns. And whereas Metrolinx doesn’t appear to have any immediate plans to use this line, VIA has expressed a strong interest in a high-frequency line between Toronto and Ottawa, and should this plan go forward, it is quite possible that the abandoned spur line may be in use again.

In the meantime, Metrolinx has no interest in selling the line, so any road construction would require an overpass or underpass meaning that, even if the TRCA’s concerns could be addressed, the project would likely be cost prohibitive.

Although the Redway Road Extension seems to be more elusive, I will still continue to exhaust all possibilities.