TTC’s Leslie Barns Carhouse named after former Mayor David Miller

The streetcar storage and maintenance facility at the TTC’s Leslie Barns complex has been officially named after former Toronto Mayor, David Miller.

The dedication to the former Toronto Mayor (2003-2010) was made official today in a ceremony attended by Mayor Olivia Chow, TTC Board Chair Jamaal Myers and TTC CEO Mandeep S. Lali.

The carhouse naming was approved by the TTC Board last October and was made in recognition of David Miller’s “dedicated advocacy for the TTC and public transit.”

Prior to becoming Mayor in 2003, David Miller sat on the TTC Board as a City Councillor from 1997-2003, helping guide the commission to improved service and increased ridership. As Mayor, he released a fully-funded rapid transit network expansion plan called Transit City, which the new Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West lines were part of.

The Leslie Barns complex was officially opened on May 28, 2016.

The David R. Miller Carhouse is a state-of-art, 26,000-square-metre facility with 30 streetcar service bays and provides maintenance for the TTC’s fleet of 264 accessible streetcars. It also stores and dispatches more than 120 streetcars daily. 

It has one of the largest green roofs in Toronto and an on-site storm water management pond. The facility is also equipped with streetcar operator and maintenance training facilities.

“Mayor David Miller’s work to make the TTC more reliable and responsive as both a councillor and Mayor was integral to making sure it had the resources to deliver for the people of Toronto,” said Mayor Olivia Chow. “This carhouse dedication is an acknowledgement of his work to secure long-term funding for transit, grow ridership, and his vision to build more high-order transit to the City.”

“The naming of the carhouse after David Miller is fitting, considering he negotiated the funding for the first 204 new low-floor streetcars and secured the land for the Leslie Barns complex,” said TTC Chair Jamaal Myers. “His advocacy for these initiatives and for more, and better, transit will make a real difference for residents across Toronto cannot be overstated.”

“Public transit systems all over the world rely heavily on leaders, champions and visionaries to ensure they thrive and succeed,” said TTC CEO Mandeep S. Lali. “David Miller’s commitment to Toronto and to the TTC while in office means TTC customers are now benefitting from a larger integrated network and modern, accessible vehicles.”