Oakwood station (Toronto)

Oakwood
The main entrance to the Oakwood LRT station will be on the north side of the intersection of Oakwood and Eglinton.
Location	Eglinton Av/Oakwood Av Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°41′50″N 79°26′35″W / 43.69722°N 79.44306°W / 43.69722; -79.44306Coordinates: 43°41′50″N 79°26′35″W / 43.69722°N 79.44306°W / 43.69722; -79.44306
Platforms	Centre platform
Tracks	2
Connections	TTC buses
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Under construction
History
Opening	2021
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station Fairbank toward Mount Dennis Eglinton Opens 2020 Cedarvale toward Kennedy

Oakwood is an underground light rail transit (LRT) station under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a new line that is part of the Toronto subway system. It will be located in Little Jamaica at the intersection of Oakwood Avenue and Eglinton Avenue. It is scheduled to open in 2021.

Both entrances replace existing storefronts; the main entry will be located directly at the northern end of Oakwood Avenue, while the secondary will be on the south side of Eglinton some 80 metres (260 ft) west between Oakwood Avenue and Times Road. The station will provide outdoor space to park 24 bicycles.

Local Member of Provincial Parliament Mike Colle organized a petition that led to a station at Oakwood being added to the Crosstown plan. The main destination will be the Eglinton West commercial strip.

The National Post reported that contractors who thought they were pumping grout into holes they had drilled had filled a sewer near Oakwood station with cement, shortly before Christmas 2013. The report quoted local business leader Nick Alampi, who said, due to Metrolinx attitude, his section of the Avenue "almost feels like it’s the wild, wild west." The report asserted the accident increased local displeasure with the construction period. Locals had initially been mystified when sewage had backed up into their basements.

In March 2015, the east-west laneway south of Eglinton, near the station, was named Reggae Lane. Alampi credited the building of the station as a trigger to redeveloping the lane. The lane had once been the heart of Toronto′s recording of Reggae music.

In June 2015, Metrolinx plans to expropriate a barbershop near the station triggered comment. The owners, Maureen and Ian Young, told the CBC News that Metrolinx had failed to contact them, prior to announcing the expropriation in a local paper.

The secondary exit would replace Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen; the fried chicken restaurant moved to a new location one block west of Dufferin on Eglinton.