TRAIN WRECK

Toronto residents in the path of Ontario Line construction are living in a bone-rattling, foundation-cracking, rat-infested hellscape. True tales from the epicentre

- ALI AMAD AND ANTHONY MILTON

At this point, kvetching about gridlock, subway delays and streetcar diversions isn't just a local pastime; it's part of the city's DNA. Torontonians have been suffering through a transit deficit for decades, but now that we're finally seeing movement on desperately needed projects, some residents are paying with their sanity. To wit: clutches of homeowners and small-business owners along the Ontario Line's path-15.6 kilometres of tracks from Exhibition Place through downtown and up to Eglinton and Don Mills are bearing the brunt for the benefit of everyone else. Progress comes with growing pains, but how disruptive is too disruptive? Here's what life is like at the centre of the storm.

JANICE LA CHAPELLE, 66

Retired IT specialist

YEARS ON BOOTH AVENUE: 28

In 2019, the province announced that the Ontario Line would be coming through South Riverdale. Generally, I'm supportive of new public transitToronto urgently needs solutions to the overcrowding on the TTC. Then I learned that construction would take place in the existing GO train corridor that cuts through my immediate area, 12 metres from my house.

I was concerned about the project from the beginning. I've been on disability since 2010 because of severe problems tied to my vision and balance. I spend most of my time at home with my adult son, Liam, and I was worried about how incessant construction, noise and street closures would impact our lives. Metrolinx was saying the Ontario Line would be completed by 2027, but we knew from the disastrous delays with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT that the disruptions could last a lot longer than eight years. Still, I wanted the project to happen for the greater good.