Toronto park will be completely devastated as almost 330 trees being clear-cut

One Toronto park is about to look a lot less green as Metrolinx moves forward with the removal of almost 330 trees in order to make room for a new Ontario Line station.

In a construction notice, Metrolinx announced that in order to accommodate construction for Flemingdon Park Station, 328 trees will be removed near the E.T. Seton Park Archery Range at Don Mills Rd. and Gateway Blvd.

Expected to last five weeks from its late December start date, the work is required in order to build temporary roads for safe access to the area where future piers of the new line's elevated guideway will be built.

This means the archery range will remain closed for the whole month, which doesn't sound that bad, given it's the winter season and not that many people are shooting arrows this time of year

Metrolinx also states that traffic lane and sidewalk closures "may be required" in order for machinery to safely remove the trees. 

As if the city isn't loud enough already, neighbours in the area are likely to hear even more noise with chainsaws, woodchippers and small loaders going off in the background from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Trees are something a lot of Toronto residents are protective of, and have resulted in past community outrage when infrastructure needs are placed above those of nature. For example, ET Seton Park has already had large areas of tree cover removed for the Ontario Line.

A similar destruction of trees to make way for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project generated controversy in 2024, while, that same year, Ontario Place's West Island was clear-cut to free up space for the provincial government's contentious redevelopment of the site.

Other Ontario Line station's have also required extensive tree removals, including the rushed 2023 clear-cutting of trees at Osgoode Hall.

Metrolinx promises that crews will install barriers around nearby trees that are being protected and preserved. As they carry out the largest transit expansion in its history, it also promises to stick to vegetation guidelines and plant "one and 50 trees for every one tree removed."