Cherry St Gets New Bridges in Toronto Harbour But Deadly Old Bridge Still Exists

by | Feb 4, 2024 | News

New Bridges erected along Cherry St of Toronto Harbour were greeted with much excitement by news media during their opening at the end of January, 2024. But the bridge that caused two drowning deaths still remains.

What will remain of the old bridge on Cherry Street at the Toronto harbour after new bridges have been erected and opened to the public?

The new bridges are exciting to look at, as evidenced by a couple of photos taken on February 3, 2024, shown below.

Colourful and futuristic, the new bridges on Cherry Street at Toronto’s harbour have caught the imaginations of many admirers. Here a cyclist is shown riding along the wide expanse provided for both cyclists and pedestrians.
This portion of the new bridges has yet to be opened to the public. Yet concern exists when looking at the chain link fence that exists beyond the ends of the bridge. Is the chain link fence expected to prevent vehicles from passing through it and entering the water of the Don River? This is exactly what occurred with the old bridge that has still not been replaced.
This southward view of the old Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge, where two persons perished in separate drownings in the past seven years, still remains, and the railing that failed still remains unrepaired.
In early December, 2023, a vehicle crashed through the metal railing of the Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge and a driver of the vehicle drowned. As seen in this photo taken on February 3, 2024. nothing has been changed with the railing except for some yellow tape being erected and a warning sign posted.
This is a view of the metal railing where a vehicle a crashed through and a driver drowned in early December, 2023. As can bee seen in this photo taken on February 3, 2024 nothing has been done to prevent another vehicle from passing through the same location.

There has to be a greater recognition of safety problems that are not revealed by official entities such as police and news media. While much attention has been brought to the beauty and features of the new bridges, nothing has been mentioned of the dangers that remain on Cherry Street south of where the new bridges are located.