The Wallace Avenue Pedestrian Bridge

A temporary fix

The Wallace Avenue Pedestrian Bridge has been a Junction Triangle landmark since 1907, when residents of the area needed an easier way to get across the above-ground rail tracks that ran along Dundas Street West. The rail tracks, which served the Canadian Pacific Railway, were laid in the late 1800s. At the time, the area surrounding the tracks was predominantly rural, with few homes or factories. The growth of the Junction Triangle neighbourhood in the early 1900s meant residents and railways increasingly bumped up against each other. To cross the tracks, area residents had to trek north to Dupont Street or south to Bloor Street to reach anything on the other side: schools, shops, or work. The community called out for a fix to the situation and the Ontario Bridge Company entered the scene with what was to be a temporary solution to the problem: the Wallace Avenue Pedestrian Bridge.