Through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, the Federal and Provincial governments are committing $5 million each towards the construction of a fully enclosed pedestrian bridge. The $10 million structure will span Highway 401 and connect the Pickering GO Station to a new 132,000 square foot, “Class A”, LEED-Silver office tower in Pickering’s downtown precinct. Together, the new pedestrian bridge and office tower will be the most visible examples of sustainability in the entire province. Equally as important, it will create a more cohesive and accessible downtown district.

With funding secured for the pedestrian bridge, a commitment to build a parking structure at the base of the office tower has been made by GO Transit. This will result in 500 new parking spaces for the Pickering GO Station – a 25 percent increase in total parking capacity. This will facilitate greater public transit usage without exacerbating traffic congestion in and around the terminal.

The pedestrian bridge and parking facility will be owned and operated by GO Transit, which means it will be also be responsible for all of the construction, operating, and maintenance costs

While a proposed pedestrian bridge had been in the planning stages for more than a decade, it never had the required support to advance beyond the conceptual stage. However, when the new office tower was announced back in May of this year, it created a small window of opportunity to plan for and incorporate complementary infrastructure. With funding commitments now in place, all three projects will be built concurrently with an estimated completion date of March 2011.