Railway Commission refuses application of City of Toronto

Declines to order grade separation work in Northwest

Lines heavily burdened

(By William Marchington.)

(Staff Correspondence of The Globe.)

Ottawa, May 13.—On the ground that large expenditures are presently being made on the Toronto waterfront viaduct, and having in mind the question of the general needs of the Dominion, the Board of Railway Commissioners declines to make the order asked for by the City of Toronto directing the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways to proceed with the grade separation on St. Clair and Lansdowne Avenues and other streets in the northwestern section of Toronto.

The judgment is written by Dr. S. J. McLean, Assistant Chief Commissioner, and concurred in by Chief Commissioner McKeown, and it states that the board has questions in regard to protection arising in different sections of the country. What it may do in one section has a bearing on what it is able to do in another, and the matter must be looked at in a general way. Representations as to separation of grades in the City on Montréal are before the board, and involve large sums. Representations are made as to separation of grades in the City of Vancouver, also in the City of Québec. In other cases it is also urged that features or urgency attached to grade separation work.

Heavy expenditures.

The work still to be done in Northwest Toronto involves expenditures aggregating several million dollars, while other Toronto work, including the viaduct and terminals, involves additional millions, as follows:

Work done and to be done, Northwest Toronto, C.P.R.: Bloor Street and Royce Avenue, subways, Galt and Brampton subdivision, expended $X,951,000.

Expenditures required under the board's order: Bartlett Avenue, Dufferin Street, Lansdowne Avenue, Symington and Osler Avenue, $2,000,000. Estimated cost of land and property damage, $750,000.

Work to be done, Northwest Toronto, C.N.R., under board's order: Davenport Road, Newmarket subdivision, $547,000. St. Clair Avenue West, Newmarket subdivision, $693,000, Royce Avenue, Newmarket subdivision, $460,000, Junction Road, Brampton and Galt subdivision, $667,000, St. Clair Avenue West, Brampton and Galt subdivisions, $686,000. Total $3,153,000.

Viaduct construction.

Work done and to be done by C.N.R. for exclusive facilities incidental to the construction of the Toronto Viaduct: Estimated cost, $5,630,888. Expenditure to Dec. 31, 1927, $3,829,466.

Estimate to complete work, $1,801,442.

Work done and to be done on Toronto Viaduct by Toronto Terminals Railway: Expenditure on station, $5,600,000; estimated cost of viaduct, $17,447,684; expenditure to Dec. 31, 1927, $6,668,8XX. Required to complete, $10,758,873; estimate of proposed expenditure for this year, $3,000,000.

Beyond financial power.

It must be recognized, says the board's decision, that to have grade separation at all crossings would be beyond the financial power of the railways, and that the matter must be looked at from the standpoint of an average reasonable expenditure, keeping in mind the general need in different sections of the country. It must, further, be recognized that while separation of grades may facilitate switching movements and lessen the opportunity for accidents, the expenditure so made is normally not a product asset. What this means is that the money expended by the railway on protection is not an expenditure which created a revenue which will recoup itself and, possibly, leave something over. Any suggestion that this means disregarding the human factor is entirely by the way.

Railways: C.N.Rys., C.P.Ry.

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