Mississauga's Ward 7 councillor is publicly calling out Metrolinx, saying the provincial transit agency has refused to face residents and business owners along Hurontario Street after years of construction on the Hazel McCallion Line.
Coun. Dipika Damerla, whose ward covers the Hurontario corridor between Dundas Street and the QEW, issued a statement on Tuesday saying that after four years of active construction in the ward, Metrolinx has not held one town hall to engage residents on the $4.6-billion light-rail project.
She also said Metrolinx declined an invitation to give an update at the Cooksville BIA's annual general meeting on Feb. 19. According to Damerla, the agency said it needed to prepare for a presentation to Mississauga city council this spring.
The reason provided, the need to prepare for their upcoming council presentation, is difficult to reconcile given that the town hall would focus on the same issues and information that the Metrolinx team regularly addresses.
— Dipika Damerla, Ward 7 councillor
Damerla said residents have been asking for a public forum for a long time to get answers on construction timelines, disruptions and what is being done to ease them. She is asking Metrolinx to reconsider and work with her office to schedule a town hall soon.
Anna Mikus, executive director of the Cooksville BIA, said in the same statement that the business group is very disappointed Metrolinx will not update its members on the project or on how it will affect Cooksville in 2026.
What Metrolinx says
A Metrolinx spokesperson told INsauga.com that the agency will hold an open house or town hall after it presents a project update to city council at a session this spring, and would be glad to attend community meetings after that. In the meantime, the spokesperson said, property and business owners can visit the agency's community office at 3024 Hurontario St. for one-on-one help, or email peel@metrolinx.com.
Two big projects side by side
The dispute comes as Cooksville braces for more disruption. Work on the LRT regularly closes lanes on Hurontario Street, and construction of the new Mississauga Hospital at The Queensway and Hurontario, overseen by Infrastructure Ontario, began last summer and is expected to bring hundreds of construction vehicles to the area each day. At a virtual town hall in late November, residents raised concerns about noise and air quality from the two projects running at the same time.
The Hazel McCallion Line will run about 22 kilometres along Hurontario Street between Mississauga and Brampton. No completion date has been announced.
