WITH construction of the Cale Street level crossing underway, Woodbridge residents on the Yelverton Road side of the train tracks are unhappy with the alternative pedestrian routes proposed once the Helena Street level crossing shuts.
After the Cale Street level crossing is completed the Helena Street level crossing will be removed, leaving residents with the option to cross the tracks at Cale Street or detour back to the Morrison Road level crossing.
Alternative pedestrian access via a 24/7 pedestrian overpass will also provide another option to cross the tracks – once it’s completed in 2025 as part of Metronet’s Midland station development.
In the meantime, Midland resident Amelia Odquin worries about how the elderly will be able to cross the tracks once the Helena Street level crossing shuts.
“I think it’s probably better to have pedestrian access in a way that it’s closer to their homes because you don’t want to be making elderly people walk all that way (to Cale Street), especially during summer or when it’s really cold in winter,” she said.
“I personally think that they could have thought this out better and taken the actual residents of this area into consideration more.”
Woodbridge Residents Association president Lynn Deering also wants more clarity on pedestrian access at Helena Street due to how busy the crossing is.
“We would like to see this addressed – is it going to close or is it going to be open, and what are the reasons behind its closure?” she said.
“We welcome the new station, we welcome the overpass and the escalators and the lifts that give us newfound access, but we don’t want to see our community so withdrawn from access, not informed, and not considered, and that’s really what’s coming through now – we’re not being considered.
“So, we ask Metronet, come back to our community and actually set up a better process and keep us informed, and also take our feedback on board – don’t do a street-by-street consultation, because we’re a community, not a street.”
The PTA said the Cale Street level crossing will be the only alternative during construction.
