Chimney habitat for chimney swifts being built at Oshawa GO station

Metrolinx is building a standalone chimney at 500 Howard Street in Oshawa as an environmental requirement during Simcoe Street bridge reconstruction, and the work is scheduled to finish April 3.

Metrolinx is constructing a standalone chimney at the north end of the former Knob Hill Farms site in Oshawa to provide habitat for returning chimney swifts. The work is described as an environmental requirement tied to demolition and rebuilding of the Simcoe Street railway bridge for the new GO station to the east. The bridge project began in early January and is expected to take about two years. Metrolinx said there was no evidence that chimney swifts were nesting at the former terminal site. Known details: - The new chimney will be built at 500 Howard Street at the north-west corner of the property. - Work began Monday and is scheduled to be completed by Friday, April 3, with daytime activities between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. - Metrolinx said the chimney is required while the Simcoe Street bridge is demolished and rebuilt to accommodate trains into the future GO station. - Chimney swifts are listed as a threatened species in Ontario and are known to roost in the area; Metrolinx reported no evidence of nesting at this specific site. - Metrolinx has said it takes extra precautions on transit projects, including building replacement chimneys, seasonal monitoring of new structures, and in some projects keeping existing chimneys in place for one breeding season. A motion-capture camera in Oshawa recorded more than 30 species over an 11-month period. Summary: The standalone chimney is intended to provide a potential roosting site for returning chimney swifts as construction proceeds on the Simcoe Street bridge and the adjacent GO station. Metrolinx has reported seasonal monitoring of the replacement structure and has described other measures used on transit projects to protect swift habitat. The replacement chimney construction is scheduled to finish on April 3.