Toronto commuters have one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Not only is the TTC implementing a host improvements to its rush hour subway service on the weekend, they’re also bringing back the 509 Harbourfront streetcar to Queens Quay.

The long absent streetcar will resume service from Union Station to Exhibition Station on Sunday, October 12.

The streetcar’s return marks the end of TTC-related construction on Queens Quay, and, more importantly, a significant milestone in the area’s lengthy redevelopment. And while work on Queens Quay will continue in to the new year, construction crews have already completed several significant improvements to the street.

For instance, like the recently rebuilt streetcar platforms along the Spadina streetcar loop, the newly built Queens Quay platforms will help ease boarding for those with mobility issues. In addition, each platform has also had a ticket vending machine installed.

Construction crews have also completed part of the adjacent boulevard. Come spring, 240 new trees will be planted along the boulevard, making it a beautiful mix of green and stone.

Other improvements, like the street’s separated bike lane, haven’t been completed yet.

All told, the improvements Waterfront Toronto is building in to the street allow the organization’s president and CEO, John Campbell, to say, perhaps rightfully, that “by next summer, when the transformation of Queens Quay is complete, Toronto will finally have the grand waterfront boulevard it deserves.”

Images courtesy of Waterfront Toronto.
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Igor Bonifacic is the managing editor of Toronto Standard. Follow him on Twitter.